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Volfart A, Rossion B. The neuropsychological evaluation of face identity recognition. Neuropsychologia 2024; 198:108865. [PMID: 38522782 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Facial identity recognition (FIR) is arguably the ultimate form of recognition for the adult human brain. Even if the term prosopagnosia is reserved for exceptionally rare brain-damaged cases with a category-specific abrupt loss of FIR at adulthood, subjective and objective impairments or difficulties of FIR are common in the neuropsychological population. Here we provide a critical overview of the evaluation of FIR both for clinicians and researchers in neuropsychology. FIR impairments occur following many causes that should be identified objectively by both general and specific, behavioral and neural examinations. We refute the commonly used dissociation between perceptual and memory deficits/tests for FIR, since even a task involving the discrimination of unfamiliar face images presented side-by-side relies on cortical memories of faces in the right-lateralized ventral occipito-temporal cortex. Another frequently encountered confusion is between specific deficits of the FIR function and a more general impairment of semantic memory (of people), the latter being most often encountered following anterior temporal lobe damage. Many computerized tests aimed at evaluating FIR have appeared over the last two decades, as reviewed here. However, despite undeniable strengths, they often suffer from ecological limitations, difficulties of instruction, as well as a lack of consideration for processing speed and qualitative information. Taking into account these issues, a recently developed behavioral test with natural images manipulating face familiarity, stimulus inversion, and correct response times as a key variable appears promising. The measurement of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the frequency domain from fast periodic visual stimulation also appears as a particularly promising tool to complete and enhance the neuropsychological assessment of FIR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angélique Volfart
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology, Australia; Université de Lorraine, CNRS, IMoPA, F-54000, Nancy, France.
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2
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Gignac GE, Palermo R, Bothe E, Walker DL, Wilmer JB. Face perception and facial emotional expression recognition ability: Both unique predictors of the broader autism phenotype. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024; 77:1140-1153. [PMID: 37710359 PMCID: PMC11103922 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231203679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the broader autistic phenotype (BAP) have been suggested to be associated with perceptual-cognitive difficulties processing human faces. However, the empirical results are mixed, arguably, in part due to inadequate samples and analyses. Consequently, we administered the Cambridge Face Perception Test (CFPT), the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), a vocabulary test, and the Autism Quotient (AQ) to a sample of 318 adults in the general community. Based on a disattenuated path analytic modelling strategy, we found that both face perception ability (β = -.21) and facial emotional expression recognition ability (β = -.27) predicted uniquely and significantly the Communication dimension of AQ. Vocabulary failed to yield a significant, direct effect onto the Communication dimension of the AQ. We conclude that difficulties perceiving information from the faces of others may contribute to difficulties in nonverbal communication, as conceptualised and measured within the context of BAP.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ellen Bothe
- University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
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3
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Logan AJ, Gordon GE, Loffler G. Healthy aging impairs face discrimination ability. J Vis 2022; 22:1. [PMID: 35913420 PMCID: PMC9351597 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.9.