Prosopagnosia
| Prosopagnosia | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Face blindness |
| The fusiform face area, the part of the brain associated with facial recognition | |
| Pronunciation |
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| Specialty | Neurology, neuropsychology |
| Frequency | 2–2.5% |
Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, 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. 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%.
A common misconception is that prosopagnosics see faces' contours and details as blurry or distorted. The condition is not characterized by warped visuals. Seeing distorted faces is a common symptom of prosopometamorphopsia, not prosopagnosia.