From Looking at Faces to Understanding AutismThis event was digitally recorded and is available for viewing on the Caltech Theater site. Many past Watson Lectures are available for viewing online on the Caltech Theater site, and are available for purchase: DVD Order Form (PDF)
Ralph Adolphs is the Bren Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Professor of Biology at Caltech.
We look at faces all the time: some we trust, some we find attractive, and of some we are afraid. What happens in the brain when we make such judgments, and how does this influence our social behavior? Dr. Adophs's laboratory has used brain imaging, direct recordings from the brain in surgical patients, and studies of clinical populations in order to understand face processing. We now know that specific regions of the brain are required to recognize emotions, that aspects of face perception are fast and automatic, and that people with autism look at faces in unusual ways. More provocative are suggestions that we can tell whether somebody is lying from their face, and that the mere facial appearance of politicians influences whether they will get elected.
