Is right hemisphere specialization for face discrimination specific to humans?

Patterns of neural activation during face recognition were investigated in sheep by quantifying altered c-fos mRNA expression in situations where face s (sheep vs. human) can (faces upright) and cannot (faces inverted) be disc riminated. Exposure to upright faces selectively increased expression signi ficantly more in the right inferior temporal cortex than in the left, and a ctive choice between upright faces additionally increased expression bilate rally in basal amygdala and hippocampus (CA1-4). Exposure to inverted faces did not lead to enhanced activation in the right inferior temporal cortex, amygdala or hippocampus but instead increased expression levels in the dia gonal band of Broca, parietal and cingulate cortices. These results show th at discrimination of upright faces in sheep preferentially engages the righ t temporal cortex, as it does in humans, and that performance of active cho ices between such faces may additionally involve the basal amygdala and hip pocampus.