For your eyes only: Neurocognitive mechanisms of eye gaze perception
Eyes are an important social signal to humans, as changes in gaze direction reflect numerous social and cognitive processes such as visual attention, intentions and emotions. Numerous studies have demonstrated that certain regions in the human brain have specialized in processing gaze information. Such a high level of automation guarantees that we can continuously and effortlessly update and maintain information about others’ gaze direction and intentions, which enables us to predict their future actions. In this review I discuss recent cognitive and neurophysiological findings on the neural mechanisms of gaze perception. I review the neural basis of different subcomponents of the gaze perception processes based on both intracranial recordings in monkeys as well as functional imaging and behavioral studies in humans. I also propose a model of the neural system for gaze perception, and discuss its implications for the distributed model of face perception in humans.