Steady-state visual-evoked response to upright and inverted geometrical faces: A magnetoencephalography study

• The face inversion effect on steady-state visual-evoked magnetic fields was studied.
• Upright and inverted faces elicited clear SSVEF responses.
• Face inversion delayed the latency of SSVEFs in the right temporal area.
• SSVEF amplitudes were not different between upright and inverted faces.
• Different systems may lie in the delayed and enhanced responses by face inversion.

The face is one of the most important visual stimuli in human life, and inverted faces are known to elicit different brain responses than upright faces. This study analyzed steady-state visual-evoked magnetic fields (SSVEFs) in eleven healthy participants when they viewed upright and inverted geometrical faces presented at 6 Hz. Steady-state visual-evoked responses are useful measurements and have the advantages of robustness and a high signal-to-noise ratio. Spectrum analysis revealed clear responses to both upright and inverted faces at the fundamental stimulation frequency (6 Hz) and harmonics, i.e. SSVEFs. No significant difference was observed in the SSVEF amplitude at 6 Hz between upright and inverted faces, which was different from the transient visual-evoked response, N170. On the other hand, SSVEFs were delayed with the inverted face in the right temporal area, which was similar to N170 and the results of previous steady-state visual-evoked potentials studies. These results suggest that different mechanisms underlie the larger amplitude and delayed latency observed with face inversion, though further studies are needed to fully elucidate these mechanisms. Our study revealed that SSVEFs, which have practical advantages for measurements, could provide novel findings in human face processing.