Slide
Centre Interdisciplinaire
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
1.
Côté, L.; Lamontagne, J.; Bellerose, A.; Blais, C.; Fiset, D.
The eyes are central to face detection: revisiting the foundations of face processing Journal Article
In: Vision Research, vol. 243, 2026, ISSN: 00426989 (ISSN).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: adult, article, Black person, Bubbles, Categorization, Caucasian, Detection, emotion assessment, Faces, Facial Recognition, facies, female, human, human experiment, Image analysis, information processing, Information use, male, Noise, normal human, perception, Prosopagnosia, spatial frequency discrimination, task performance, visual discrimination, Young Adult
@article{cote_eyes_2026,
title = {The eyes are central to face detection: revisiting the foundations of face processing},
author = {L. Côté and J. Lamontagne and A. Bellerose and C. Blais and D. Fiset},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105030389147&doi=10.1016%2Fj.visres.2026.108785&partnerID=40&md5=752aa5d9923ac60539e36118ad41e1e6},
doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2026.108785},
issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-01-01},
journal = {Vision Research},
volume = {243},
abstract = {Face detection feels effortless, yet it requires finely tuned computations to extract socially meaningful signals from the visual stream. Here, we used the Bubbles method to isolate the facial features and spatial frequency information that support face categorization. Across three experiments varying in task demands and visual context, the eye region consistently emerged as the most diagnostic source of information, particularly in high spatial frequencies. This finding held whether participants distinguished faces from noise, from non-face objects, or from real-world categories—suggesting that the eyes serve as an anchor point for categorization across contexts. Strikingly, this diagnostic profile mirrors that found in face identification tasks, implying that detection and recognition may rely on shared perceptual mechanisms rather than sequential, independent processes. This overlap sheds light on longstanding ambiguities in the prosopagnosia literature, indicating that detection impairments found in patients may stem from a broader failure to extract critical eye information. More broadly, our results invite a rethinking of the early stages of face processing, suggesting that detection already involves selective use of diagnostic facial features that supports recognition, emotional decoding, and social perception. © 2026 The Author(s).},
keywords = {adult, article, Black person, Bubbles, Categorization, Caucasian, Detection, emotion assessment, Faces, Facial Recognition, facies, female, human, human experiment, Image analysis, information processing, Information use, male, Noise, normal human, perception, Prosopagnosia, spatial frequency discrimination, task performance, visual discrimination, Young Adult},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Face detection feels effortless, yet it requires finely tuned computations to extract socially meaningful signals from the visual stream. Here, we used the Bubbles method to isolate the facial features and spatial frequency information that support face categorization. Across three experiments varying in task demands and visual context, the eye region consistently emerged as the most diagnostic source of information, particularly in high spatial frequencies. This finding held whether participants distinguished faces from noise, from non-face objects, or from real-world categories—suggesting that the eyes serve as an anchor point for categorization across contexts. Strikingly, this diagnostic profile mirrors that found in face identification tasks, implying that detection and recognition may rely on shared perceptual mechanisms rather than sequential, independent processes. This overlap sheds light on longstanding ambiguities in the prosopagnosia literature, indicating that detection impairments found in patients may stem from a broader failure to extract critical eye information. More broadly, our results invite a rethinking of the early stages of face processing, suggesting that detection already involves selective use of diagnostic facial features that supports recognition, emotional decoding, and social perception. © 2026 The Author(s).
2.
Tardif, J.; Duchesne, X. Morin; Cohan, S.; Royer, J.; Blais, C.; Fiset, D.; Duchaine, B.; Gosselin, F.
