Lídia Rezende Encide, Nelson Torro Alves
Face recognition is one of the most extensively investigated processes in visual perception and has traditionally been associated with the existence of specialized neural mechanisms. However, behavioral and neurophysiological evidence has demonstrated that characteristics initially considered specific to face processing can also be observed during the discrimination of other visual categories, particularly in individuals with a high level of perceptual expertise. This theoretical review aimed to discuss the main evidence related to the neural specialization hypothesis for faces and the perceptual expertise hypothesis, considering classical studies and subsequent evidence involving the processing of faces and objects. Behavioral findings related to the face inversion effect and configural processing were addressed, as well as neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies involving the N170 component and occipitotemporal regions, particularly the fusiform face area (FFA). The reviewed evidence indicates that expertise can modify the neural processing of non-face categories. However, these modifications do not fully reproduce the characteristics observed in face processing. In this regard, differences related to N170 amplitude and latency, the organization of neural responses, and connectivity between regions involved in visual processing suggest that perceptual experience contributes to the organization of these mechanisms without eliminating features specific to face processing. Thus, the evidence discussed indicates that neural specialization and perceptual expertise should not be considered mutually exclusive explanations. Face recognition appears to result from the interaction between biological predispositions, the functional organization of the visual system, and perceptual experience accumulated throughout development.