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