{{Short description|Cognitive disorder of face perception}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=6}} {{Infobox medical condition (new) | synonyms = Face blindness | pronounce = {{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|r|ɒ|s|ə|p|æ|ɡ|ˈ|n|oʊ|z|i|ə}}<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/prosopagnosia | title = Prosopagnosia | work = collinsdictionary.com }}</ref> | name = | image = Fusiform face area face recognition.jpg | image_size = 220px | alt = | caption = The fusiform face area, the part of the brain associated with facial recognition | field = Neurology, neuropsychology | symptoms = | complications = | onset = | causes = | diagnosis = | treatment = | medication = | prognosis = | frequency = 2–2.5%<ref>{{cite web | title=How Common is Face Blindness? | Harvard Medical School | date=24 February 2023 | url=https://hms.harvard.edu/news/how-common-face-blindness }}</ref> }}
'''Prosopagnosia''',<ref>(from Greek ''prósōpon'', meaning "face", and ''agnōsía'', meaning "non-knowledge"), {{OEtymD|Prosopagnosia}}</ref> also known as '''face blindness''',<ref name="faceblindness">{{cite magazine|url=http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/blind.html|title=Face Blind | vauthors = Davis J |magazine=Wired|date=November 2006|access-date=31 December 2014}} ("[Bill] Choisser had even begun to [https://www.choisser.com/faceblind/ popularize] a name for the condition: face blindness.")</ref> is a cognitive disorder of face perception in which the ability to recognize familiar faces, including one's own face (self-recognition), is impaired, while other aspects of visual processing (e.g., object discrimination) and intellectual functioning (e.g., decision-making) remain intact, though some people experience difficulty tracking facial changes or maintaining social continuity over repeated encounters. The term originally referred to a condition following acute brain damage (acquired prosopagnosia), but a congenital or developmental form of the disorder also exists, with a prevalence of 2–2.5%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Common is Face Blindness? {{!}} Newswise |url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/how-common-is-face-blindness |access-date=2025-11-16 |website=www.newswise.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Gruter 2008">{{cite journal | vauthors = Grüter T, Grüter M, Carbon CC | title = Neural and genetic foundations of face recognition and prosopagnosia | journal = Journal of Neuropsychology | volume = 2 | issue = 1 | pages = 79–97 | date = March 2008 | pmid = 19334306 | doi = 10.1348/174866407X231001 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.571.9472 }}</ref>
Prosopagnosia should not be confused with prosopometamorphopsia, a disorder characterized by altered perceptions of faces.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prosopometamorphopsia |url=https://www.webmd.com/brain/prosopometamorphopsia |access-date=2025-11-16 |website=WebMD |language=en}}</ref>
==Etymology== ''Prosopagnosia'' is a medical Latin term adopted in 1948 into English from the German {{Lang|de|Prosopagnosie}}. It is derived from the Greek {{Lang|grc-latn|prosopon}}, {{Gloss|face}}, and {{Lang|grc-latn|agnosia}}, {{Gloss|ignorance}}. The latter is formed from {{Lang|grc-latn|a-}}, {{Gloss|not}}, and {{Lang|grc-latn|gnōstos}}, {{Gloss|(to be) known}}.<ref name="etym">{{cite web |author=Harper, Douglas R. |title=prosopagnosia (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/prosopagnosia |access-date=11 April 2025 |website=etymonline.com}}</ref>
==Physiology== The brain area usually associated with prosopagnosia is the fusiform gyrus,<ref name="cnn2407">{{cite web |title=Face blindness not just skin deep |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/02/02/face.blindness/index.html |access-date=19 November 2015 |work=CNN}}</ref> which activates specifically in response to faces. The functionality of the fusiform gyrus allows most people to recognize faces in more detail than they do similarly complex inanimate objects. For those with prosopagnosia, the method for recognizing faces depends on the less sensitive object-recognition system. The right hemisphere fusiform gyrus is more often involved in familiar face recognition than the left. It remains unclear whether the fusiform gyrus is specific for the recognition of human faces or if it is also involved in highly trained visual stimuli. Under normal conditions, prosopagnosic patients are able to recognize facial expressions and emotions.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=de Gelder B, Frissen I, Barton J, Hadjikhani N |date=October 2003 |title=A modulatory role for facial expressions in prosopagnosia |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=100 |issue=22 |pages=13105–13110 |bibcode=2003PNAS..10013105D |doi=10.1073/pnas.1735530100 |pmc=240752 |pmid=14561892 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite journal |vauthors=Tsantani M, Gray KL, Cook R |date=September 2022 |title=New evidence of impaired expression recognition in developmental prosopagnosia |url=https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/105941/9/1-s2.0-S0010945222001538-main.pdf |journal=Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior |volume=154 |pages=15–26 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2022.05.008 |pmid=35728295 |s2cid=249159789}}</ref>
''Acquired prosopagnosia'' results from occipital-temporal lobe damage and is most often found in adults. It is subdivided into apperceptive and associative prosopagnosia.{{Medical citation needed|date=January 2026}}
''Degenerative prosopagnosia'' is a form of acquired prosopagnosia that stems from a degenerative disease such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or posterior cortical atrophy.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Prosopagnosia: face blindness and its association with neurological disorders|journal=Brain Communications|date=2024|issn=2632-1297|pmc=10901275|pmid=38419734|article-number=fcae002|volume=6|issue=1|doi=10.1093/braincomms/fcae002|first1=Kennedy A.|last1=Josephs|first2=Keith A.|last2=Josephs}}</ref>
In ''congenital prosopagnosia'', a person never adequately develops the ability to recognize faces, and areas such as the right fusiform gyrus are underdeveloped, likely due to a genetic predisposition.<ref name="Behrmann 2005">{{cite journal |vauthors=Behrmann M, Avidan G |date=April 2005 |title=Congenital prosopagnosia: face-blind from birth |journal=Trends in Cognitive Sciences |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=180–187 |citeseerx=10.1.1.379.4935 |doi=10.1016/j.tics.2005.02.011 |pmid=15808500 |s2cid=12029388}}</ref> Prosopagnosia as a whole tends to last throughout one's life. This is especially true of congenital prosopagnosia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Face Blindness (Prosopagnosia) |url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23412-prosopagnosia-face-blindness |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820193005/https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23412-prosopagnosia-face-blindness |archive-date=2025-08-20 |access-date=2025-10-24 |website=Cleveland Clinic |language=en}}</ref>