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Face images enable individual identities to be discriminated from one another. We aimed to quantify age-related changes in different aspects of face identity discrimination. Face discrimination sensitivity was measured with a memory-free “odd-one-out” task. Five age groups (N = 15) of healthy adults with normal vision were tested: 20, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and 80-89. Sensitivity was measured for full-face images (all features visible), external features (head-shape, hairline), internal features (nose, mouth, eyes, and eyebrows) and closed-contour shapes (control object). Sensitivity to full-faces continuously declined by approximately 13% per decade, after 50 years of age. When age-related differences in visual acuity were controlled, the effect of age on face discrimination sensitivity remained. Sensitivity to face features also deteriorated with age. Although the effect for external features was similar to full-faces, the rate of decline was considerably steeper (approximately 3.7 times) for internal, relative to external, features. In contrast, there was no effect of age on sensitivity to shapes. All age groups demonstrated the same overall pattern of sensitivity to different types of face information. Healthy aging was associated with a continuous decline in sensitivity to both full-faces and face features, although encoding of internal features was disproportionately impaired. This age-related deficit was independent of differences in low-level vision. That sensitivity to shapes was unaffected by age suggests these results cannot be explained by general cognitive decline or lower-level visual deficits. Instead, healthy aging is associated with a specific decline in the mechanisms that underlie face discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Logan
- Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.,School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.,
| | - Gael E Gordon
- Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.,
| | - Gunter Loffler
- Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK.,
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4
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Rossion B. Twenty years of investigation with the case of prosopagnosia PS to understand human face identity recognition. Part I: Function. Neuropsychologia 2022; 173:108278. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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5
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Mishra MV, Fry RM, Saad E, Arizpe JM, Ohashi YGB, DeGutis JM. Comparing the sensitivity of face matching assessments to detect face perception impairments. Neuropsychologia 2021; 163:108067. [PMID: 34673046 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maruti V Mishra
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain Division, 150 S Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, USA
| | - Regan M Fry
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain Division, 150 S Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elyana Saad
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph M Arizpe
- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA
| | - Yuri-Grace B Ohashi
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Harvard Decision Science Laboratory, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joseph M DeGutis
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare, Jamaica Plain Division, 150 S Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, USA.
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Logan AJ, Gordon GE, Loffler G. The Effect of Age-Related Macular Degeneration on Components of Face Perception. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2021; 61:38. [PMID: 32543666 PMCID: PMC7415315 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.61.6.38] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) experience difficulty with discriminating between faces. We aimed to use a new clinical test to quantify the impact of AMD on face perception and to determine the specific aspects that are affected. Methods The Caledonian face test uses an adaptive procedure to measure face discrimination thresholds: the minimum difference required between faces for reliable discrimination. Discrimination thresholds were measured for full-faces, external features (head-shape and hairline), internal features (nose, mouth, eyes, and eyebrows) and shapes (non-face task). Participants were 20 patients with dry AMD (logMAR VA = 0.14 to 0.62), 20 patients with wet AMD (0.10 to 0.60), and 20 age-matched control subjects (−0.18 to +0.06). Results Relative to controls, full-face discrimination thresholds were, on average, 1.76 and 1.73 times poorer in participants with dry and wet AMD, respectively. AMD also reduced sensitivity to face features, but discrimination of the internal, relative to external, features was disproportionately impaired. Both distance VA and contrast sensitivity were significant independent predictors of full-face discrimination thresholds (R2 = 0.66). Sensitivity to full-faces declined by a factor of approximately 1.19 per 0.1 logMAR reduction in VA. Conclusions Both dry and wet AMD significantly reduce sensitivity to full-faces and their component parts to similar extents. Distance VA and contrast sensitivity are closely associated with face discrimination sensitivity. These results quantify the extent of sensitivity impairment in patients with AMD and predict particular difficulty in everyday tasks that rely on internal feature information, including recognition of familiar faces and facial expressions.
