Face processing and the N170 in psychiatric and neurological disorders: A systematic review
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1
University of South Australia, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, Australia
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2
Flinders University, School of Psychology, Australia
Background
Face identity and facial expression recognition deficits have been documented in multiple psychiatric and neurological disorders. The N170 ERP/VPP components and analogous M170 MEG component provide an index of structural face and object processing. This review aimed to systematically review the evidence for abnormalities in object recognition (high-level vision) as indexed by the N170/VPP/M170 in neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Methods
1707 papers were identified using PsychINFO and PubMed databases using the search terms (face OR facial OR faces) AND (ERP OR ERF OR “event related” OR “evoked potential”) AND (VPP OR “vertex positive” OR N170 OR N1 OR M170). Fifty-eight studies representing fourteen psychiatric/neurological disorders were selected for review, which employed an array of tasks to measure the N170 or VPP. None of the included studies measured the M170.
Results
There was some evidence for N170/VPP differences to upright faces in limited clinical groups (ADHD, alcoholism, Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive decline, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) and no evidence of differences in others (Autism spectrum disorders, bulimia nervosa, major depressive disorder, Parkinson’s disease, prosopagnosia, social phobia). Within-subject experimental manipulations more consistently suggested abnormalities in face processing in clinical groups. The face inversion N170/VPP effect was predominantly absent in adults with prosopagnosia and schizophrenia and children with Autism spectrum disorders. Smaller N170 amplitudes to non-face objects compared to controls was commonly reported in studies of Autism spectrum disorders.
Discussion
Despite extensive research there does not appear to be strong evidence for N170/VPP abnormalities to faces in neurological and psychiatric disorders, indicating that high-level visual object recognition is generally intact. The divergence in between-group results across studies is likely to reflect high between-subject variance in N170/VPP measures. More studies using within-subject measures in addition to group comparisons are needed to investigate the face inversion effect and task attention on N170 measures. Relationships between the N170 and symptomatological measures should also be thoroughly investigated to explore between-subject variability within clinical groups.
Keywords:
face perception,
N170,
VPP,
M170,
psychiatric disorders,
neurological disorders
Conference:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Emotion and Social
Citation:
Feuerriegel
DC,
Churches
O,
Kohler
MJ,
Hofmann
J and
Keage
HA
(2013). Face processing and the N170 in psychiatric and neurological disorders: A systematic review.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00103
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Received:
11 Sep 2013;
Published Online:
25 Nov 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Mr. Daniel C Feuerriegel, University of South Australia, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, Adelaide, Australia, dfeuerriegel@unimelb.edu.au