Use of Face Information Varies Systematically From Developmental Prosopagnosics to Super-Recognizers Journal Article
In: Psychological Science, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 300–308, 2019, ISSN: 09567976, (Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: adult, Developmental Disabilities, developmental disorder, Facial Recognition, female, human, Humans, Individuality, male, pathophysiology, perception, physiology, Prosopagnosia, Social Perception
@article{tardif_use_2019,
title = {Use of Face Information Varies Systematically From Developmental Prosopagnosics to Super-Recognizers},
author = {J. Tardif and X. Morin Duchesne and S. Cohan and J. Royer and C. Blais and D. Fiset and B. Duchaine and F. Gosselin},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85060433063&doi=10.1177%2f0956797618811338&partnerID=40&md5=0b1d017d93e991fa99d50e6691a54867},
doi = {10.1177/0956797618811338},
issn = {09567976},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Psychological Science},
volume = {30},
number = {2},
pages = {300–308},
publisher = {SAGE Publications Inc.},
abstract = {Face-recognition abilities differ largely in the neurologically typical population. We examined how the use of information varies with face-recognition ability from developmental prosopagnosics to super-recognizers. Specifically, we investigated the use of facial features at different spatial scales in 112 individuals, including 5 developmental prosopagnosics and 8 super-recognizers, during an online famous-face-identification task using the bubbles method. We discovered that viewing of the eyes and mouth to identify faces at relatively high spatial frequencies is strongly correlated with face-recognition ability, evaluated from two independent measures. We also showed that the abilities of developmental prosopagnosics and super-recognizers are explained by a model that predicts face-recognition ability from the use of information built solely from participants with intermediate face-recognition abilities (n = 99). This supports the hypothesis that the use of information varies quantitatively from developmental prosopagnosics to super-recognizers as a function of face-recognition ability. © The Author(s) 2018.},
note = {Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.},
keywords = {adult, Developmental Disabilities, developmental disorder, Facial Recognition, female, human, Humans, Individuality, male, pathophysiology, perception, physiology, Prosopagnosia, Social Perception},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Face-recognition abilities differ largely in the neurologically typical population. We examined how the use of information varies with face-recognition ability from developmental prosopagnosics to super-recognizers. Specifically, we investigated the use of facial features at different spatial scales in 112 individuals, including 5 developmental prosopagnosics and 8 super-recognizers, during an online famous-face-identification task using the bubbles method. We discovered that viewing of the eyes and mouth to identify faces at relatively high spatial frequencies is strongly correlated with face-recognition ability, evaluated from two independent measures. We also showed that the abilities of developmental prosopagnosics and super-recognizers are explained by a model that predicts face-recognition ability from the use of information built solely from participants with intermediate face-recognition abilities (n = 99). This supports the hypothesis that the use of information varies quantitatively from developmental prosopagnosics to super-recognizers as a function of face-recognition ability. © The Author(s) 2018.
3.
Fiset, D.; Blais, C.; Royer, J.; Richoz, A. -R.; Dugas, G.; Caldara, R.
Mapping the impairment in decoding static facial expressions of emotion in prosopagnosia Journal Article
In: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 12, no. 8, pp. 1334–1341, 2017, ISSN: 17495016, (Publisher: Oxford University Press).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: emotion, Emotions, Facial Expression, Facial Recognition, female, human, Humans, male, Middle Aged, pathophysiology, physiology, Prosopagnosia
@article{fiset_mapping_2017,
title = {Mapping the impairment in decoding static facial expressions of emotion in prosopagnosia},
author = {D. Fiset and C. Blais and J. Royer and A. -R. Richoz and G. Dugas and R. Caldara},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85030854508&doi=10.1093%2fscan%2fnsx068&partnerID=40&md5=3d92d23cd13f540fc3849ac8527d9acd},
doi = {10.1093/scan/nsx068},
issn = {17495016},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
journal = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience},
volume = {12},
number = {8},
pages = {1334–1341},
publisher = {Oxford University Press},
abstract = {Acquired prosopagnosia is characterized by a deficit in face recognition due to diverse brain lesions, but interestingly most prosopagnosic patients suffering from posterior lesions use the mouth instead of the eyes for face identification. Whether this bias is present for the recognition of facial expressions of emotion has not yet been addressed.We tested PS, a pure case of acquired prosopagnosia with bilateral occipitotemporal lesions anatomically sparing the regions dedicated for facial expression recognition. PS used mostly the mouth to recognize facial expressions even when the eye area was the most diagnostic. Moreover, PS directed most of her fixations towards the mouth. Her impairment was still largely present when she was instructed to look at the eyes, or when she was forced to look at them. Control participants showed a performance comparable to PS when only the lower part of the face was available. These observations suggest that the deficits observed in PS with static images are not solely attentional, but are rooted at the level of facial information use. This study corroborates neuroimaging findings suggesting that the Occipital Face Area might play a critical role in extracting facial features that are integrated for both face identification and facial expression recognition in static images. © The Author (2017).},
note = {Publisher: Oxford University Press},
keywords = {emotion, Emotions, Facial Expression, Facial Recognition, female, human, Humans, male, Middle Aged, pathophysiology, physiology, Prosopagnosia},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Acquired prosopagnosia is characterized by a deficit in face recognition due to diverse brain lesions, but interestingly most prosopagnosic patients suffering from posterior lesions use the mouth instead of the eyes for face identification. Whether this bias is present for the recognition of facial expressions of emotion has not yet been addressed.We tested PS, a pure case of acquired prosopagnosia with bilateral occipitotemporal lesions anatomically sparing the regions dedicated for facial expression recognition. PS used mostly the mouth to recognize facial expressions even when the eye area was the most diagnostic. Moreover, PS directed most of her fixations towards the mouth. Her impairment was still largely present when she was instructed to look at the eyes, or when she was forced to look at them. Control participants showed a performance comparable to PS when only the lower part of the face was available. These observations suggest that the deficits observed in PS with static images are not solely attentional, but are rooted at the level of facial information use. This study corroborates neuroimaging findings suggesting that the Occipital Face Area might play a critical role in extracting facial features that are integrated for both face identification and facial expression recognition in static images. © The Author (2017).