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Suri K, Lewis M, Minar N, Willson E, Ace J. Face Memory Deficits in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-020-09840-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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8
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Rossion B, Retter TL, Liu‐Shuang J. Understanding human individuation of unfamiliar faces with oddball fast periodic visual stimulation and electroencephalography. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 52:4283-4344. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Rossion
- CNRS, CRAN UMR7039 Université de Lorraine F‐54000Nancy France
- Service de Neurologie, CHRU‐Nancy Université de Lorraine F‐54000Nancy France
| | - Talia L. Retter
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences Faculty of Language and Literature Humanities, Arts and Education University of Luxembourg Luxembourg Luxembourg
| | - Joan Liu‐Shuang
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science Institute of Neuroscience Université de Louvain Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
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Jones PR, Tigchelaar I, Demaria G, Wilson I, Bi W, Taylor DJ, Crabb DP. Refinement and preliminary evaluation of two tablet-based tests of real-world visual function. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2019; 40:35-46. [PMID: 31879994 PMCID: PMC7028122 DOI: 10.1111/opo.12658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Purpose To describe, refine, evaluate, and provide normative control data for two freely available tablet‐based tests of real‐world visual function, using a cohort of young, normally‐sighted adults. Methods Fifty young (18–40 years), normally‐sighted adults completed tablet‐based assessments of (1) face discrimination and (2) visual search. Each test was performed twice, to assess test‐retest repeatability. Post‐hoc analyses were performed to determine the number of trials required to obtain stable estimates of performance. Distributions were fitted to the normative data to determine the 99% population‐boundary for normally sighted observers. Participants were also asked to rate their comprehension of each test. Results Both tests provided stable estimates in around 20 trials (~1–4 min), with only a further reduction of 14%–17% in the 95% Coefficient of Repeatability (CoR95) when an additional 40 trials were included. When using only ~20 trials: median durations for the first run of each test were 191 s (Faces) and 51 s (Search); test‐retest CoR95 were 0.27 d (Faces) and 0.84 s (Search); and normative 99% population‐limits were 3.50 d (Faces) and 3.1 s (Search). No participants exhibited any difficulties completing either test (100% completion rate), and ratings of task‐understanding were high (Faces: 9.6 out of 10; Search: 9.7 out of 10). Conclusions This preliminary assessment indicated that both tablet‐based tests are able to provide simple, quick, and easy‐to‐administer measures of real‐world visual function in normally‐sighted young adults. Further work is required to assess their accuracy and utility in older people and individuals with visual impairment. Potential applications are discussed, including their use in clinic waiting rooms, and as an objective complement to Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete R Jones
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Iris Tigchelaar
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.,Ocusweep, Turku, Finland.,Doctoral Program in Clinical Research, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Giorgia Demaria
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.,Graduate School of Medical Sciences (Research School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences), University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Iain Wilson
- Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.,Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - Wei Bi
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Deanna J Taylor
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - David P Crabb
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, London, UK
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10
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Quantifying the effect of viewpoint changes on sensitivity to face identity. Vision Res 2019; 165:1-12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 09/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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11
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Logan AJ, Gordon GE, Loffler G. From individual features to full faces: Combining aspects of face information. J Vis 2019; 19:23. [PMID: 31009945 DOI: 10.1167/19.4.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated how information from face features is combined by comparing sensitivity to individual features with that for external (head shape, hairline) and internal (nose, mouth, eyes, eyebrows) feature compounds. Discrimination thresholds were measured for synthetic faces under the following conditions: (a) full-faces; (b) individual features (e.g., nose); and (c) feature compounds (either external or internal). Individual features and feature compounds were presented both in isolation and embedded within a fixed, task irrelevant face context. Relative to the full-face baseline, threshold elevations for the internal feature compound (2.41x) were comparable to those for the most sensitive individual feature (nose = 2.12x). External features demonstrated the same pattern. A model that incorporated all available feature information within a single channel in an efficient way overestimated sensitivity to feature compounds. Embedding individual features within a task-irrelevant context reduced discrimination sensitivity, relative to isolated presentation. Sensitivity to feature compounds, however, was unaffected by embedding. A loss of sensitivity when embedding features within a fixed-face context is consistent with holistic processing, which limits access to information about individual features. However, holistic combination of information across face features is not efficient: Sensitivity to feature compounds is no better than sensitivity to the best individual feature. No effect of embedding internal feature compounds within task-irrelevant external face features (or vice versa) suggests that external and internal features are processed independently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Logan
