fusiform

This analysis of 38 mother-infant pairs showed that infants of mothers who experienced discrimination generally had weaker connections between their amygdala and prefrontal cortex and infants of mothers who experienced acculturation stress had stronger connectivity between the amygdala and another brain region called the fusiform.

Using a specialized device that translates images into sound, Georgetown University Medical Center neuroscientists and colleagues showed that people who are blind recognized basic faces using the part of the brain known as the fusiform face area, a region that is crucial for the processing of faces in sighted people.

Paula Plaza, Ph.D., one of the lead authors of the study, who is now at Universidad Andres Bello, Chile, says, "Our study demonstrates that the fusiform face area encodes the 'concept' of a face regardless of input channel, or the visual experience, which is an important discovery."

The scientists found that brain activation by sound in people who are blind was found primarily in the left fusiform face area while face processing in sighted people occurred mostly in the right fusiform face area.

"We believe the left/right difference between people who are and aren't blind may have to do with how the left and right sides of the fusiform area processes faces -- either as connected patterns or as separate parts, which may be an important clue in helping us refine our sensory substitution device," says Rauschecker, who is also co-director of the Center for Neuroengineering at Georgetown University.