People and chimpanzees recognize faces similarly

Chimpanzees recognize their fellow humans by using the same brain area that humans use to recognize a familiar face, according to the newspaper published in the journal Current Biology on December 18. This study - first First consider the anox activity in chimpanzees after they recognize the faces of the same humans - providing new insights into the origins of the human face's ability to recognize faces.

Lisa Parr, a researcher at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, said: 'We can learn about human origins through studying their closest relatives. me. We can explore special aspects of human awareness, as well as cognitive functions that appear in other animals. '

Chimp identifies people by using the same brain area that people use to identify a familiar face. (Photo: iStockphoto) Previous studies have shown that chimpanzees, like humans, can identify humans. Parr said: 'We know that chimpanzees and people recognize faces in a similar way. We wonder if the brain region is responsible for this function in chimpanzees and people are alike. Overall, this assertion seems correct '.

In the study, scientists looked at brain activity (via blood sugar metabolism) in five chimpanzees using positron radiography (PET). (Parr said the Yerkes National Primate Research Center is the only place that has MRI, PET, accelerators). The chimpanzees are shown 3 faces, 2 of which are completely identical, while the third face is of another chimpanzee. These chimpanzees are then asked to recognize the same face. In other experiments, chimpanzees also work similarly to artistic images.

Research shows significant face selection activity in areas of the brain responsible for face recognition in humans. Further research shows obvious activities in the region called fusiform gyrus - the area of ​​facial recognition activity in humans - when chimpanzees observe faces of the same type.

The researchers concluded that the area of ​​the brain that operates during facial recognition may represent a part of the cognitive system in chimpanzees, like humans, which analyzes the first facial image of activation. the area in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex (a part of the brain involved in memory, attention and perception), then the process in fusiform gyrus and other areas.

Parr emphasized that there have been many decades of research on facial recognition in the human brain.This is the first study for chimpanzees, new findings that add to many questions that have not been answered yet and further research is still in progress.

Researchers include Lisa A. Parr, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Neuroscience Center, Atlanta, GA; Erin Hecht, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Sarah K. Barks, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Todd M. Preuss, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Neuroscience Center, Atlanta, GA; and John R. Votaw, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, Emory University.