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A Dynamical Systems Model for Face Perception

Received: 29 November 2021    Accepted: 11 December 2021    Published: 24 December 2021
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Abstract

The fusiform face area, or FFA, is a small region found on the inferior (bottom) surface of the temporal lobe. It is located in a gyrus called the fusiform gyrus.Studies in humans have shown that the FFA is sensitive to both face parts and face configurations. Recoding activity in the FFA showed that most of the neurons in the FFA are active in response to facial imagery, but not in response to images of other body parts or objects. Visual sensory neurons sensitive to a face feature and possessing a related firing rate activate an associated cluster of neurons in the FFA. This results in a partition of the FFA into clusters that respond to the various facial features. Once an entire face stimulus activates the FFA, interneurons redistribute the initial activation via the neural network. In this article a novel approach to modelling the function of the network is presented. We define by a transition matrix that describes probabilistically how one cluster, firing at a synchronous rate, affects the others in the FFA. The initial face stimulation in the FFA together with the transition matrix defines a dynamical system which possesses a stationary probability function. We claim that a stationary probability function uniquely represents a face. Among the properties of this probability function are: 1) response magnitude invariance, 2) repurposing of clusters to define new stationary probability function on the FFA partition; 3) stability of stationary probabilities under perturbations.

Published in American Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling (Volume 6, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13
Page(s) 76-80
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Dynamical Systems, Model for Face Perception, Fusiform Face Area (FFA), Face Parts, Stationary Measure, Stability

References
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[19] O‘Craven, K. M. and Kanwisher, N., “Mental imagery of faces and places activate corresponding stimulus-specific brain regions,” Journal of cognitive Neuroscience, 12: 6 1013–1023, 2000.
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  • APA Style

    Abraham Boyarsky, Paweł Góra. (2021). A Dynamical Systems Model for Face Perception. American Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 6(4), 76-80. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13

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    ACS Style

    Abraham Boyarsky; Paweł Góra. A Dynamical Systems Model for Face Perception. Am. J. Math. Comput. Model. 2021, 6(4), 76-80. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13

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    AMA Style

    Abraham Boyarsky, Paweł Góra. A Dynamical Systems Model for Face Perception. Am J Math Comput Model. 2021;6(4):76-80. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13,
      author = {Abraham Boyarsky and Paweł Góra},
      title = {A Dynamical Systems Model for Face Perception},
      journal = {American Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling},
      volume = {6},
      number = {4},
      pages = {76-80},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmcm.20210604.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajmcm.20210604.13},
      abstract = {The fusiform face area, or FFA, is a small region found on the inferior (bottom) surface of the temporal lobe. It is located in a gyrus called the fusiform gyrus.Studies in humans have shown that the FFA is sensitive to both face parts and face configurations. Recoding activity in the FFA showed that most of the neurons in the FFA are active in response to facial imagery, but not in response to images of other body parts or objects. Visual sensory neurons sensitive to a face feature and possessing a related firing rate activate an associated cluster of neurons in the FFA. This results in a partition of the FFA into clusters that respond to the various facial features. Once an entire face stimulus activates the FFA, interneurons redistribute the initial activation via the neural network. In this article a novel approach to modelling the function of the network is presented. We define by a transition matrix that describes probabilistically how one cluster, firing at a synchronous rate, affects the others in the FFA. The initial face stimulation in the FFA together with the transition matrix defines a dynamical system which possesses a stationary probability function. We claim that a stationary probability function uniquely represents a face. Among the properties of this probability function are: 1) response magnitude invariance, 2) repurposing of clusters to define new stationary probability function on the FFA partition; 3) stability of stationary probabilities under perturbations.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    Y1  - 2021/12/24
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    T2  - American Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling
    JF  - American Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling
    JO  - American Journal of Mathematical and Computer Modelling
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    AB  - The fusiform face area, or FFA, is a small region found on the inferior (bottom) surface of the temporal lobe. It is located in a gyrus called the fusiform gyrus.Studies in humans have shown that the FFA is sensitive to both face parts and face configurations. Recoding activity in the FFA showed that most of the neurons in the FFA are active in response to facial imagery, but not in response to images of other body parts or objects. Visual sensory neurons sensitive to a face feature and possessing a related firing rate activate an associated cluster of neurons in the FFA. This results in a partition of the FFA into clusters that respond to the various facial features. Once an entire face stimulus activates the FFA, interneurons redistribute the initial activation via the neural network. In this article a novel approach to modelling the function of the network is presented. We define by a transition matrix that describes probabilistically how one cluster, firing at a synchronous rate, affects the others in the FFA. The initial face stimulation in the FFA together with the transition matrix defines a dynamical system which possesses a stationary probability function. We claim that a stationary probability function uniquely represents a face. Among the properties of this probability function are: 1) response magnitude invariance, 2) repurposing of clusters to define new stationary probability function on the FFA partition; 3) stability of stationary probabilities under perturbations.
    VL  - 6
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Author Information
  • Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada

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