The perceptual and neural processing of familiar faces is shaped by the statistical regularities of real-world viewing

Face recognition depends upon the ability to match a visual image to a representation stored in memory. During natural viewing, observers fixate centrally on faces, resulting in face parts appearing in specific spatial locations. We examined whether this perceptual experience influences the cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in face recognition. Participants viewed left/right or upper/lower face halves presented in typical (eg left face half in left visual field) or atypical (eg left face half in right visual field) locations. For familiar faces, familiarity judgments were faster and more accurate when face halves were displayed in typical locations. To examine the neural correlates of this recognition bias, fMRI was used to measure responses to familiar face halves presented in typical or atypical spatial locations. Early visual areas (V1-V4) showed responses primarily determined by visual field and were not sensitive to typical spatial presentation. In contrast, the occipital face area and the fusiform face area exhibited greater activations for face halves presented in their typical spatial location. This bias was also evident in regions beyond the visual brain. These findings suggest that higher-level representations used in the perceptual processing of familiar faces are influenced by statistical regularities in real-world face viewing.