==Treatment== There are no widely accepted treatments.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |vauthors=DeGutis JM, Chiu C, Grosso ME, Cohan S |date=2014-08-05 |title=Face processing improvements in prosopagnosia: successes and failures over the last 50 years |journal=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |volume=8 |page=561 |doi=10.3389/fnhum.2014.00561 |pmc=4122168 |pmid=25140137 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Though there have been several attempts at remediation, no therapies have demonstrated lasting improvements across a group of prosopagnosics. Prosopagnosics often learn to use "piecemeal" or "feature-by-feature" recognition strategies. This may involve secondary clues such as clothing, gait, hair color, skin color, body shape, and voice.<ref>https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/doi/10.1093/braincomms/fcae002/7511329</ref>
==Implications== thumb|upright|People with prosopagnosia often rely on others' clothing, skin color, voice, and so on, to recognize someone. Their ability to see facial features is usually not blurred or distorted. Because the face seems to function as an important identifying feature in memory, it can be difficult for prosopagnosics to keep track of information about people and socialize normally.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Samuelson |first=Kate |date=14 July 2017 |title=Why You Can't Recognize Other People's Faces |url=https://time.com/4838661/prosopagnosia-face-blindness/ |magazine=Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yardley |first1=Lucy |last2=McDermott |first2=Lisa |last3=Pisarski |first3=Stephanie |last4=Duchaine |first4=Brad |last5=Nakayama |first5=Ken |date=2008-11-01 |title=Psychosocial consequences of developmental prosopagnosia: A problem of recognition |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399908001578 |journal=Journal of Psychosomatic Research |volume=65 |issue=5 |pages=445–451 |doi=10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.03.013 |pmid=18940375 |issn=0022-3999|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Prosopagnosia leads to social challenges, as inability to recognize faces can be misinterpreted as lack of interest in others. Using visual or auditory cues in place of facial recognition is unreliable and tiring. The condition can also be emotionally strenuous to mask, increasing the likelihood of social anxiety and depression.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Samuelson |first=Kate |date=2017-07-14 |title=Why You Can't Recognize Other People's Faces |url=https://time.com/4838661/prosopagnosia-face-blindness/ |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kleeman |first=Jeff |title=What is Prosopagnosia? Understanding Face Blindness and Its Impact |url=http://newamerica.org/the-thread/navigating-life-with-prosopagnosia-face-blindness/ |access-date=2026-02-04 |website=New America |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-22 |title=Coping Strategies - Face Blind UK |url=https://faceblind.org.uk/living/strategies/ |access-date=2026-02-04 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Prosopagnosia has also been associated with other disorders associated with nearby brain areas: left hemianopsia (loss of vision from left side of space, associated with damage to the right occipital lobe), achromatopsia (a deficit in color perception often associated with unilateral or bilateral lesions in the temporo-occipital junction), and topographical disorientation (a loss of environmental familiarity and difficulties in using landmarks, associated with lesions in the posterior part of the parahippocampal gyrus and anterior part of the lingual gyrus of the right hemisphere).<ref name="Mayer 2007">{{cite book | vauthors = Mayer E, Rossion B | chapter = Prosopagnosia | edition = 1st | veditors = Godefroy O, Bogousslavsky J | title = The Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology of Stroke | pages = 315–334 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2007 | location = New York | chapter-url = http://www.nefy.ucl.ac.be/facecatlab/PDF/Mayer-Rossion07.pdf | doi = 10.1017/CBO9780511544880.017 | isbn = 978-0-521-84261-7 | oclc = 468190971 | access-date = 19 December 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130701194802/http://www.nefy.ucl.ac.be/facecatlab/PDF/Mayer-Rossion07.pdf | archive-date = 1 July 2013 }}</ref>
==Types== === Apperceptive === ''Apperceptive prosopagnosia'' has typically been used to describe cases of acquired prosopagnosia with some of the earliest processes in the face perception system. The brain areas thought to play a critical role in apperceptive prosopagnosia are right occipital temporal regions.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" /> People with this disorder cannot make any sense of faces and are unable to make same–different judgments when presented with pictures of different faces. They cannot recognize familiar or unfamiliar faces. In addition, apperceptive sub-types of prosopagnosia struggle to recognize facial emotion.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Biotti F, Cook R | title = Impaired perception of facial emotion in developmental prosopagnosia | journal = Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior | volume = 81 | pages = 126–136 | date = August 2016 | pmid = 27208814 | doi = 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.04.008 | s2cid = 35052467 | url = https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/21294/1/Biotti%20%26%20Cook%20%282016%29%20DP%20emotion.pdf }}</ref> But some can recognize people by non-face clues, such as clothing, hairstyle, skin color, or voice.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Barton JJ, Cherkasova MV, Press DZ, Intriligator JM, O'Connor M | title = Perceptual functions in prosopagnosia | journal = Perception | volume = 33 | issue = 8 | pages = 939–956 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15521693 | doi = 10.1068/p5243 | s2cid = 25242447 }}</ref> Apperceptive prosopagnosia is believed to be associated with impaired fusiform gyrus.<ref name="Kanwisher">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kanwisher N, McDermott J, Chun MM | title = The fusiform face area: a module in human extrastriate cortex specialized for face perception | journal = The Journal of Neuroscience | volume = 17 | issue = 11 | pages = 4302–4311 | date = June 1997 | pmid = 9151747 | pmc = 6573547 | doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-11-04302.1997 | doi-access = free | author-link = Nancy Kanwisher }}<!--| access-date= 2007-12-04--></ref> Experiments on the formation of new face detectors in adults on face-like stimuli (learning to distinguish cats' faces) indicate that such new detectors are formed not in the fusiform but in the lingual gyrus.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kozlovskiy S, Popova A, Shirenova S, Kiselnikov A, Chernorizov A, Danilova N |title=Formation of Face-Selective Detectors: ERP- And Dipole-Source Localization Study |journal=International Journal of Psychophysiology |date=October 2016 |volume=108 |page=68 |doi=10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.07.223 }}</ref>
