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Oh Baby: Dynamics of Cortical Activity Modulated by Infant and Adult Faces of High and Low Attractiveness Benjamin R. Ratcliff, Nikal S. Toor, Taylor Kredel, Megan Morrison, Amanda C. Hahn, and Kelly J. Jantzen Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA The set of features exaggerated in the faces of infants (large eyes, elongated foreheads, small chins, etc.) triggers a specific response, known as Kindchenschema (Lorenz, 1943) increases adults willingness to provide care, ratings of aesthetic value, and allocation of attention (Kringelbach, 2008; Hahn & Perrett, 2014). Previous imaging research has identified the brain’s reward circuit, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, as possibly underlying these changes in behavior (Glocker et al., 2009). An alternative explanation is that the Kindchenschema only affects the perceived attractiveness of faces and that it is attractiveness, not Kindchenschema, that causes the behavioral and neural changes (e.g. Doherty et al., 2003). The current study identified the cortical dynamics associated with processing of infant and adult faces to investigate whether Kindchenschema affects processing independent of attractiveness. • Data was acquired from 26 heterosexual, college aged (mean = 22.1, SD = 2.6, 13 male) participants with little to no contact with children (Hahn et al., in press). • EEG was recorded while participants rated the attractiveness of same sex, other sex, and infant faces of high and low attractiveness. • Electrode signals were projected onto cortex using dynamical Statistical Parametric Mapping (Dale et al., 2000). • Regions of interest (ROI) were chosen from the core and extended face processing network described by Haxby et al. (2000). • Average activity for each ROI was compared using a 2 x 3 x 2 ANOVA with participant gender (m/f) as a between factor and face type (infant, same, other) and and attractiveness (high, low) as between factors. ACC & mFG OFC FFG STS IOG OFC FFG References Behavioral Neuroscience Program @WWU Introduction Methods Dale, A. M., Liu, A. K., Fischl, B. R., Buckner, R. L., Belliveau, J. W., Lewine, J. D., Halgren, E. (2000). Dynamic statistical parametric mapping: combining fMRI and MEG for high-resolution imaging of cortical activity. Neuron, 26, 55-67. O'Doherty, J., Winston, J., Critchley, H., Perrett, D., Burt, D. M., & Dolan, R. J. (2003). Beauty in a smile: the role of medial orbitofrontal cortex in facial attractiveness. Neuropsychologia, 41(2), 147–155. Glocker, M. L., Langleben, D. D., Ruparel, K., Loughead, J. W., Valdez, J. N., Griffin, M. D., Sachser, N., and Gur, R. C. (2009). Baby schema modulates the brain reward syste in nulliparous women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106 (22), 9115-9119. Hahn, A. C., and Perrett, D. I. (2014). Neural and behavioral responses to attractiveness in adults and infant faces. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 46, 591-603. Hahn, A. C., Symons, L. A., Taylor Kredel, T., Hanson, K., Hodgson, L., Schiavone, L., and Jantzen, K. J. (in press). Early and late event related potentials are modulated by infant and adult faces of high and low attractiveness. Social Neuroscience. Haxby, J. V., Hoffman, E. A., & Gobbini, M. I. (2000). The distributed human neural system for face perception. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 4(6), 223-233. Kringelbach, M. L., Lehtonen, A., Squire, S., Harvey, A. G., Craske, M. G., Holliday, I. E., Y Stein, A. (2008). A specific and rapid neural signature for parental instinct. PloS One, 3(2), e1664. Lorenz, K. (1943). Die angeborenen Formen möglicher Erfahrung. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 5(2), 235-409. 152 – 174 ms: Main effects of Face Type with Baby showing greater activity than Same and Other adult faces in all regions displayed. 300 – 350 ms: Main effects of Face Type with Baby showing greater activity than Same and Other adult faces in all regions displayed. 350 – 500 ms: Main effects of Face Type with Baby showing greater activity than Same and Other adult faces in all regions displayed. Discussion • Processing infant faces activated more areas in core and extended face processing system than attractiveness, suggesting independent mechanism for Kindchenschema. • The reward circuit, particularly the OFC, was shown to activate early and remain active during processing of infant faces, which suggests its role in mediating Kindchenschema. • Later activation in attention-related areas, precuneus and mFG, may underlie the attention grabbing affects of infant faces. • Ask me about gender!! • Overall, the data supports the hypothesis of a distinct pathway for infant face processing. Main Effect of Attractiveness * * * [email protected] * Left: Time series of EEG from each ROI (left hemisphere on left, right on right). Right: Infant, female, and male faces modified into high (right) and low (left) attractiveness. Core and extended face processing regions (Haxby et al., 2000) including fusiform face gyrus (FG), inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), superior temporal sulcus (STS), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), medial frontal gyrus (mFG), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (precuneus not shown). Same High Baby High Baby Low Other High Other Low Same Low
