Livingstone was born in Virginia, started college at Duke University and then transferred to Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she received her undergraduate degree in 1972.
[10] Her research provides insight into how mammals perceive form and movement,[11][12] the physiological details leading to dyslexia,[13] and the region of the brain used to identify faces.
[16][17] In response, a group of over 250 scientists sent a letter to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to request retraction of the article.
[16][17] In 2023, members of the Animal Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School and the Wild Mind Labs at the University of St. Andrews wrote a letter, signed by over 380 researchers, asking the National Institute of Health to stop funding Livingstone's research with monkeys.
[22] In 2024 she shared the Rosenstiel Award with Winrich Freiwald, Nancy Kanwisher, and Doris Tsao, for their work on how the brains of humans and other primates respond to faces.