=== Associative === ''Associative prosopagnosia'' has typically been used to describe cases of acquired prosopagnosia with spared perceptual processes but impaired links between early face perception processes and the semantic information humans hold about people in our memories. Right anterior temporal regions may also play a critical role in associative prosopagnosia.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" /> People with this form of the disorder may be able to tell whether photos of people's faces are the same or different and derive the age and sex from a face (suggesting they can make sense of some face information) but may not be able to subsequently identify the person or provide any information about them such as their name, occupation, or when they were last encountered.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" /> Associative prosopagnosia is thought to be due to impaired functioning of the parahippocampal gyrus.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kozlovskiy S, Vartanov A, Shirenova S, Neklyudova A |title=Brain mechanisms of the Tip-of-the-Tongue state:An electroencephalography-based source localization study |journal= Psychology in Russia: State of the Art|date=2017 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=218–230 |doi=10.11621/pir.2017.0315 |url=http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/index.php?article=6669 |issn=2074-6857|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kozlovskiy SA, Shirenova SD, Vartanov AV, Kiselnikov AA, Marakshina JA |title=Retrieval from Long-Term Memory: Dipole Sources Localization Study |journal=International Journal of Psychophysiology |date=October 2016 |volume=108 |page=98 |doi=10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.07.300}}</ref>
=== Developmental === Developmental prosopagnosia (DP), also called congenital prosopagnosia (CP), is a face-recognition deficit that is lifelong, manifesting in early childhood, and that cannot be attributed to acquired brain damage. While developmental prosopagnosia begins early in life, many people do not realize that they have DP until later in their adult lives. A number of studies have found functional deficits in DP both on the basis of EEG measures and fMRI. It has been suggested that a genetic factor is responsible for the condition. The term ''hereditary prosopagnosia'' was introduced if DP affected more than one family member, essentially accenting the possible genetic contribution of this condition. To examine this possible genetic factor, 689 randomly selected students were administered a survey in which seventeen developmental prosopagnosics were quantifiably identified. Family members of fourteen of the DP individuals were interviewed to determine prosopagnosia-like characteristics, and in all fourteen families, at least one other affected family member was found.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Grueter M, Grueter T, Bell V, Horst J, Laskowski W, Sperling K, Halligan PW, Ellis HD, Kennerknecht I | title = Hereditary prosopagnosia: the first case series | journal = Cortex; A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior | volume = 43 | issue = 6 | pages = 734–749 | date = August 2007 | pmid = 17710825 | doi = 10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70502-1 | s2cid = 4477925 }}</ref> Individuals with congenital prosopagnosia have no mental images of faces, including of close relatives, but they may be able to recognize emotions.<ref name=":2" /> Under optimal conditions, recognition of facial expressions and emotions is normally preserved, though under more challenging conditions, it may exhibit subtle deficits.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Processing of Facial Expressions in Developmental Prosopagnosia |url=https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2771032 |access-date=2024-03-07 |journal=Journal of Vision | date=2020 | volume=20 | issue=11 | page=1166 | doi=10.1167/jov.20.11.1166 | vauthors = Goyal S, Wild H, Herald S, Duchaine B, Ungerleider LG, Japee S | doi-access=free }}</ref>
In 2005, a study led by Ingo Kennerknecht showed support for the proposed congenital disorder form of prosopagnosia. This study provides epidemiological evidence that congenital prosopagnosia is a frequently occurring cognitive disorder that often runs in families. The analysis of pedigree trees formed within the study also indicates that the segregation pattern of hereditary prosopagnosia (HPA) is fully compatible with autosomal dominant inheritance. This mode of inheritance explains why HPA is so common among certain families.<ref name="Kennerknecht">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kennerknecht I, Grueter T, Welling B, Wentzek S, Horst J, Edwards S, Grueter M | title = First report of prevalence of non-syndromic hereditary prosopagnosia (HPA) | journal = American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A | volume = 140 | issue = 15 | pages = 1617–1622 | date = August 2006 | pmid = 16817175 | doi = 10.1002/ajmg.a.31343 | s2cid = 2401 }}</ref>
== Cause == Prosopagnosia can be caused by lesions in various parts of the inferior occipital areas (occipital face area), fusiform gyrus (fusiform face area), and the anterior temporal cortex.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" /> Positron emission tomography (PET) and fMRI scans have shown that, in individuals without prosopagnosia, these areas are activated specifically in response to face stimuli.<ref name="Mayer 2007" /> The inferior occipital areas are mainly involved in the early stages of face perception and the anterior temporal structures integrate specific information about the face, voice, and name of a familiar person.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" />
Acquired prosopagnosia can develop as the result of several neurologically damaging causes. Vascular causes of prosopagnosia include posterior cerebral artery infarcts (PCAIs) and hemorrhages in the infero-medial part of the temporo-occipital area. These can be either bilateral or unilateral, but if they are unilateral, they are almost always in the right hemisphere.<ref name="Mayer 2007" /> Recent studies have confirmed that right hemisphere damage to the specific temporo-occipital areas mentioned above is sufficient to induce prosopagnosia. MRI scans of patients with prosopagnosia showed lesions isolated to the right hemisphere, while fMRI scans showed that the left hemisphere was functioning normally.<ref name="Mayer 2007" /> Unilateral left temporo-occipital lesions result in object agnosia, but spare face recognition processes, although a few cases have been documented where left unilateral damage resulted in prosopagnosia. It has been suggested that these face recognition impairments caused by left hemisphere damage are due to a semantic defect blocking retrieval processes that are involved in obtaining person-specific semantic information from the visual modality.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" />
