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Abstract
Does face recognition involve face-specific cognitive and neural processes ('domain
specificity') or do faces only seem special because people have had more experience
of individuating them than they have of individuating members of other homogeneous
object categories ('the expertise hypothesis')? Here, we summarize new data that test
these hypotheses by assessing whether classic face-selective effects - holistic processing,
recognition impairments in prosopagnosia and fusiform face area activation - remain
face selective in comparison with objects of expertise. We argue that evidence strongly
supports domain specificity rather than the expertise hypothesis. We conclude that
the crucial social function of face recognition does not reflect merely a general
practice phenomenon and that it might be supported by evolved mechanisms (visual or
nonvisual) and/or a sensitive period in infancy.