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Burns EJ. Improving the DSM-5 approach to cognitive impairment: Developmental prosopagnosia reveals the need for tailored diagnoses. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:7872-7891. [PMID: 38977608 PMCID: PMC11362378 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-024-02459-4] [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] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) recommends diagnosing neurocognitive disorders (i.e., cognitive impairment) when a patient scores beyond - 1 SD below neurotypical norms on two tests. I review how this approach will fail due to cognitive tests' power limitations, validity issues, imperfect reliabilities, and biases, before summarizing their resulting negative consequences. As a proof of concept, I use developmental prosopagnosia, a condition characterized by difficulties recognizing faces, to show the DSM-5 only diagnoses 62-70% (n1 = 61, n2 = 165) versus 100% (n1 = 61) through symptoms alone. Pooling the DSM-5 missed cases confirmed the presence of group-level impairments on objective tests, which were further evidenced through meta-analyses, thus validating their highly atypical symptoms. These findings support a paradigm shift towards bespoke diagnostic approaches for distinct cognitive impairments, including a symptom-based method when validated effective. I reject dogmatic adherence to the DSM-5 approach to neurocognitive disorders, and underscore the importance of a data driven, transdiagnostic approach to understanding patients' subjective cognitive impairments. This will ultimately benefit patients, their families, clinicians, and scientific progress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edwin J Burns
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
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2
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Towler JR, Morgan D, Davies-Thompson J. Impaired Face Feature-to-Location Statistical Learning and Single-Feature Discrimination in Developmental Prosopagnosia. Brain Sci 2024; 14:815. [PMID: 39199506 PMCID: PMC11352419 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14080815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2024] [Revised: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) experience severe face memory deficits that are often accompanied by impairments in face perception. Images of human facial features are better discriminated between when they are presented in the locations on the visual field that they typically appear in while viewing human faces in daily life, than in locations which they do not typically appear (i.e., better performance for eyes in the upper visual field, and better performance for mouths in the lower visual field). These feature-to-location tuning effects (FLEs) can be explained by a retinotopically organised visual statistical learning mechanism. We had a large group of DP participants (N = 64), a control group (N = 74) and a group of individuals with a mild form of DP (N = 58) complete a single-feature discrimination task to determine whether face perception deficits in DP can be accounted for by an impairment in face feature-to-location tuning. The results showed that individuals with DP did not have significant FLEs, suggesting a marked impairment in the underlying visual statistical learning mechanism. In contrast, the mild DP group showed normal FLE effects which did not differ from the control group. Both DP groups had impaired single-feature processing (SFP) as compared to the control group. We also examined the effects of age on FLEs and SFP.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R. Towler
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Human & Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK (J.D.-T.)
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3
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Leong BQZ, Hussain Ismail AM, Wong HK, Estudillo AJ. The heterogeneity of holistic processing profiles in developmental prosopagnosia: holistic processing is impaired but not absent. Cogn Neuropsychol 2024:1-19. [PMID: 38953598 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2024.2371384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
Although it is generally assumed that face recognition relies on holistic processing, whether face recognition deficits observed in Developmental Prosopagnosics (DPs) can be explained by impaired holistic processing is currently under debate. The mixed findings from past studies could be the consequence of DP's heterogeneous deficit nature and the use of different measures of holistic processing-the inversion, part-whole, and composite tasks-which showed a poor association among each other. The present study aimed to gain further insight into the role of holistic processing in DPs. Groups of DPs and neurotypicals completed three tests measuring holistic face processing and non-face objects (i.e., Navon task). At a group level, DPs showed (1) diminished, but not absent, inversion and part-whole effects, (2) comparable magnitudes of the composite face effect and (3) global precedence effect in the Navon task. However, single-case analyses showed that these holistic processing deficits in DPs are heterogeneous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Qi Zheng Leong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
| | | | - Hoo Keat Wong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Alejandro J Estudillo
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
