-
Quarterly Journal of Experimental... Feb 2017Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a cognitive condition characterized by a severe deficit in face recognition. Few investigations have examined whether impairments at...
Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a cognitive condition characterized by a severe deficit in face recognition. Few investigations have examined whether impairments at the early stages of processing may underpin the condition, and it is also unknown whether DP is simply the "bottom end" of the typical face-processing spectrum. To address these issues, we monitored the eye-movements of DPs, typical perceivers, and "super recognizers" (SRs) while they viewed a set of static images displaying people engaged in naturalistic social scenarios. Three key findings emerged: (a) Individuals with more severe prosopagnosia spent less time examining the internal facial region, (b) as observed in acquired prosopagnosia, some DPs spent less time examining the eyes and more time examining the mouth than controls, and (c) SRs spent more time examining the nose-a measure that also correlated with face recognition ability in controls. These findings support previous suggestions that DP is a heterogeneous condition, but suggest that at least the most severe cases represent a group of individuals that qualitatively differ from the typical population. While SRs seem to merely be those at the "top end" of normal, this work identifies the nose as a critical region for successful face recognition.
Topics: Aged; Analysis of Variance; Case-Control Studies; Eye Movements; Face; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Photic Stimulation; Prosopagnosia; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 26933872
DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2016.1161059 -
The Tohoku Journal of Experimental... Aug 1990Of the higher disorders associated with posterior cerebral lesions two have received considerable attention in the past decade. These are prosopagnosia, the so-called... (Review)
Review
Of the higher disorders associated with posterior cerebral lesions two have received considerable attention in the past decade. These are prosopagnosia, the so-called agnosia for faces, and alexia without agraphia. Major aspects of these disorders are reviewed briefly.
Topics: Agnosia; Animals; Association; Brain Damage, Chronic; Cerebral Arteries; Corpus Callosum; Discrimination, Psychological; Dyslexia, Acquired; Face; Functional Laterality; Humans; Migraine Disorders; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Temporal Lobe; Visual Cortex
PubMed: 2082494
DOI: 10.1620/tjem.161.supplement_121 -
Neuropsychologia Dec 2021Numerous neurological, developmental, and psychiatric conditions demonstrate impaired face recognition, which can be socially debilitating. These impairments can be...
Numerous neurological, developmental, and psychiatric conditions demonstrate impaired face recognition, which can be socially debilitating. These impairments can be caused by either deficient face perception or face memory mechanisms. Though there are well-validated, sensitive measures of face memory impairments, it currently remains unclear which assessments best measure face perception impairments. A sensitive, validated face perception measure could help with diagnosing causes of face recognition deficits and be useful in characterizing individual differences in unimpaired populations. Here, we compared the computerized Benton Face Recognition Test (BFRT-c) and Cambridge Face Perception Test (CFPT) in their ability to differentiate developmental prosopagnosics (DPs, N = 30) and age-matched controls (N = 30). Participants completed the BFRT-c, CFPT, and two additional face perception assessments: the University of Southern California Face Perception Test (USCFPT) and a novel same/different face matching test (SDFMT). Participants were also evaluated on objective and subjective face recognition tasks including the Cambridge Face Memory Test, famous faces test, and Prosopagnosia Index-20. We performed a logistic regression with the perception tests predicting DP vs. control group membership and used multiple linear regressions to predict continuous objective and subjective face recognition memory. Our results show that the BFRT-c performed as well as, if not better than, the CFPT, and that both tests clearly outperformed the USCFPT and SDFMT. Further, exploratory analyses revealed that face lighting-change conditions better predicted DP group membership and face recognition abilities than viewpoint-change conditions. Together, these results support the combined use of the BFRT-c and CFPT to best assess face perception impairments.
