Researchers Found a Direct link between Voice, Face Recognition Brain Areas

Researchers discovered a direct link between the areas of human brain responsible for voice and face recognition. Normally, it is assumed that voice and face recognition are separate processes which are only combined on a higher processing level.

However, recent findings indicate that voice and face recognition are much more closely related. The team earlier found that areas of brain responsible for the identification of faces also become active when people hear a familiar voice. They discovered a direct connection consisting of fibre pathways between the voice and face recognition area.

In the latest research, the researchers could prove that a structural connection between voice and face recognition areas exists. They used diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, a method with which the course of white matter tracts in brain can be reconstructed when combined with tractography, a mathematical modelling technique.

The team had located the areas responsible for voice and face recognition by measuring the reactions of the brain to different voices and faces using magnetic resonance imaging.