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Multisensory Stimulation Modulates Perceptual and Post-perceptual Face Representations: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials.

Estudillo, Alejandro J., Kaufmann, Juergen, Bindemann, Markus, Schweinberger, Stefan R. (2018) Multisensory Stimulation Modulates Perceptual and Post-perceptual Face Representations: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials. European Journal of Neuroscience, 48 (5). pp. 2259-2271. ISSN 0953-816X. E-ISSN 1460-9568. (doi:10.1111/ejn.14112) (KAR id:69934)

Abstract

Seeing a face being touched in spatial and temporal synchrony with the own face produces a bias in self-recognition, whereby the other face becomes more likely to be perceived as the self. The present study employed event-related potentials to explore whether this enfacement effect reflects initial face encoding, enhanced distinctiveness of the enfaced face, modified self-identity representations, or even later processing stages that are associated with the emotional processing of faces. Participants were stroked in synchrony or asynchrony with unfamiliar faces they observed on a monitor in front of them, in a situation approximating a mirror image. Subsequently, ERPs were recorded during the presentation of (i) a previously synchronously stimulated face, (ii) an asynchronously stimulated face, (iii) observers’ own face, (iv) filler faces and (v) a to-be-detected target face, which required a response. Observers reported a consistent enfacement illusion after synchronous stimulation. Importantly, the synchronously stimulated face elicited more prominent N170 and P200 responses than the asynchronously stimulated face. By contrast, similar N250 and P300 responses were observed in these conditions. These results suggest that enfacement modulates early neural correlates of face encoding and facial prototypicality, rather than identity self-representations and associated emotional processes.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1111/ejn.14112
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: Markus Bindemann
Date Deposited: 05 Nov 2018 14:46 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:59 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/69934 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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