Topics: Facial Recognition; Head; Humans; Memory Disorders; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Prosopagnosia; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 34673046
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108067 -
Quarterly Journal of Experimental... May 2018
PubMed: 28513322
DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2017.1310911 -
Brain Sciences Feb 2023Understanding how the human brain recognizes faces is a primary scientific goal in cognitive neuroscience. Given the limitations of the monkey model of human face... (Review)
Review
Understanding how the human brain recognizes faces is a primary scientific goal in cognitive neuroscience. Given the limitations of the monkey model of human face recognition, a key approach in this endeavor is the recording of electrophysiological activity with electrodes implanted inside the brain of human epileptic patients. However, this approach faces a number of challenges that must be overcome for meaningful scientific knowledge to emerge. Here we synthesize a 10 year research program combining the recording of intracerebral activity (StereoElectroEncephaloGraphy, SEEG) in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex (VOTC) of large samples of participants and fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS), to objectively define, quantify, and characterize the neural basis of human face recognition. These large-scale studies reconcile the wide distribution of neural face recognition activity with its (right) hemispheric and regional specialization and extend face-selectivity to anterior regions of the VOTC, including the ventral anterior temporal lobe (VATL) typically affected by magnetic susceptibility artifacts in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Clear spatial dissociations in category-selectivity between faces and other meaningful stimuli such as landmarks (houses, medial VOTC regions) or written words (left lateralized VOTC) are found, confirming and extending neuroimaging observations while supporting the validity of the clinical population tested to inform about normal brain function. The recognition of face identity - arguably the ultimate form of recognition for the human brain - beyond mere differences in physical features is essentially supported by selective populations of neurons in the right inferior occipital gyrus and the lateral portion of the middle and anterior fusiform gyrus. In addition, low-frequency and high-frequency broadband iEEG signals of face recognition appear to be largely concordant in the human association cortex. We conclude by outlining the challenges of this research program to understand the neural basis of human face recognition in the next 10 years.
PubMed: 36831897
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020354 -
Brain Communications 2019Developmental prosopagnosia is a disorder characterized by profound and lifelong difficulties with face recognition in the absence of sensory or intellectual deficits or...
Developmental prosopagnosia is a disorder characterized by profound and lifelong difficulties with face recognition in the absence of sensory or intellectual deficits or known brain injury. While there has been a surge in research on developmental prosopagnosia over the last decade and a half, the cognitive mechanisms behind the disorder and its neural underpinnings remain elusive. Most recently it has been proposed that developmental prosopagnosia may be a manifestation of widespread disturbance in neural migration which affects both face responsive brain regions as well as other category-sensitive visual areas. We present a combined behavioural and functional MRI study of face, object and word processing in a group of developmental prosopagnosics ( = 15). We show that developmental prosopagnosia is associated with reduced activation of core ventral face areas during perception of faces. The reductions were bilateral but tended to be more pronounced in the left hemisphere. As the first study to address category selectivity for word processing in developmental prosopagnosia, we do not, however, find evidence for reduced activation of the visual word form area during perception of orthographic material. We also find no evidence for reduced activation of the lateral occipital complex during perception of objects. These imaging findings correspond well with the behavioural performance of the developmental prosopagnosics, who show severe impairment for faces but normal reading and recognition of line drawings. Our findings suggest that a general deficit in neural migration across ventral occipito-temporal cortex is not a viable explanation for developmental prosopagnosia. The finding of left hemisphere involvement in our group of developmental prosopagnosics was at first surprising. However, a closer look at existing studies shows similar, but hitherto undiscussed, findings. These left hemisphere abnormalities seen in developmental prosopagnosia contrasts with lesion and imaging studies suggesting primarily right hemisphere involvement in acquired prosopagnosia, and this may reflect that the left hemisphere is important for the development of a normal face recognition network.
PubMed: 32954273
DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcz034 -
Revista de Neurologia Jul 2020Congenital amusia is a specific condition in which the individual is unable to recognise tonal variations in a piece of musical. This cannot be explained by a previous... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Congenital amusia is a specific condition in which the individual is unable to recognise tonal variations in a piece of musical. This cannot be explained by a previous brain injury, hearing loss, cognitive deficit, socio-affective disorder or lack of environmental stimulation. The current estimated prevalence is 1.5% of the world population, with a significant genetic component among those who suffer from it. It has been claimed that certain cognitive abilities in the emotional, spatial and language fields may be affected in people with amusia.
AIM
To review the literature describing the effects on non-musical skills that may coexist in individuals with congenital amusia.
DEVELOPMENT
Several neuroimaging studies have observed morphological and functional changes in the temporal lobe, as well as in the white matter connections between the superior temporal gyrus and the inferior frontal gyrus. From these affected regions, there may be a deficit in cognitive skills related to adjacent areas.
CONCLUSIONS
Congenital amusia has been associated with poor performance in different non-musical cognitive skills, such as visuospatial processing, language processing, reading difficulties, face recognition and emotional aspects.
Topics: Affective Symptoms; Auditory Perceptual Disorders; Dyslexia; Female; Humans; Language Development Disorders; Male; Neural Pathways; Prosopagnosia; Psychomotor Performance; Spatial Navigation; Temporal Lobe; White Matter
PubMed: 32627163
DOI: 10.33588/rn.7102.2020066 -
Behavior Research Methods Feb 2022We present an expanded version of a widely used measure of unfamiliar face matching ability, the Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). The GFMT2 is created using the same...
