Lateralization of Facial Processing: A Spatial Frequency Model

Abstract

Faces, filtered for either high or low spatial frequency components, were presented tachistoscopically to either the right or left visual fields. The right visual field presentations yielded more errors in a face matching task and this difference was greatest for low spatial frequency stimuli. Left visual field, low spatial frequency stimuli resulted in the fastest reaction times and the lowest error rates. These processing differences may reflect mechanisms underlying a wide range of hemispheric lateralization phenomena.

Key Words:

• Facial identification
• spatial frequency
• hemispheric asymmetry.