The M170 is selective for faces, not for expertise

Are the mechanisms for face perception selectively involved in processing faces per se, or do they also participate in the processing of any class of visual stimuli that share the same basic configuration and for which the observer has gained substantial visual expertise? Here we tested the effects of visual expertise on the face-selective “M170”, a magnetoencephalography (MEG) response component that occurs 170 ms after stimulus onset and is involved in the identification of individual faces. In Experiment 1, cars did not elicit a higher M170 response (relative to control objects) in car experts compared to controls subjects. In Experiment 2, the M170 amplitude was correlated with successful face identification, but not with successful car identification in car experts. These results indicate that the early face processing mechanisms marked by the M170 are involved in the identification of faces in particular, not in the identification of any objects of expertise.