1. Oh Baby: Dynamics of Cortical Activity Modulated by Infant and Adult
Faces of High and Low Attractiveness
Benjamin R. Ratcliff, Nikal S. Toor, Taylor Kredel, Megan Morrison, Amanda C. Hahn, and Kelly J. Jantzen
Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA
The set of features exaggerated in the faces of infants (large eyes,
elongated foreheads, small chins, etc.) triggers a specific response,
known as Kindchenschema (Lorenz, 1943) increases adults
willingness to provide care, ratings of aesthetic value, and allocation
of attention (Kringelbach, 2008; Hahn & Perrett, 2014). Previous
imaging research has identified the brain’s reward circuit, particularly
the orbitofrontal cortex, as possibly underlying these changes in
behavior (Glocker et al., 2009). An alternative explanation is that the
Kindchenschema only affects the perceived attractiveness of faces
and that it is attractiveness, not Kindchenschema, that causes the
behavioral and neural changes (e.g. Doherty et al., 2003). The current
study identified the cortical dynamics associated with processing of
infant and adult faces to investigate whether Kindchenschema affects
processing independent of attractiveness.
• Data was acquired from 26 heterosexual, college aged (mean =
22.1, SD = 2.6, 13 male) participants with little to no contact with
children (Hahn et al., in press).
• EEG was recorded while participants rated the attractiveness of
same sex, other sex, and infant faces of high and low
attractiveness.
• Electrode signals were projected onto cortex using dynamical
Statistical Parametric Mapping (Dale et al., 2000).
• Regions of interest (ROI) were chosen from the core and extended
face processing network described by Haxby et al. (2000).
• Average activity for each ROI was compared using a 2 x 3 x 2
ANOVA with participant gender (m/f) as a between factor and face
type (infant, same, other) and and attractiveness (high, low) as
between factors.
ACC&mFG
OFC
FFG
STS
IOG
OFC FFG
References
Behavioral Neuroscience Program @WWU
Introduction
Methods
Dale, A. M., Liu, A. K., Fischl, B. R., Buckner, R. L., Belliveau, J. W., Lewine, J. D., Halgren, E. (2000). Dynamic statistical
parametric mapping: combining fMRI and MEG for high-resolution imaging of cortical activity. Neuron, 26, 55-67.
O'Doherty, J., Winston, J., Critchley, H., Perrett, D., Burt, D. M., & Dolan, R. J. (2003). Beauty in a smile: the role of medial
orbitofrontal cortex in facial attractiveness. Neuropsychologia, 41(2), 147–155.
Glocker, M. L., Langleben, D. D., Ruparel, K., Loughead, J. W., Valdez, J. N., Griffin, M. D., Sachser, N., and Gur, R. C. (2009). Baby
schema modulates the brain reward syste in nulliparous women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106 (22),
9115-9119.
Hahn, A. C., and Perrett, D. I. (2014). Neural and behavioral responses to attractiveness in adults and infant faces. Neuroscience and
Biobehavioral Reviews, 46, 591-603.
Hahn, A. C., Symons, L. A., Taylor Kredel, T., Hanson, K., Hodgson, L., Schiavone, L., and Jantzen, K. J. (in press). Early and late
event related potentials are modulated by infant and adult faces of high and low attractiveness. Social Neuroscience.
Haxby, J. V., Hoffman, E. A., & Gobbini, M. I. (2000). The distributed human neural system for face perception. Trends In Cognitive
Sciences, 4(6), 223-233.
Kringelbach, M. L., Lehtonen, A., Squire, S., Harvey, A. G., Craske, M. G., Holliday, I. E., Y Stein, A. (2008). A specific and rapid
neural signature for parental instinct. PloS One, 3(2), e1664.
Lorenz, K. (1943). Die angeborenen Formen möglicher Erfahrung. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 5(2), 235-409.
152 – 174 ms: Main effects of Face Type with Baby showing greater
activity than Same and Other adult faces in all regions displayed.
300 – 350 ms: Main effects of Face Type with Baby showing
greater activity than Same and Other adult faces in all regions
displayed.
350 – 500 ms: Main effects of Face Type with Baby showing greater
activity than Same and Other adult faces in all regions displayed.
Discussion
• Processing infant faces activated more areas in core and extended
face processing system than attractiveness, suggesting
independent mechanism for Kindchenschema.
• The reward circuit, particularly the OFC, was shown to activate
early and remain active during processing of infant faces, which
suggests its role in mediating Kindchenschema.
• Later activation in attention-related areas, precuneus and mFG,
may underlie the attention grabbing affects of infant faces.
• Ask me about gender!!
• Overall, the data supports the hypothesis of a distinct pathway for
infant face processing.
Main Effect of
Attractiveness*
*
*
kelly.jantzen@wwu.edu
* Left: Time series of EEG from each ROI (left hemisphere on left, right on right). Right:
Infant, female, and male faces modified into high (right) and low (left) attractiveness.
Core and extended face processing regions (Haxby et al., 2000) including fusiform face
gyrus (FG), inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), superior temporal sulcus (STS), orbitofrontal
cortex (OFC), medial frontal gyrus (mFG), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
(precuneus not shown).
Same High
Baby High
Baby Low
Other High
Other Low
Same Low