Feature-based encoding of face identity by single neurons in the human amygdala and hippocampus

Runnan Cao (), Jinge Wang, Chujun Lin, Emanuela Falco, Alina Peter, Hernan G. Rey, Peter Brunner, Jon T. Willie, James J. DiCarlo, Alexander Todorov, Ueli Rutishauser, Xin Li, Nicholas J. Brandmeir and Shuo Wang ()
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Runnan Cao: Washington University in St Louis
Jinge Wang: West Virginia University
Chujun Lin: University of California San Diego
Emanuela Falco: Route Cantonale
Alina Peter: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hernan G. Rey: Medical College of Wisconsin
Peter Brunner: Washington University in St Louis
Jon T. Willie: Washington University in St Louis
James J. DiCarlo: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alexander Todorov: University of Chicago
Ueli Rutishauser: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Xin Li: University at Albany
Nicholas J. Brandmeir: West Virginia University
Shuo Wang: Washington University in St Louis

Nature Human Behaviour, 2025, vol. 9, issue 9, 1959-1974

Abstract: Abstract Neurons in the human amygdala and hippocampus are classically thought to encode a person’s identity invariant to visual features. However, it remains largely unknown how visual information from higher visual cortical areas is translated into such a semantic representation of an individual person. Here, across four experiments (3,581 neurons from 19 neurosurgical patients over 111 sessions), we demonstrate a region-based feature code for faces, where neurons encode faces on the basis of shared visual features rather than associations of known concepts, contrary to prevailing views. Feature neurons encode groups of faces regardless of their identity, broad semantic categories or familiarity; and the coding regions (that is, receptive fields) predict feature neurons’ response to new face stimuli. Together, our results reveal a new class of neurons that bridge perception-driven representation of facial features with mnemonic semantic representations, which may form the basis for declarative memory.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-025-02218-1

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