Some monkey species have the ability to observe details on a face, allowing them to recognize familiar individuals, even in altered photographs.
Scientists know that rhesus macaques have neurons in the inferior temporal cortex that respond when they see a familiar face. However, they do not fully understand how their brains process these images.
A team of German researchers from the Max Planck Institute claims to have found an explanation. To achieve this, David Leopold and his colleagues studied two male rhesus macaques that had been trained to recognize many human faces on a computer. They showed them a series of familiar images, including some that had been altered.
The results showed that the neurons in the inferior temporal cortex of these two monkeys reacted strongly when they detected small changes compared to their memory. Like humans, these monkeys can use this ability to detect emotional cues on a face.
Recent experiments conducted on monkeys in Japan revealed that even highly simplified images (such as a round head with two ears and two eyes) were sufficient to elicit a response.
Rhesus macaques have neurons in the inferior temporal cortex
that respond when they see a familiar face
(Photo: treknature)