Other less common etiologies include carbon monoxide poisoning, temporal lobectomy, encephalitis, neoplasm, right temporal lobe atrophy, injury, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.<ref name="Mayer 2007" /> == Diagnosis == Few neuropsychological assessments can definitively diagnose prosopagnosia. One commonly used test is the famous faces tests, where people are asked to recognize the faces of famous people. This test is difficult to standardize. Neuropsychologists also use the Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT) to assess face recognition skills. Subjects are presented with a target face above six test faces and asked to identify which test face matches it. The images are cropped to eliminate hair and clothes, as many people with prosopagnosia use hair and clothing cues to recognize faces. For the first six items only one test face matches the target face; during the next seven, three of the test faces match but the poses are different. The BFRT's reliability was questioned when a study by Duchaine and Nakayama found that the average score for 11 self-reported prosopagnosics was within the normal range.<ref name="Duchaine 2006">{{cite journal | vauthors = Duchaine B, Nakayama K | title = The Cambridge Face Memory Test: results for neurologically intact individuals and an investigation of its validity using inverted face stimuli and prosopagnosic participants | journal = Neuropsychologia | volume = 44 | issue = 4 | pages = 576–585 | year = 2006 | pmid = 16169565 | doi = 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.07.001 | s2cid = 799553 }}</ref> One reason for this may be the way the test is designed. People with developmental prosopagnosia often use piecemeal strategies, which this test encourages by providing the target face to compare with possible matching faces. As the test increases in difficulty more and more facial features become obscured by position and lighting, leading normal control subjects to rely on the same strategy, namely looking for individual features to match with the target face.<ref name=":1" />
The test may be useful for identifying patients with apperceptive prosopagnosia, since this is mainly a matching test and they are unable to recognize both familiar and unfamiliar faces. They would be unable to pass the test. It would not be useful in diagnosing patients with associative prosopagnosia since they are able to match faces.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
The Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) was developed by Duchaine and Nakayama to diagnose people with prosopagnosia. This test initially presents individuals with three images each of six target faces. They are then presented with many three-image series that each contain one image of a target face and two distractors. Duchaine and Nakayama showed that the CFMT is more accurate and efficient than previous tests in diagnosing prosopagnosia. Their study compared the two tests: 75% of patients were diagnosed by the CFMT, while only 25% of patients were diagnosed by the BFRT. But as in the BFRT, patients are essentially being asked to match unfamiliar faces, which are seen only briefly, at the start of the test. {{As of|2006}} the test was not widely used and needed further testing before it could be considered reliable.<ref name="Duchaine 2006" />
The 20-item Prosopagnosia Index (PI20)<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Shah P, Gaule A, Sowden S, Bird G, Cook R | title = The 20-item prosopagnosia index (PI20): a self-report instrument for identifying developmental prosopagnosia | journal = Royal Society Open Science | volume = 2 | issue = 6 | article-number = 140343 | date = June 2015 | pmid = 26543567 | pmc = 4632531 | doi = 10.1098/rsos.140343 | doi-access = free| bibcode = 2015RSOS....240343S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Shah P, Sowden S, Gaule A, Catmur C, Bird G | title = The 20 item prosopagnosia index (PI20): relationship with the Glasgow face-matching test | journal = Royal Society Open Science | volume = 2 | issue = 11 | article-number = 150305 | date = November 2015 | pmid = 26715995 | pmc = 4680610 | doi = 10.1098/rsos.150305 | doi-access = free| bibcode = 2015RSOS....250305S }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gray KL, Bird G, Cook R | title = Robust associations between the 20-item prosopagnosia index and the Cambridge Face Memory Test in the general population | journal = Royal Society Open Science | volume = 4 | issue = 3 | article-number = 160923 | date = March 2017 | pmid = 28405380 | pmc = 5383837 | doi = 10.1098/rsos.160923 | doi-access = free| bibcode = 2017RSOS....460923G }}</ref> is a freely available and validated self-report questionnaire that can be used alongside computer-based face recognition tests to help identify prosopagnosics. It has been validated using objective measures of face perception ability, including famous face recognition tests and the CFMT. Less than 1.5% of the general population score above 65 on the PI20 and less than 65% on the CFMT.<ref name="ReferenceA" />
=== Comorbidities === It is very common for developmental prosopagnosia to occur with other neurodevelopmental disorders. In a study by Nanna Svart and Randi Starrfelt, 57% of participants were found to have at least one other developmental disorder, which most commonly included learning difficulties such as hyperactivity and problems with visual processing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Svart |first=Nanna |last2=Starrfelt |first2=Randi |date=2022-02-08 |title=Is It Just Face Blindness? Exploring Developmental Comorbidity in Individuals with Self-Reported Developmental Prosopagnosia |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8870183/ |journal=Brain Sciences |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=230 |doi=10.3390/brainsci12020230 |doi-access=free|issn=2076-3425 |pmc=8870183 |pmid=35203993}}</ref> Prosopagnosia is also associated with contextual memory problems, which can often be present in other conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 13, 2020 |title=More than Meets the Eye |url=https://hms.harvard.edu/news/more-meets-eye-0}}</ref>
Autism is highly comorbid with prosopagnosia; one third to half of people with autism have prosopagnosia. It is not fully understood why autism and prosopagnosia tend to co-occur, but there is a genetic overlap, both commonly resulting from mutations in the oxytocin receptor genes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kamensek |first=Todd |last2=Susilo |first2=Tirta |last3=Iarocci |first3=Grace |last4=Oruc |first4=Ipek |date= |title=Are people with autism prosopagnosic? |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37740564 |journal=Autism Research: Official Journal of the International Society for Autism Research |volume=16 |issue=11 |pages=2100–2109 |doi=10.1002/aur.3030 |issn=1939-3806 |pmid=37740564}}</ref>
A wide range of disorders are comorbid with prosopagnosia, including aphantasia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autobiographical memory problems, dyscalculia, dyslexia, object agnosia, synesthesia, and topographical disorientation/agnosia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Svart |first=Nanna |last2=Starrfelt |first2=Randi |date=2022-02-08 |title=Is It Just Face Blindness? Exploring Developmental Comorbidity in Individuals with Self-Reported Developmental Prosopagnosia |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8870183/ |journal=Brain Sciences |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=230 |doi=10.3390/brainsci12020230 |doi-access=free|issn=2076-3425 |pmc=8870183 |pmid=35203993}}</ref>
