No two are the same: Body shape is part of identifying others

Abstract

Downing and Peelen argue for a clear distinction between body and identity representation, with the former performed by EBA and FBA, and the latter performed elsewhere in the brain. Under a predictive coding account, we argue that this separation is unnecessary: Representing bodies is part of representing identity. While neurons in EBA and FBA may only code for body shape and posture, we propose that they are a part of a reciprocally connected cortical network that functions to minimize prediction error when making identity inferences. We propose a novel way to test the hypothesis that EBA and FBA are critically involved in person identification.