Divergence of Functional Brain Network Configurations in Same and Other Race Face Recognition

The "Other-Race Effect" (ORE) refers to the enhanced memory individuals have for faces within their own racial group compared to other races. This effect is attributed to limited exposure to different races and social-motivational factors affecting face processing. While past research has explored this effect through neuroimaging methods, the precise neural mechanisms that underlie the ORE remain a subject of ongoing investigation. Previous studies have largely adopted a modular perspective, concentrating on the differential activation of face-processing regions when comparing same-race and other-race facial recognition behaviors. However, given the multifaceted nature of the ORE, an exclusive focus on specialized regions may miss the pivotal role played by non-face-preferential brain areas in modulating this phenomenon. In the present study, we take a broader data-driven perspective using graph-theoretical techniques to investigate whole-brain network disparities in same- and other-race facial recognition. Our findings reveal a substantial impact of race on functional connectivity during face memorization. While other-race face recognition benefitted from higher local efficiency during encoding, reduced local efficiency was advantageous for memorization of same-race faces. Notably, successful other-race recognition was disproportionately supported by locally efficient processing in regions among the ventral and dorsal attention networks.