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DeGutis J, Kirsch L, Evans TC, Fry R, Lee DJ, Mishra M, Campbell A. Perceptual heterogeneity in developmental prosopagnosia is continuous, not categorical. Cortex 2024; 176:37-52. [PMID: 38744075 PMCID: PMC11223780 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is associated with considerable perceptual heterogeneity, though the nature of this heterogeneity and whether there are discrete subgroups versus continuous deficits remains unclear. Bennetts et al. (2022) recently found that holistic versus featural processing deficits distinguished discrete DP subgroups, but their sample was relatively small (N = 37), and subgroups were defined using a single task. To characterize perceptual heterogeneity in DPs more comprehensively, we administered a broad face perception battery to a large sample of 109 DPs and 134 controls, including validated measures of face matching (Cambridge Face Perception Test - CFPT, Computerized Benton Facial Recognition Test, Same/Different Face Matching Task), holistic processing (Part-Whole Task), and feature processing (Georges Task and Part-Whole part trials). When examining face matching measures, DPs exhibited a similar distribution of performance as controls, though shifted towards impairment by an average of 1.4 SD. We next applied Bennetts (2022) hierarchical clustering approach and k-means clustering to the CFPT upright, inverted, and inversion index measures, similarly finding one group of DPs with poorer inverted face performance and another with a decreased face inversion effect (holistic processing). However, these subgroup differences failed to generalize to other measures of feature and holistic processing beyond the CFPT. We finally ran hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses on our larger battery of face matching, feature, and holistic processing measures. Results clearly showed subgroups with generally better versus worse performance across all measures, with the distinction between groups being somewhat arbitrary. Together, these findings support a continuous account of DP perceptual heterogeneity, with performance differing primarily across all aspects of face perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Leah Kirsch
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Travis C Evans
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Regan Fry
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel J Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maruti Mishra
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; California State University, Bakersfield, CA, USA
| | - Alison Campbell
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
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Nørkær E, Gobbo S, Roald T, Starrfelt R. Disentangling developmental prosopagnosia: A scoping review of terms, tools and topics. Cortex 2024; 176:161-193. [PMID: 38795651 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.04.011] [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: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
The goal of this preregistered scoping review is to create an overview of the research on developmental prosopagnosia (DP). Through analysis of all empirical studies of DP in adults, we investigate 1) how DP is conceptualized and defined, 2) how individuals are classified with DP and 3) which aspects of DP are investigated in the literature. We reviewed 224 peer-reviewed studies of DP. Our analysis of the literature reveals that while DP is predominantly defined as a lifelong face recognition impairment in the absence of acquired brain injury and intellectual/cognitive problems, there is far from consensus on the specifics of the definition with some studies emphasizing e.g., deficits in face perception, discrimination and/or matching as core characteristics of DP. These differences in DP definitions is further reflected in the vast heterogeneity in classification procedures. Only about half of the included studies explicitly state how they classify individuals with DP, and these studies adopt 40 different assessment tools. The two most frequently studied aspects of DP are the role of holistic processing and the specificity of face processing, and alongside a substantial body of neuroimaging studies of DP, this paints a picture of a research field whose scientific interests and aims are rooted in cognitive neuropsychology and neuroscience. We argue that these roots - alongside the heterogeneity in DP definition and classification - may have limited the scope and interest of DP research unnecessarily, and we point to new avenues of research for the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erling Nørkær
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Silvia Gobbo
- Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy
| | - Tone Roald
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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Davies-Thompson J, Morgan D, Davis JP, Towler JR. Face Feature Change Detection Ability in Developmental Prosopagnosia and Super-Recognisers. Brain Sci 2024; 14:561. [PMID: 38928560 PMCID: PMC11201608 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14060561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In non-clinical populations, facial features (eyes, nose, mouth) may vary in their contribution to face identity perception. Changes to whole faces are easier to detect than changes to individual features, and eye changes are typically easier to detect than mouth changes, which in turn are easier to detect than nose changes. However, how this differs for people with face recognition difficulties (developmental prosopagnosia; DP) and for individuals with superior face recognition abilities (super-recognisers; SR) is not clear; although findings from previous studies have suggested differences, the nature of this difference is not understood. The aim of this study was to examine whether differences in the ability to detect feature changes in DPs and SRs were (a) quantitative, meaning that the pattern across feature changes remained the same but there was an overall upwards or downwards shift in performance, or (b) qualitative, meaning that the pattern across feature changes was different. Using a change detection task in which individual face features (eyes, nose, mouth) changed between sequentially presented faces, we found that while prosopagnosics showed a quantitative difference in performance with a downwards shift across all conditions, super-recognisers only showed qualitative differences: they were better able to detect when the face was the same and were marginally (but not non-significantly) worse at detecting when the eyes changed. Further, the only condition which distinguished between the three groups was the ability to identify when the same face was presented, with SRs being better than controls, and controls being better than DPs. Our findings suggest that, in feature-matching tasks, differences for DPs are due to them being overall worse at the task, while SRs use a qualitatively different strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodie Davies-Thompson
- School of Psychology, Vivian Tower, Faculty of Medicine, Human & Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK (J.R.T.)
