A well-established neuroimaging literature predicts a right-sided asymmetry in the activation of face-devoted areas such as the fusiform gyrus (FG) and its resulting M/N170 response during face processing. However, the face-related response sometimes appears to be bihemispheric. A few studies have argued that bilaterality depended on the sex composition of the sample. To shed light on this matter, two meta-analyses were conducted starting from a large initial database of 250 ERP/MEG peer-reviewed scientific articles. Paper coverage was 1985-2020. Thirty-four articles met the inclusion criteria of a sufficiently large and balanced sample size with strictly right-handed and healthy participants aged 18-35 and N170 measurements in response to neutral front view faces at left and right occipito/temporal sites. The data of 817 male (n = 414) and female (n = 403) healthy adults were subjected to repeated measures analyses of variance. The results of statistical analyses from the data of 17 independent studies (from Asia, Europe and America) seem to robustly indicate the presence of a sex difference in the way the two cerebral hemispheres process facial information in humans, with a marked right-sided asymmetry of the bioelectrical activity in males and a bilateral or left-sided activity in females.

中文翻译：

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人脸半球加工过程中的性二态性：817例病例的荟萃分析。

完善的神经影像学文献预测，在面部处理过程中，诸如梭状回（FG）等面部专用区域的激活及其产生的M / N170响应会出现右侧不对称现象。但是，与面部有关的反应有时似乎是双半球的。一些研究认为，双边关系取决于样本的性别组成。为了阐明这一问题，从包含250篇ERP / MEG经同行评审的科学文章的大型初始数据库开始，进行了两项荟萃分析。论文覆盖率为1985-2020年。34篇文章符合纳入标准，即样本量足够大且平衡，年龄在18-35岁之间的右手和健康参与者均严格接受测量，并且对左枕和右枕/颞部中立的正视面部进行了N170测量。对817名男性（n = 414）和女性（n = 403）健康成年人的数据进行了方差的重复测量分析。来自17个独立研究（来自亚洲，欧洲和美国）的数据的统计分析结果似乎有力地表明，两个大脑半球处理人的面部信息的方式存在性别差异，并且存在明显的右侧不对称性男性的生物电活动和女性的双边或左侧活动。