Early visual experience and face processing

Adult-like expertise in processing face information takes years to develop1 and is mediated in part by specialized cortical mechanisms2 sensitive to the spacing of facial features (configural processing)3. Here we show that deprivation of patterned visual input from birth until 2–6 months of age results in permanent deficits in configural face processing. Even after more than nine years' recovery, patients treated for bilateral congenital …