| | - Daniel Morgan
- School of Psychology, Vivian Tower, Faculty of Medicine, Human & Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK (J.R.T.)
| | | | - John R. Towler
- School of Psychology, Vivian Tower, Faculty of Medicine, Human & Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK (J.R.T.)
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Halder T, Ludwig K, Schenk T. Binocular rivalry reveals differential face processing in congenital prosopagnosia. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6687. [PMID: 38509151 PMCID: PMC10954711 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55023-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Congenital Prosopagnosia (CP) is an innate impairment in face perception with heterogeneous characteristics. It is still unclear if and to what degree holistic processing of faces is disrupted in CP. Such disruption would be expected to lead to a focus on local features of the face. In this study, we used binocular rivalry (BR) to implicitly measure face perception in conditions that favour holistic or local processing. The underlying assumption is that if stimulus saliency affects the perceptual dominance of a given stimulus in BR, one can deduce how salient a stimulus is for a given group (here: participants with and without CP) based on the measured perceptual dominance. A further open question is whether the deficit in face processing in CP extends to the processing of the facial display of emotions. In experiment 1, we compared predominance of upright and inverted faces displaying different emotions (fearful, happy, neutral) vs. houses between participants with CP (N = 21) and with normal face perception (N = 21). The results suggest that CP observers process emotions in faces automatically but rely more on local features than controls. The inversion of faces, which is supposed to disturb holistic processing, affected controls in a more pronounced way than participants with CP. In experiment 2, we introduced the Thatcher effect in BR by inverting the eye and mouth regions of the presented faces in the hope of further increasing the effect of face inversion. However, our expectations were not borne out by the results. Critically, both experiments showed that inversion effects were more pronounced in controls than in CP, suggesting that holistic face processing is less relevant in CP. We find BR to be a useful implicit test for assessing visual processing specificities in neurological participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theresa Halder
- Clinical Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802, München, Germany.
| | - Karin Ludwig
- Clinical Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802, München, Germany
| | - Thomas Schenk
- Clinical Neuropsychology, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, 80802, München, Germany.
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Bennetts RJ, Gregory NJ, Bate S. Both identity and non-identity face perception tasks predict developmental prosopagnosia and face recognition ability. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6626. [PMID: 38503841 PMCID: PMC10951298 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57176-x] [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: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by deficits in face identification. However, there is debate about whether these deficits are primarily perceptual, and whether they extend to other face processing tasks (e.g., identifying emotion, age, and gender; detecting faces in scenes). In this study, 30 participants with DP and 75 controls completed a battery of eight tasks assessing four domains of face perception (identity; emotion; age and gender; face detection). The DP group performed worse than the control group on both identity perception tasks, and one task from each other domain. Both identity perception tests uniquely predicted DP/control group membership, and performance on two measures of face memory. These findings suggest that deficits in DP may arise from issues with face perception. Some non-identity tasks also predicted DP/control group membership and face memory, even when face identity perception was accounted for. Gender perception and speed of face detection consistently predicted unique variance in group membership and face memory; several other tasks were only associated with some measures of face recognition ability. These findings indicate that face perception deficits in DP may extend beyond identity perception. However, the associations between tasks may also reflect subtle aspects of task demands or stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel J Bennetts
- Division of Psychology, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK.
