Differential responses in the fusiform region to same-race and other-race faces

Many studies have shown that people remember faces of their own race better than faces of other races. We investigated the neural substrates of same-r ace memory superiority using functional MRI (fMRI). European-American (EA) and African-American (AA) males underwent fMRI while they viewed photograph s of AA males, EA males and objects under intentional encoding conditions. Recognition memory was superior for same-race versus other-race faces. Indi vidually defined areas in the fusiform region that responded preferentially to faces had greater response to same-race versus other-race faces. Across both groups, memory differences between same-race and other-race faces cor related with activation in left fusiform cortex and right parahippocampal a nd hippocampal areas. These results suggest that differential activation in fusiform regions contributes to same-race memory superiority.