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.,Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK
| | - Gael E Gordon
- Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK
| | - Gunter Loffler
- Department of Vision Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK
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12
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Dzhelyova M, Jacques C, Dormal G, Michel C, Schiltz C, Rossion B. High test-retest reliability of a neural index of rapid automatic discrimination of unfamiliar individual faces. VISUAL COGNITION 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2019.1616639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Milena Dzhelyova
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Cognitive Science and Assessment Institute (COSA), University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Corentin Jacques
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Giulia Dormal
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Caroline Michel
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Christine Schiltz
- Cognitive Science and Assessment Institute (COSA), University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN, Nancy, France
- Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Nancy, France
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Zimmermann FGS, Yan X, Rossion B. An objective, sensitive and ecologically valid neural measure of rapid human individual face recognition. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:181904. [PMID: 31312474 PMCID: PMC6599768 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Humans may be the only species able to rapidly and automatically recognize a familiar face identity in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, an important social skill. Here, by combining electroencephalography (EEG) and fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS), we introduce an ecologically valid, objective and sensitive neural measure of this human individual face recognition function. Natural images of various unfamiliar faces are presented at a fast rate of 6 Hz, allowing one fixation per face, with variable natural images of a highly familiar face identity, a celebrity, appearing every seven images (0.86 Hz). Following a few minutes of stimulation, a high signal-to-noise ratio neural response reflecting the generalized discrimination of the familiar face identity from unfamiliar faces is observed over the occipito-temporal cortex at 0.86 Hz and harmonics. When face images are presented upside-down, the individual familiar face recognition response is negligible, being reduced by a factor of 5 over occipito-temporal regions. Differences in the magnitude of the individual face recognition response across different familiar face identities suggest that factors such as exposure, within-person variability and distinctiveness mediate this response. Our findings of a biological marker for fast and automatic recognition of individual familiar faces with ecological stimuli open an avenue for understanding this function, its development and neural basis in neurotypical individual brains along with its pathology. This should also have implications for the use of facial recognition measures in forensic science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friederike G. S. Zimmermann
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- BG Klinikum Hamburg, Bergedorfer Straße 10, 21033 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Xiaoqian Yan
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN, 54000 Nancy, France
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, 54000 Nancy, France
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Yan X, Liu-Shuang J, Rossion B. Effect of face-related task on rapid individual face discrimination. Neuropsychologia 2019; 129:236-245. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Abstract
Prosopagnosia is an impairment in the ability to recognize faces and can be acquired after a brain lesion or occur as a developmental variant. Studies of prosopagnosia make important contributions to our understanding of face processing and object recognition in the human visual system. We review four areas of advances in the study of this condition in recent years. First are issues surrounding the diagnosis of prosopagnosia, including the development and evaluation of newer tests and proposals for diagnostic criteria, especially for the developmental variant. Second are studies of the structural basis of prosopagnosia, including the application of more advanced neuroimaging techniques in studies of the developmental variant. Third are issues concerning the face specificity of the defect in prosopagnosia, namely whether other object processing is affected to some degree and in particular the status of visual word processing in light of recent predictions from the "many-to-many hypothesis". Finally, there have been recent rehabilitative trials of perceptual learning applied to larger groups of prosopagnosic subjects that show that face impairments are not immutable in this condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Albonico
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jason Barton
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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16
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Rossion B. Damasio's error - Prosopagnosia with intact within-category object recognition. J Neuropsychol 2018; 12:357-388. [PMID: 29845731 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 03/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The sudden inability to recognize individual faces following brain damage was first reported in a scientific journal 150 years ago and termed 'prosopagnosia' 70 years ago. While the term originally identified a face-selective neurological condition, it is now obscured by a sequence of imprecisions. First, prosopagnosia is routinely used to define symptoms of individual face recognition (IFR) difficulties in the context of visual object agnosia or other neurological conditions, or even in the normal population. Second, this over-expansive definition has lent support to a long-standing within-category recognition account of prosopagnosia, that is, that the impairment of IFR reflects a general impairment in recognizing within-category objects. However, stringent experimental studies of classical cases of prosopagnosia following brain damage show that their core impairment is not in recognizing physically similar exemplars within non-face object categories. Instead, the impairment presents specifically for recognizing exemplars of the category of faces. Moreover, compared to typical observers, the impairment appears even more severe for recognizing individual faces against physically dissimilar than similar distractors. Here, I argue that we need to limit accordingly our definition of prosopagnosia to a clinical (i.e., neurological) condition in which there is no basic-level object recognition impairment. Other criteria for prosopagnosia are proposed, with the hope that this conservative definition enables the study of human IFR processes in isolation, and supports progress in understanding the nature of these processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Rossion
