Does Face Image Statistics Predict A Preferred Spatial Frequency For Human Face Processing?

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 15 Jun 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Imagine a photograph showing your friend's face. Although you might think that every single detail in his face matters to recognize him, previous experiments have shown that the brain prefers a rather coarse resolution instead.

This is tantamount to that a small rectangular photograph of about 30 to 40 pixels in width (showing only the face from left ear to right ear) is optimal.

But why?

A hint comes from an analysis of many face images. It turns out that the eyes and the mouth are responsible for setting the resolution level.

Looking at eyes and mouth at a coarse resolution gives the most reliable signals for recognition, and the brain adapted to this property.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Proceedings B is the Royal Society's flagship biological research journal, dedicated to the rapid publication and broad dissemination of high-quality research papers, reviews and comment and reply papers. The scope of journal is diverse and is especially strong in organismal biology.

www.publishing.royalsociety.org/proceedingsb

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