Face recognition? Your brain reacts emotionally to this

The human brain is so adapted to facial recognition that it regularly tricks us. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the University of Sydney.

eyes and mouth

Principal researcher David Ellis explains to the British newspaper Watchman The brain appears to be highly specialized in recognizing faces quickly. “You have to know who someone is, whether they are friend or foe, and what the person’s intentions and emotions are.”

Sometimes the brain goes a little outside. “As soon as the thing appears to have two eyes and a mouth, the brain says, ‘Hey, I see a face,'” Alice explains.

The researchers showed the participants a series of faces – real faces and objects that look like faces. What does it look like? It seems that people react emotionally to inanimate objects in the same way that they react to real faces.

An emotional response can’t be stopped إيقاف

“Somehow you can’t turn off the facial response and the emotional response completely,” Alais says. “It remains a thing and a face at the same time.”

The study could help research into artificial intelligence. The researchers also hope to learn more about prosopagnosia, which prevents people from recognizing faces.