== Prognosis == Management strategies for acquired prosopagnosia, such as a person who has difficulty recognizing people's faces after a stroke, generally have a low rate of success.<ref name=":0" /> Acquired prosopagnosia sometimes spontaneously resolves.<ref name=":0" />
== History == Selective inabilities to recognize faces were documented as early as the 19th century, and included case studies by Hughlings Jackson and Jean-Martin Charcot. The condition was not named until the term ''prosopagnosia'' was used in 1947 by {{ill|Joachim Bodamer|de}}, a German neurologist. He described three cases, including a 24-year-old man who sustained a bullet wound to the head and lost his ability to recognize his friends, family, and even his own face. He was able to recognize and identify them through other sensory modalities, such as auditory, tactile, and even other visual stimuli patterns (such as gait and other physical mannerisms). Bodamer gave his paper the title {{Lang|de|Die Prosop-Agnosie}}, derived from Classical Greek {{Lang|grc|πρόσω��ον}} ({{Lang|grc-latn|prósōpon}}) {{Gloss|face}} and {{Lang|grc|αγνωσία}} (''agnōsía'') {{Gloss|non-knowledge}}. In 1996, Bill Choisser began popularizing the term ''face blindness'' for the condition;<ref name="faceblindness" /> the earliest known use of the term is in an 1899 medical paper.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Inglis D |date=May 1899|title=Moral Imbecility|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=097hAAAAMAAJ&q=face+blind&pg=PA380|journal=Transactions of the Michigan State Medical Society|language=en|volume=23|pages=377–387}}</ref>
A case of a prosopagnosia is "Dr P." in Oliver Sacks's 1985 book ''The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,'' though this is more properly considered more general visual agnosia. Although Dr P. could not recognize his wife by her face, he did recognize her voice. His recognition of pictures of his family and friends appeared to be based on highly specific features, such as his brother's square jaw and big teeth. Sacks himself had prosopagnosia, but did not know it for much of his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prosopagnosia-oliver-sacks-battle-with-face-blindness/|title=Prosopagnosia: Oliver Sacks' Battle with "Face Blindness"| vauthors = Katz N |work=CBS News |date=26 August 2010|access-date=17 October 2023}}</ref>
The study of prosopagnosia has been crucial in the development of theories of face perception. Because prosopagnosia is not a unitary disorder (i.e., different people may show different types and levels of impairment), it has been argued that face perception involves a number of stages, each of which can cause qualitative differences in impairment that different persons with prosopagnosia may exhibit.<ref name="Young 1998">{{cite book | vauthors = Young AW, Newcombe F, de Hanncombe E, Small M | chapter = Dissociable deficits after brain injury | veditors = Young AW | title = Face and Mind | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1998 | location = Oxford; New York | pages = 181–208 | doi = 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524205.003.0006 | isbn = 978-0-19-852421-2 |oclc = 38014705}}</ref>
This sort of evidence has been crucial in supporting the theory that the brain has a specific face perception system. Most researchers agree that the facial perception process is holistic rather than featural, as it is for perception of most objects. A holistic perception of the face does not involve any explicit representation of local features (i.e., eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) but considers the face as a whole.<ref name="Gainotti 2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Gainotti G, Marra C | title = Differential contribution of right and left temporo-occipital and anterior temporal lesions to face recognition disorders | journal = Frontiers in Human Neuroscience | volume = 5 | page = 55 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21687793 | pmc = 3108284 | doi = 10.3389/fnhum.2011.00055 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Richler Cheung 2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Richler JJ, Cheung OS, Gauthier I | title = Holistic processing predicts face recognition | journal = Psychological Science | volume = 22 | issue = 4 | pages = 464–471 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 21393576 | pmc = 3077885 | doi = 10.1177/0956797611401753 }}</ref><ref name="Richler 2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Richler JJ, Wong YK, Gauthier I | title = Perceptual Expertise as a Shift from Strategic Interference to Automatic Holistic Processing | journal = Current Directions in Psychological Science | volume = 20 | issue = 2 | pages = 129–134 | date = April 2011 | pmid = 21643512 | pmc = 3104280 | doi = 10.1177/0963721411402472 }}</ref>
As the prototypical face has a specific spatial layout (eyes are always above nose, and nose above mouth), it is beneficial to use a holistic approach to recognize individual/specific faces from a group of similar layouts. This holistic processing of the face is exactly what is damaged in prosopagnosics.<ref name="Gainotti 2011" /> They can recognize the specific spatial layout and characteristics of facial features but cannot process them as an entire face. This is counterintuitive to many people, as not everyone believes faces are "special" or perceived differently from other objects. Evidence suggests that other visual objects are processed in a holistic manner (e.g., dogs in dog experts), but the size of these effects is smaller and they are less consistently demonstrated than with faces. A study by Diamond and Carey found this to be true by performing tests on dog-show judges. They showed pictures of dogs to the judges and to a control group and then inverted the pictures and showed them again. The judges had greater difficulty recognizing the dogs once inverted compared to the control group; the inversion effect, the increased difficulty in recognizing a picture once inverted, was shown to be in effect. It was previously believed that the inversion effect was associated only with faces, but this study found that it may apply to any category of expertise.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Diamond R, Carey S | title = Why faces are and are not special: an effect of expertise | journal = Journal of Experimental Psychology. General | volume = 115 | issue = 2 | pages = 107–117 | date = June 1986 | pmid = 2940312 | doi = 10.1037/0096-3445.115.2.107 }}</ref>
It has also been argued that prosopagnosia is a general impairment in understanding how individual perceptual components make up the structure or gestalt of an object. Psychologist Martha Farah has been particularly associated with this view.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Farah MJ, Wilson KD, Drain M, Tanaka JN | title = What is "special" about face perception? | journal = Psychological Review | volume = 105 | issue = 3 | pages = 482–498 | date = July 1998 | pmid = 9697428 | doi = 10.1037/0033-295X.105.3.482 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Farah MJ |title=Visual agnosia |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge, Mass |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-262-56203-4 |oclc=474679492 }}</ref>
