BACKGROUND: Face @entity73 in @entity161 has long been recognized. However, brain mechanisms underlying this socially important perceptual deficit are not well understood. Previous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown that @entity1 have altered structure in brain regions responsible for processing face information, but functional properties of these brain regions are not clearly determined. A key functional property of the face-processing system-face selectivity-has yet to be evaluated in @entity161 . METHODS: We used functional MRI (fMRI) to examine face selectivity of 3 core face-processing regions-fusiform face area (FFA), occipital face area (OFA), and superior temporal sulcus (STS)-in @entity161 @entity1 (n = 24) and healthy controls (n = 23). To disassociate face-specific processing from general perceptual processing, we compared cortical activations during performance of perceptually equated face and tree detection tasks. RESULTS: Activation levels of the 3 putative face-processing regions during face detection did not differ between @entity1 and controls, being similar for FFA and OFA and absent for STS. However, face selectivity, indexed by the difference in cortical activation between face and tree detection, was significantly reduced in @entity1 for FFA, especially for low-contrast stimuli. FFA activation and perceptual performance during face detection were associated in @entity1 . CONCLUSIONS: These results show a lack of face-specific processing in the @entity161 brain region presumably subserving face perception. This finding suggests boosting visual salience of face images as a potential therapeutic venue for improving face perception in this @entity146 .

The Core Brain Region for Face Processing in XXXX Lacks Face Selectivity.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity73 :: ('MESH:D003072', 'Disease') :: ['perception impairment'] @entity161 :: ('MESH:D012559', 'Disease') :: ['schizophrenia', 'schizophrenic'] @entity146 :: ('MESH:D001523', 'Disease') :: ['psychiatric disorder']
@entity161 :: (MESH:D012559,Disease) :: ['Schizophrenia']
