**3. The differences in face processing between Western and eastern participants**

Although the neural recycling hypothesis points out the possible relationships between word and face processing in VWFA, it does not postulate whether different script systems affect face processing in the same way, and if not, how the script system influences face processing. There are two possible theoretical hypotheses, the language specificity hypothesis, and cross-language universality hypothesis, to explain the impact of literacy on face processing.

The first hypothesis holds that neural computations are functionally independent underlying languages of different script systems. Evidence for the language specificity hypothesis comes from Siok et al.'s study [29], showing that the left medial frontal gyrus is crucial and unique to normal Chinese reading, and its dysfunction is only linked with reading difficulty in Chinese, but not other languages. Similarly, prior studies have consistently found declined activation in left temporoparietal regions, which is a biological signature of English reading difficulty in a homophone judgment task [30, 31]. Moreover, Xu et al., using a passive reading task, found that distinct activity patterns in the middle occipital cortices, fusiform gyri, and lateral temporal, temporoparietal, and prefrontal cortices were observed between Chinese and English [32]. In contrast, the second hypothesis deems that VWFA consistently and equally responds to words of different script systems. For instance, Feng et al. measured the fMRI responses to words, faces, and houses among Chinese and French 10-year-old children, half of them with reading difficulties. The results did not reveal any effects of language on the peak locations and activations in the bilateral FFA [33].

These findings mainly focused on whether there are differences in neural substrates underlying different script systems. It remains unclear whether and how these different script systems affect face processing. However, behavioral, eye-tracking, and neural evidence of face processing from cross-cultural studies provided insights into this issue.