==Children== Developmental prosopagnosia can be a difficult thing for a child to both understand and cope with. Many adults with developmental prosopagnosia report that for a long time they had no idea that they had a deficit in face processing, unaware that others could distinguish people solely on facial differences.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Mindick NL |title= Understanding Facial Recognition Difficulties in Children: Prosopagnosia Management Strategies for Parents and Professionals (JKP Essentials) |publisher=Jessica Kingsley Pub |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84905-802-5 |oclc=610833680 }}</ref> Individuals with congenital prosopagnosia have no mental images of faces, even though they may be able to normally distinguish emotions.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book | vauthors = Brodsky MC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHznFWGj5KIC&pg=PA239 |title=Pediatric Neuro-Ophthalmology |date=2010-03-23 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-0-387-69069-8 |language=en}}</ref>
Prosopagnosia in children may be overlooked; they may just appear to be very shy or slightly odd due to their inability to recognize faces. They may also have a hard time making friends, as they may not recognize their classmates.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ma W, Xiao Z, Wu Y, Zhang X, Zheng D, Lei X, Han C | title = Face Blindness in Children and Current Interventions | journal = Behavioral Sciences | volume = 13 | issue = 8 | page = 676 | date = August 2023 | pmid = 37622816 | pmc = 10451769 | doi = 10.3390/bs13080676 | quote = Prosopagnosia can have lasting effects on children's ability to form and maintain social relationships (...) This can cause them to feel embarrassed or belittled, and may increase anxiety and guilt about social interactions | doi-access = free }}</ref> They often make friends with children who have very clear, distinguishing features.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-24 |title=Signs of Prosopagnosia in Children - Face Blind UK |url=https://faceblind.org.uk/diagnosis/signs-in-childhood/ |access-date=2025-11-16 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Children with prosopagnosia can have a particularly difficult time at school, as many school professionals are not well versed in prosopagnosia, if they are aware of the disorder at all.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Wilson CE, Palermo R, Schmalzl L, Brock J | title = Specificity of impaired facial identity recognition in children with suspected developmental prosopagnosia | journal = Cognitive Neuropsychology | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 30–45 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20623389 | doi = 10.1080/02643294.2010.490207 | s2cid = 35860566 }}</ref> Recently, a database of children's faces and test for child face perception has been developed, which may offer professionals a way to evaluate if a child has prosopagnosia.<ref name="Dalrymple 2013">{{cite journal | vauthors = Dalrymple KA, Gomez J, Duchaine B | title = The Dartmouth Database of Children's Faces: acquisition and validation of a new face stimulus set | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 8 | issue = 11 | article-number = e79131 | date = 14 November 2013 | pmid = 24244434 | pmc = 3828408 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0079131 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2013PLoSO...879131D }}</ref><ref name="Dalrymple 2014">{{cite journal | vauthors = Croydon A, Pimperton H, Ewing L, Duchaine BC, Pellicano E | title = The Cambridge Face Memory Test for Children (CFMT-C): a new tool for measuring face recognition skills in childhood | journal = Neuropsychologia | volume = 62 | pages = 60–67 | date = September 2014 | pmid = 25054837 | doi = 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.07.008 | s2cid = 10641959 | url = https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1460441/ }}</ref>
Children with prosopagnosia may also have difficulties following the plots of television shows and movies, as they have trouble recognizing the different characters. Many tend to gravitate to animation, in which characters have simple but well-defined characteristics, tend to wear the same clothes, may have skin of strikingly different colors, and may even belong to different species. Prosopagnosic children can even have a hard time telling family members apart, or recognizing people out of context (e.g., the teacher in a grocery store).<ref name="Schmalzl 2008">{{cite journal | vauthors = Schmalzl L, Palermo R, Green M, Brunsdon R, Coltheart M | title = Training of familiar face recognition and visual scan paths for faces in a child with congenital prosopagnosia | journal = Cognitive Neuropsychology | volume = 25 | issue = 5 | pages = 704–729 | date = July 2008 | pmid = 18720102 | doi = 10.1080/02643290802299350 | s2cid = 29278660 }}</ref> Some have difficulty recognizing themselves in group photographs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-19 |title=What is Prosopagnosia? {{!}} Mental Health {{!}} CPD Online College |url=https://cpdonline.co.uk/knowledge-base/mental-health/what-is-prosopagnosia/ |access-date=2025-11-16 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Prosopagnosia particularly in children poses a special risk of danger, as the inability to accurately recognize familiar faces or the misidentification and lack of fear of strangers<ref name=":2" /> can put the child in an unsafe situation.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ma W, Xiao Z, Wu Y, Zhang X, Zheng D, Lei X, Han C | title = Face Blindness in Children and Current Interventions | journal = Behavioral Sciences | volume = 13 | issue = 8 | page = 676 | date = August 2023 | pmid = 37622816 | pmc = 10451769 | doi = 10.3390/bs13080676 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
== Notable people == The following is a list of public figures and other notable people with prosopagnosia. <!--Sourced blue links only, and please respect alphabetical order--> * Alan Alda (born 1936), American actor<ref name="alda1">{{Cite web | vauthors = Smith D |date=2019-11-14 |title=Alan Alda: 'It's amazing that most of us live as if we're not gonna die' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/14/alan-alda-its-amazing-that-most-of-us-live-as-if-were-not-gonna-die |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref name="alda2">{{Cite web | vauthors = Brunati B |date=2019-11-14 |title=Alan Alda Opens Up About Parkinson's Disease: 'We All Die' |url=https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/alan-alda-talks-parkinsons-disease-and-living-in-reality/ |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=Closer Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref> * Duncan Bannatyne (born 1949), Scottish entrepreneur<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Tobin L |title=Researchers explore problems of 'face blindness' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jun/20/face-blindness-research |work=The Guardian |access-date=23 July 2012 |location=London |date=20 June 2011}}</ref> * Sara Benincasa (born 1980) American comedian and author<ref name="twitter.com">{{Cite tweet|number=1308296067574722561|user=SaraJBenincasa|title=I've shared a bit about my experience with prosopagnosia tonight, and it's a very interesting spectrum for different people. Mostly I am VERY grateful to any film, TV or stage production where characters have distinctive hairstyles and modes of dress!