This study investigates the distinct neural processing of faces and emotional expressions, particularly fear, in the human brain. Using event-related fMRI, the researchers found that high spatial frequency (HSF) and low spatial frequency (LSF) information are processed through separate neural pathways. HSF information is primarily processed in the ventral visual stream, including the fusiform cortex, which is crucial for face recognition. In contrast, LSF information is processed through subcortical pathways, including the amygdala, which is critical for detecting fear. The amygdala showed stronger responses to LSF fearful faces compared to HSF faces, suggesting that subcortical pathways provide coarse, rapid fear-related inputs to the amygdala. The study also found that LSF information is important for emotional processing, particularly for the amygdala and subcortical pathways. The amygdala's response to fear was selectively driven by LSF cues, while HSF cues were more effective in activating fusiform cortex. This suggests that the amygdala and cortical systems may process different subsets of visual information. The findings support the idea that HSF information is important for detailed visual analysis, while LSF information is crucial for detecting emotional cues, especially fear. The study also found that repetition-priming effects were more pronounced for HSF faces, indicating that HSF information is more effective in encoding facial identity. In contrast, LSF faces were less effective in this regard. The results highlight the distinct roles of HSF and LSF in facial and emotional processing, with HSF being important for detailed recognition and LSF for emotional detection. These findings have implications for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying face and emotional processing in the human brain.This study investigates the distinct neural processing of faces and emotional expressions, particularly fear, in the human brain. Using event-related fMRI, the researchers found that high spatial frequency (HSF) and low spatial frequency (LSF) information are processed through separate neural pathways. HSF information is primarily processed in the ventral visual stream, including the fusiform cortex, which is crucial for face recognition. In contrast, LSF information is processed through subcortical pathways, including the amygdala, which is critical for detecting fear. The amygdala showed stronger responses to LSF fearful faces compared to HSF faces, suggesting that subcortical pathways provide coarse, rapid fear-related inputs to the amygdala. The study also found that LSF information is important for emotional processing, particularly for the amygdala and subcortical pathways. The amygdala's response to fear was selectively driven by LSF cues, while HSF cues were more effective in activating fusiform cortex. This suggests that the amygdala and cortical systems may process different subsets of visual information. The findings support the idea that HSF information is important for detailed visual analysis, while LSF information is crucial for detecting emotional cues, especially fear. The study also found that repetition-priming effects were more pronounced for HSF faces, indicating that HSF information is more effective in encoding facial identity. In contrast, LSF faces were less effective in this regard. The results highlight the distinct roles of HSF and LSF in facial and emotional processing, with HSF being important for detailed recognition and LSF for emotional detection. These findings have implications for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying face and emotional processing in the human brain.