N170 or N1? Spatiotemporal differences between object and face processing using ERPs

The ERP component N170 is face-sensitive, yet its specificity for faces is controversial. We recorded ERPs while subjects viewed upright and inverted faces and seven object categories. Peak, topography and segmentation analyses were performed. N170 was earlier and larger to faces than to all objects. The classic increase in amplitude and latency was found for inverted faces on N170 but also on P1. Segmentation analyses revealed an extra map found only for faces, reflecting an extra cluster of activity compared to objects. While the N1 for objects seems to reflect the return to baseline from the P1, the N170 for faces reflects a supplement activity. The electrophysiological 'specificity' of faces could lie in the involvement of extra generators for face processing compared to objects and the N170 for faces seems qualitatively different from the N1 for objects. Object and face processing also differed as early as 120 ms.