| vauthors = Benincasa S |date=2020-09-21|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200922075146/https://twitter.com/SaraJBenincasa/status/1308296067574722561|archive-date=2020-09-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> * Dave Chalk (born 1963), Canadian entrepreneur<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Jones RB | work = The Ability Guy | url = http://rogerbjones.com/index.php?page=a-profile-of-david-chalk | title = A Profile of David Chalk | date = June 7, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110826083452/http://rogerbjones.com/index.php?page=a-profile-of-david-chalk | archive-date = 26 August 2011 }}</ref> * Chuck Close (1940–2021), American painter<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mosaicartnow.com/2010/07/prosopagnosia-portraitist-chuck-close|title=Mosaic Art NOW: Prosopagnosia: Portraitist Chuck Close|publisher=mosaicartnow.com|access-date=August 20, 2017|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821091200/http://www.mosaicartnow.com/2010/07/prosopagnosia-portraitist-chuck-close/|archive-date=August 21, 2017}}</ref> * Paul Foot (born 1973), English comedian<ref>{{cite web| vauthors = Foot P |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8aMHdzmpps |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/m8aMHdzmpps| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Paul Foot Video Log – Intellectual Rigour|via=YouTube|date=11 December 2015|access-date=5 August 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> * David Frost, Baron Frost (born 1965), British diplomat, civil servant and politician.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/02/david-frost-face-blindness-politician-unable-identify/|title=David Frost: I suffer from face blindness. As a politician, being unable to identify people is agony|first=David|last=Frost|work=The Telegraph |date=2 December 2024|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> * Stephen Fry (born 1957), English actor<ref name="Seighart">{{cite web| vauthors = Sieghart MA |title=Who Are You Again?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07hj65h|website=BBC Radio 4|date=1 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="Hepworth">{{cite news |title=Who are you again? What it's like to never remember a face | vauthors = Hepworth D |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/25/who-are-you-again-what-its-like-to-never-remember-a-face |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 June 2016 |access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref> * Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903)<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Grüter T, Grüter M | title = Prosopagnosia in biographies and autobiographies | journal = Perception | volume = 36 | issue = 2 | pages = 299–301 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17402670 | doi = 10.1068/p5716 | s2cid = 40998360 }}</ref> * Jane Goodall (1934–2025), English primatologist<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/23/health/gallery/notable-prosopagnosia/index.html|title=Photos: The faces of those who don't recognize faces|publisher=CNN|date=May 23, 2013}}</ref> * Anne Hegerty (born 1958), British professional quizzer and television personality. She has autism-related prosopagnosia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleet |first=Holly |date=2021-02-03 |title=Anne Hegerty struggles to recognise stepmum due to face blindness |url=https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1393061/anne-hegerty-chaser-the-chase-autism-face-blindness-family-news-latest-update |access-date=2025-10-02 |website=Express.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> * John Hickenlooper (born 1952), U.S. Senator and former Governor of Colorado<ref name="hickenlooper">{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/13/politics/john-hickenlooper-face-blindness-prosopagnosia/index.html|title=John Hickenlooper didn't mean to forget who you are: How face blindness has affected his political career|publisher=CNN|date=June 26, 2019}}</ref> * Margaret Kerry (born 1929), American actress and reference model for Tinker Bell<ref>{{cite news | vauthors = Rembulat V |title= The "real" tinker bell |url=https://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/local-news/the-real-tinker-bell/ |work=Manteca Bulletin |access-date=29 April 2020 |location=Manteca, CA |date=2 July 2019}}</ref> * Karl Kruszelnicki (born 1948), Australian science communicator<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Karl on what it's like to live with face blindness |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/afternoons/dr-karl-air/9379208 |website=abc.net.au |date=31 January 2018 |publisher=ABC |access-date=12 November 2018}}</ref> * Joanna Lumley (born 1946), Indian-born British actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001mzl1 |title= Tracks of My Years podcast: Dame Joanna Lumley |date= June 25, 2023 |website=BBC |access-date= July 3, 2023 }}, around the 41:20 mark.</ref> * Markos Moulitsas (born 1971), American blogger and founder of DailyKos.com<ref name="auto" /> * Brad Pitt (born 1963), American actor and film producer<ref name="nyt">{{cite web | url =https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/06/well/mind/prosopagnosia-face-blindness.html|title=What Is Prosopagnosia, a Condition That Causes 'Face Blindness'|work=The New York Times| vauthors = Blum D | date=6 July 2022| access-date =8 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/interviews/a22679/brad-pitt-cover-interview-0613/ |title=Brad Pitt: A Life So Large|work=Esquire| vauthors = Junod T |date=20 May 2013| access-date =8 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url =https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/07/entertainment/brad-pitt-facial-blindness/index.html|title=Brad Pitt says he suffers from facial blindness|publisher=CNN| vauthors = Melas C | date=7 July 2022| access-date =8 July 2022}}</ref> * Oliver Sacks (1933–2015), British neurologist<ref name="Prosopagnosia: Sacks'">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/prosopagnosia-oliver-sacks-battle-with-face-blindness/|title=Prosopagnosia: Oliver Sacks' Battle with "Face Blindness"| vauthors = Katz N |publisher=CBS News|date=26 August 2010|access-date=3 February 2010}}</ref> * Mary Ann Sieghart (born 1961), English journalist and radio presenter<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Strange K | url = https://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/yourlife/sexandhealth/2007/11/09/everyone-looks-the-same-to-me-89520-20083998/ | title = Everyone looks the same to me | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509144534/http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/yourlife/sexandhealth/2007/11/09/everyone-looks-the-same-to-me-89520-20083998/ | archive-date=9 May 2008 | work = Mirror.co.uk | date = 9 November 2007 | access-date = 15 April 2008 }}</ref> * Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden (born 1977)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/royal_family/Princess+Victoria-48079.