We present an expanded version of a widely used measure of unfamiliar face matching ability, the Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). The GFMT2 is created using the same source database as the original test but makes five key improvements. First, the test items include variation in head angle, pose, expression and subject-to-camera distance, making the new test more difficult and more representative of challenges in everyday face identification tasks. Second, short and long versions of the test each contain two forms that are calibrated to be of equal difficulty, allowing repeat tests to be performed to examine effects of training interventions. Third, the short-form tests contain no repeating face identities, thereby removing any confounding effects of familiarity that may have been present in the original test. Fourth, separate short versions are created to target exceptionally high performing or exceptionally low performing individuals using established psychometric principles. Fifth, all tests are implemented in an executable program, allowing them to be administered automatically. All tests are available free for scientific use via www.gfmt2.org .
Topics: Face; Facial Recognition; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Prosopagnosia; Psychometrics; Recognition, Psychology
PubMed: 34159512
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01638-x -
Brain : a Journal of Neurology Dec 2019Damage to the right fusiform face area can disrupt the ability to recognize faces, a classic example of how damage to a specialized brain region can disrupt a...
Damage to the right fusiform face area can disrupt the ability to recognize faces, a classic example of how damage to a specialized brain region can disrupt a specialized brain function. However, similar symptoms can arise from damage to other brain regions, and face recognition is now thought to depend on a distributed brain network. The extent of this network and which regions are critical for facial recognition remains unclear. Here, we derive this network empirically based on lesion locations causing clinically significant impairments in facial recognition. Cases of acquired prosopagnosia were identified through a systematic literature search and lesion locations were mapped to a common brain atlas. The network of brain regions connected to each lesion location was identified using resting state functional connectivity from healthy participants (n = 1000), a technique termed lesion network mapping. Lesion networks were overlapped to identify connections common to lesions causing prosopagnosia. Reproducibility was assessed using split-half replication. Specificity was assessed through comparison with non-specific control lesions (n = 135) and with control lesions associated with symptoms other than prosopagnosia (n = 155). Finally, we tested whether our facial recognition network derived from clinically evident cases of prosopagnosia could predict subclinical facial agnosia in an independent lesion cohort (n = 31). Our systematic literature search identified 44 lesions causing prosopagnosia, only 29 of which intersected the right fusiform face area. However, all 44 lesion locations fell within a single brain network defined by connectivity to the right fusiform face area. Less consistent connectivity was found to other face-selective regions. Surprisingly, all 44 lesion locations were also functionally connected, through negative correlation, with regions in the left frontal cortex. This connectivity pattern was highly reproducible and specific to lesions causing prosopagnosia. Positive connectivity to the right fusiform face area and negative connectivity to left frontal regions were independent predictors of prosopagnosia and predicted subclinical facial agnosia in an independent lesion cohort. We conclude that lesions causing prosopagnosia localize to a single functionally connected brain network defined by connectivity to the right fusiform face area and to left frontal regions. Implications of these findings for models of facial recognition deficits are discussed.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Nerve Net; Prosopagnosia; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31740940
DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz332 -
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Aug 2004A sample of everyday difficulties was collected, encompassing errors and unusual experiences participants had encountered when recognising their own faces in everyday...
INTRODUCTION
A sample of everyday difficulties was collected, encompassing errors and unusual experiences participants had encountered when recognising their own faces in everyday life, with the aim of characterising similarities and differences between the reported difficulties and the major forms of self-recognition impairments described in the neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric literatures (prosopagnosia, mirrored-self misidentification, and Capgras delusion).
METHOD
A total of 70 participants recalled experiences from memory. Incidents (n = 51) were recorded on questionnaire sheets that were filled out at home. Reports of three categories of incidents were analysed: misidentifications (the participant misidentified her/his own face as being that of another familiar person; n = 5), recognition failures (the participant judged that his/her own face was that of an unfamiliar person; n = 20) and perception of unusual aspects (the participant confidently recognised his/her own face but found that the seen face did not fit well the representation she/he had of his/her own face; n = 26).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In the reported incidents, experiences showing some similarities to those of patients with prosopagnosia, Capgras delusion or mirrored-self misidentification were noted. However, across the whole study, no incident involved a failure of reality testing; in contrast to pathological forms of error, in all of the reported incidents from our study the participant realised that a mistake had been made. The importance of decision processes in pathological forms of own-face misrecognition is discussed.
PubMed: 16571580
DOI: 10.1080/13546800344000075