Perceptual load manipulation does not reveal sensitivity on the N170 ERP component of manipulated faces and bodies

Background: It has been controversial in the face recognition literature whether face-sensitive N170 is affected by selective attention. Attention was manipulated according to Lavie’s perceptual load theory, examining the effect of selective attention on the processing of faces and human bodies. Faces and hu man bodies were presented either intact or manipulated. Material/Methods: 18 Students (9Males) from Sohag University, aged between 19 and 22 years (M = 19.38, SD = 0.48) contributed data in this study. All participants were right handed, and had normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity. Participants were instructed to detect specific letter strings “X or N” among different (i.e., High load), or identical (Low load) letters. Letters were superimposed on different distractors. Stimuli were presented intact (Exp.1), or manipulated (Exp.2-4), by removing certain features or parts in the face and body respectively. ERP technique was used and prominent N170 and LNC were measured. Results: It was found that there is no effect of selective attention on the face sensitive N170. It seems that cropped face N170 is not affected by selective attention. However, the N170 of faces and human bodies are not affected by selective attention. The LNC findings showed that this component is affected by selective attention with enhanced negativity under low load Conditions compared to high load conditions. Conclusions: The findings of the current study showed that either cropped faces and human bodies does not reveal sensitivity on the N170 ERP component of manipulated faces and bodies.