Subordinate-level Object Recognition 1 Running Head: Face and Object Recognition Does Visual Subordinate-level Categorization Engage the Functionally-deened Fusiform Face Area? Subordinate-level Object Recognition 2

Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare brain activation associated with basic-level (e.g., BIRD) and subordinate-level (e.g., EAGLE) processing for both visual and semantic judgments. We localized the putative face area for eleven subjects, who also performed visual matching judgments for pictures and aurally-presented words. The middle fusiform and occipital gyri were recruited for subordinate minus basic visual judgments, re ecting additional perceptual processing. When the face area was localized individually for each subject, analyses in the middle fusiform gyri revealed that subordinate-level processing activated the individual's face area. We propose that what is unique about the way faces engage this region is the focal spatial distribution of the activation rather than the recruitment of the face area per se. Eight subjects also performed semantic judgments on aurally-presented basicand subordinate-level words. The parahippocampal gyri were more activated for subordinate-level than basic-level semantic judgments. Finally, the left posterior inferior temporal gyrus was activated for subordinate-level judgments, both visual and semantic, as well as during passive viewing of faces. Subordinate-Level Object Recognition 3 Does visual subordinate-level categorization engage the functionally-de ned fusiform face area?