Recognizability Affects the Processing of Facial Gender Information.

PURPOSE: The different aspects of a face, like sex, gender, or identity, can be decoded from the cortical patterns related to its processing. Many studies have investigated this phenomenon with similar outcomes. These studies usually utilize a low number of facial identities and high repetition numbers, potentially affecting the recognizability of a face, thus altering the processing. We propose that this commonly employed paradigm influences cortical patterns associated with features seemingly unrelated to identity.

METHOD: In the first experiment, we adapted common paradigm parameters from previous studies using a few identities and a high presentation number for decoding facial gender. In the second experiment, the identity-presentation ratio was switched.

FINDINGS: This change resulted in a narrower time window where facial gender related cortical patterns were detected. Decoding accuracy was also diminished, yielding lower values and suggesting a reduced signal-to-noise ratio in the cortex. After expanding the sample size to balance male and female participants, we identified shared cortical patterns related to facial gender processing both within the population and across gender-based subpopulations.

CONCLUSION: These results provide further evidence that exposure time to a singular face affects its processing and suggest that previous findings on perceived gender information decoding were likely influenced by the experimental paradigms employed.