The Neural Correlates of Developmental Prosopagnosia: Twenty-Five Years on

Abstract

Faces play a crucial role in social interactions. Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) refers to the lifelong difficulty in recognizing faces despite the absence of obvious signs of brain lesions. In recent decades, the neural substrate of this condition has been extensively investigated. While early neuroimaging studies did not reveal significant functional and structural abnormalities in the brains of individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DPs), recent evidence identifies abnormalities at multiple levels within DPs’ face-processing networks. The current work aims to provide an overview of the convergent and contrasting findings by examining twenty-five years of neuroimaging literature on the anatomo-functional correlates of DP. We included 55 original papers, including 63 studies that compared the brain structure (MRI) and activity (fMRI, EEG, MEG) of healthy control participants and DPs. Despite variations in methods, procedures, outcomes, sample selection, and study design, this scoping review suggests that morphological, functional, and electrophysiological features characterize DPs’ brains, primarily within the ventral visual stream. Particularly, the functional and anatomical connectivity between the Fusiform Face Area and the other face-sensitive regions seems strongly impaired. The cognitive and clinical implications as well as the limitations of these findings are discussed in light of the available knowledge and challenges in the context of DP.

The Italian Famous Face Test (IT-FFT): Normative data from neurotypical individuals and an assessment of its sensitivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

“…The accurate assessment of face recognition is especially important in the context of various psychiatric and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and some neurodevelopmental conditions such as prosopagnosia and Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) [17][18][19][20][21][22] . People with ASD show social skills impairments, along with serious face processing deficits 23 .…”

Face Feature Change Detection Ability in Developmental Prosopagnosia and Super-Recognisers

“…Prosopagnosia is a condition which presents as marked impairments in the ability to recognise faces even if familiar (i.e., close acquaintances). While acquired prosopagnosia is typically caused by brain trauma, lesions, or strokes affecting occipitotemporal or anterior temporal regions (see [ 11 , 12 ] for reviews), developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental impairment which occurs in the absence of brain damage or other cognitive impairments [ 13 ]. Further, while acquired prosopagnosia is extremely rare, DP is estimated to affect approximately 2–3% of the population [ 14 , 15 ].…”