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080216203628/http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/royal_family/Princess+Victoria-48079.html | archive-date = 16 February 2008 |title=Princess Victoria's face confession | work = FemaleFirst | date = 13 February 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Munteanu B | date = March 2015 |url=http://www.theartofliving.info/en/article/crown-princess-victoria-a-mirror-of-the-swedish-nation/1761|title= Crown Princess Victoria – a mirror of the Swedish nation | work = The Art of Living Magazine|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514221159/http://www.theartofliving.info/en/article/crown-princess-victoria-a-mirror-of-the-swedish-nation/1761|archive-date=14 May 2017}}</ref> * Rebecca Watson (born 1980), U.S.-based atheist blogger and YouTube contributor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-03 |title=Study: Why We Think All People of Different Races Look the Same |url=https://skepchick.org/2022/08/study-why-we-think-all-people-of-different-races-look-the-same/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Skepchick |language=en-US}}</ref> * Gene Weingarten, American humorist<ref>{{cite web |url= https://wittgensteinforum.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/losing-face-by-gene-weingarten|title = Losing Face | date=31 March 2008 }}</ref> * Jim Woodring (born 1952), American cartoonist<ref name="lambiek.net">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/woodring.htm|title = Jim Woodring | work = Comiclopedia }}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdJ5LPa-Skc Jim Woodring speech Making Light VASD Program], around the 32:00 mark. 24 March 2016.</ref> * Steve Wozniak (born 1950), American computer engineer and co-founder of Apple Inc.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34188602 |title= Steve Wozniak: Shocked and amazed by Steve Jobs movie | vauthors = Kelion L |date= September 9, 2015 |website=BBC |access-date= September 9, 2015 }}</ref>
== In popular culture == * In the 1965 British comedy film ''Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'', Pierre DuBois (Jean-Pierre Cassel) meets several girls of different nationalities, whom he perceives as all having the face of Irina Demick. * The protagonists of the films ''Faces in the Crowd'' and ''Prasanna Vadanam'' are afflicted with this disorder due to brain injury. * The fictional character Marky Bark from the television show ''Arrested Development'' has the disorder. * The character Ace in the video game ''999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors'' has prosopagnosia. * The protagonist of the 2018 South Korean drama ''The Beauty Inside'' (뷰티 인사이드) has prosopagnosia. * The character Inga Karkhuul Khura'in in the video game ''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice'' has prosopagnosia. * The protagonist of the NBC television series ''Brilliant Minds'', neurologist Dr. Oliver Wolfe, played by Zachary Quinto, has prosopagnosia. * In ''Rizzoli & Isles'', season 6, episode 6, "Face Value", a witness has prosopagnosia, causing trouble for the detectives. * In ''Trial & Error'', Josh's assistant and head researcher, Anne Flatch (played by Sherri Shephard), has numerous medical conditions, the main (and most regularly mentioned) being prosopagnosia. * In the light novel ''The Apothecary Diaries'', the protagonist's father, Lakan, has prosopagnosia, where he sees faces as chess pieces or as pieces from the game ''Go''. * The main character in ''The Color of Bee Larkham's Murder'' has prosopagnosia (as well as autism and synesthesia). * The protagonist Han So-yeon (played by Ko Sung-hee), from the South Korean television series ''My Holo Love'', has prosopagnosia. * In the 2025 Malayalam-language action thriller film ''Identity'', the character Alisha Abdul Salam (played by Trisha Krishnan) has prosopagnosia. * Will Wood's 2016 album ''Self-ish'' includes a song titled "Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity: Tulpamancer's Prosopagnosia/Pareidolia (As Direct Result of Trauma to the Fusiform Gyrus)".
==See also== {{columns-list|colwidth=30em| * {{anl|Alexithymia}} * {{anl|Amygdala}} * {{anl|Aphantasia}} * {{anl|Biometrics}} * {{anl|Cognitive neuropsychology}} * Covert facial recognition * {{anl|Face perception}} * {{anl|Fregoli delusion}} * Ken Nakayama – Prosopagnosia researcher * {{anl|Mirrored-self misidentification}} * {{anl|N170}} * {{anl|Prosopamnesia}} * {{anl|Prosopometamorphopsia}} * {{anl|Social-emotional agnosia}} * {{anl|Super recognizer}} * {{anl|Temporal lobe epilepsy}} * {{anl|Thatcher effect}} * {{anl|Visual agnosia}} }}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == {{refbegin}} * {{cite book | vauthors = Bruce V, Young A |date=2000 |title=In the Eye of the Beholder: The Science of Face Perception |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-852439-7}} * {{cite journal | vauthors = Duchaine BC, Nakayama K | title = Developmental prosopagnosia: a window to content-specific face processing | journal = Current Opinion in Neurobiology | volume = 16 | issue = 2 | pages = 166–173 | date = April 2006 | pmid = 16563738 | doi = 10.1016/j.conb.2006.03.003 | s2cid = 14102858 }} * {{cite book |vauthors=Farah MJ |title=Visual agnosia: disorders of object recognition and what they tell us about normal vision |publisher=M.I.T. Press |location=Cambridge |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-262-06135-3 |oclc=750525204 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/visualagnosiadis0000fara }} * {{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_sacks |title=Prosopagnosia, the science behind face blindness |vauthors=Sacks O |magazine=The New Yorker |date=30 August 2010 |access-date=10 August 2014 }} * {{cite book |vauthors=Sellers H |title=You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know |publisher=Riverhead Hardcover |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59448-773-6 |oclc=535490485 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/youdontlooklikea00sell_0 }} * {{cite web |vauthors=Lyall S |title=Face Blindness: Sarah Lyall on a curious condition |url=https://fivedials.com/reportage/face-blindness/ |website=Five Dials |access-date=31 August 2019 |date=27 November 2017 |archive-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204040616/https://fivedials.com/reportage/face-blindness/ }} * {{cite news |vauthors=Dingfelder S |title=My life with face blindness: I spent decades unable to recognize people. Then I learned why. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/08/21/feature/my-life-with-face-blindness/ |access-date=31 August 2019 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=21 August 2019 |language=en }} {{refend}}
== External links == {{Wiktionary}} {{Wikiversity}} {{Scholia}} * ''[https://www.choisser.com/faceblind/ Face Blind!]''{{snd}}The online book on face blindness by Bill Choisser, San Francisco.
{{Lesions of spinal cord and brain|state=collapsed}} {{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 ={{ICD10|R|48|8}} | ICD10CM ={{ICD10CM|R48.3}} | ICD9 ={{ICD9|368.16}} | OMIM =610382 | MedlinePlus = | eMedicineSubj = | eMedicineTopic = | MeshID = D020238 }} {{Authority control}}
Category:Agnosia Category:Face perception Category:Vision Category:Visual disturbances and blindness Category:Visual system