- CNRS, CRAN, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, F-5400, France
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, Université de Louvain, Belgium
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17
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Normative accuracy and response time data for the computerized Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT-c). Behav Res Methods 2018; 50:2442-2460. [DOI: 10.3758/s13428-018-1023-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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18
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Taylor DJ, Smith ND, Binns AM, Crabb DP. The effect of non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration on face recognition performance. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2018; 256:815-821. [PMID: 29484559 PMCID: PMC5856898 DOI: 10.1007/s00417-017-3879-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose There is a well-established research base surrounding face recognition in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, much of this existing research does not differentiate between results obtained for ‘wet’ AMD and ‘dry’ AMD. Here, we test the hypothesis that face recognition performance is worse in patients with dry AMD compared with visually healthy peers. Methods Patients (>60 years of age, logMAR binocular visual acuity 0.7 or better) with dry AMD of varying severity and visually healthy age-related peers (controls) completed a modified version of the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). Percentage of correctly identified faces was used as an outcome measure for performance for each participant. A 90% normative reference limit was generated from the distribution of CFMT scores recorded in the visually healthy controls. Scores for AMD participants were then specifically compared to this limit, and comparisons between average scores in the AMD severity groups were investigated. Results Thirty patients (median [interquartile range] age of 76 [70, 79] years) and 34 controls (median age of 70 [64, 75] years) were examined. Four, seventeen and nine patients were classified as having early, intermediate and late AMD (geographic atrophy) respectively. Five (17%) patients recorded a face recognition performance worse than the 90% limit (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.46) set by controls; four of these had geographic atrophy. Patients with geographic atrophy identified fewer faces on average (±SD) (61% ± 22%) than those with early and intermediate AMD (75 ± 11%) and controls (74% ± 11%). Conclusions People with dry AMD may not suffer from problems with face recognition until the disease is in its later stages; those with late AMD (geographic atrophy) are likely to have difficulty recognising faces. The results from this study should influence the management and expectations of patients with dry AMD in both community practice and hospital clinics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deanna J Taylor
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Nicholas D Smith
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - Alison M Binns
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - David P Crabb
- Division of Optometry and Visual Science, School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK.
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Contributions of individual face features to face discrimination. Vision Res 2017; 137:29-39. [PMID: 28688904 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2017.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Revised: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 05/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Faces are highly complex stimuli that contain a host of information. Such complexity poses the following questions: (a) do observers exhibit preferences for specific information? (b) how does sensitivity to individual face parts compare? These questions were addressed by quantifying sensitivity to different face features. Discrimination thresholds were determined for synthetic faces under the following conditions: (i) 'full face': all face features visible; (ii) 'isolated feature': single feature presented in isolation; (iii) 'embedded feature': all features visible, but only one feature modified. Mean threshold elevations for isolated features, relative to full-faces, were 0.84x, 1.08, 2.12, 3.34, 4.07 and 4.47 for head-shape, hairline, nose, mouth, eyes and eyebrows respectively. Hence, when two full faces can be discriminated at threshold, the difference between the eyes is about four times less than what is required when discriminating between isolated eyes. In all cases, sensitivity was higher when features were presented in isolation than when they were embedded within a face context (threshold elevations of 0.94x, 1.74, 2.67, 2.90, 5.94 and 9.94). This reveals a specific pattern of sensitivity to face information. Observers are between two and four times more sensitive to external than internal features. The pattern for internal features (higher sensitivity for the nose, compared to mouth, eyes and eyebrows) is consistent with lower sensitivity for those parts affected by facial dynamics (e.g. facial expressions). That isolated features are easier to discriminate than embedded features supports a holistic face processing mechanism which impedes extraction of information about individual features from full faces.
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