Patterns of Functional Connectivity Differentiate Individuals and Individual Regions in Face and Scene Selective Networks

The perception and recognition of faces and scenes rely on distributed neural systems comprising specialised, category-selective regions in visual cortex that interact with an extended network of cortical regions across the brain. While prior work has demonstrated face- and scene-selective responses can be differentiated based on patterns of whole-brain connectivity, it remains unclear whether category-selective regions within each network also possess distinguishable whole-brain connectivity profiles reflecting their specific functional roles. It is also unclear whether individuals have distinct connectivity profiles that might underlie individual differences in face or scene perception. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from multiple different naturalistic movie watching paradigms and at rest. We identified whole-brain functional connectivity fingerprints for each of the core regions within the face and scene processing networks. We found that patterns of functional connectivity were more similar within than between participants and were distinct across individual regions of the face and scene networks. These findings demonstrate that brain regions within category-selective visual networks are characterised by distinctive connectivity profiles with the rest of the brain.