| | | | - Sarah Bate
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK
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Bate S, Murray E, Bennetts RJ. Familial Transmission of Developmental Prosopagnosia: New Case Reports from an Extended Family and Identical Twins. Brain Sci 2024; 14:49. [PMID: 38248264 PMCID: PMC10813035 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Existing evidence suggests that developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a surprisingly prevalent condition, with some individuals describing lifelong difficulties with facial identity recognition. Together with case reports of multiple family members with the condition, this evidence suggests that DP is inherited in at least some instances. Here, we offer some novel case series that further support the heritability of the condition. First, we describe five adult siblings who presented to our lab with symptoms of DP. Second, for the first known time in the literature, we describe a pair of adult identical twins who contacted us in the belief that they both experience DP. The condition was confirmed in three of the five siblings (with minor symptoms observed in the remaining two) and in both twins. Supplementary assessments suggested that all individuals also experienced some degree of difficulty with facial identity perception, but that object recognition was preserved. These findings bolster the evidence supporting the heritability of DP and suggest that it can be a specific impairment in some cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Bate
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK
| | - Ebony Murray
- Department of Psychological Sciences, School of Natural and Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham GL50 4AZ, UK;
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Fry R, Li X, Evans TC, Esterman M, Tanaka J, DeGutis J. Investigating the Influence of Autism Spectrum Traits on Face Processing Mechanisms in Developmental Prosopagnosia. J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:4787-4808. [PMID: 36173532 PMCID: PMC10812037 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05705-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/24/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Autism traits are common exclusionary criteria in developmental prosopagnosia (DP) studies. We investigated whether autism traits produce qualitatively different face processing in 43 DPs with high vs. low autism quotient (AQ) scores. Compared to controls (n = 27), face memory and perception were similarly deficient in the high- and low-AQ DPs, with the high-AQ DP group additionally showing deficient face emotion recognition. Task-based fMRI revealed reduced occipito-temporal face selectivity in both groups, with high-AQ DPs additionally demonstrating decreased posterior superior temporal sulcus selectivity. Resting-state fMRI showed similar reduced face-selective network connectivity in both DP groups compared with controls. Together, this demonstrates that high- and low-AQ DP groups have very similar face processing deficits, with additional facial emotion deficits in high-AQ DPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regan Fry
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., 182JP, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xian Li
- Psychological and Brain Science Department, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Travis C Evans
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., 182JP, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael Esterman
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., 182JP, Boston, MA, 02130, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - James Tanaka
- Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave., 182JP, Boston, MA, 02130, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Burns EJ, Gaunt E, Kidane B, Hunter L, Pulford J. A new approach to diagnosing and researching developmental prosopagnosia: Excluded cases are impaired too. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:4291-4314. [PMID: 36459376 PMCID: PMC9718472 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-02017-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Developmental prosopagnosia is characterized by severe, lifelong difficulties when recognizing facial identity. Unfortunately, the most common diagnostic assessment (Cambridge Face Memory Test) misses 50-65% of individuals who believe that they have this condition. This results in such excluded cases' absence from scientific knowledge, effect sizes of impairment potentially overestimated, treatment efficacy underrated, and may elicit in them a negative experience of research. To estimate their symptomology and group-level impairments in face processing, we recruited a large cohort who believes that they have prosopagnosia. Matching prior reports, 56% did not meet criteria on the Cambridge Face Memory Test. However, the severity of their prosopagnosia symptoms and holistic perception deficits were comparable to those who did meet criteria. Excluded cases also exhibited face perception and memory impairments that were roughly one standard deviation below neurotypical norms, indicating the presence of objective problems. As the prosopagnosia index correctly classified virtually every case, we propose it should be the primary method for providing a diagnosis, prior to subtype categorization. We present researchers with a plan on how they can analyze these excluded prosopagnosia cases in their future work without negatively impacting their traditional findings. We anticipate such inclusion will enhance scientific knowledge, more accurately estimate effect sizes of impairments and treatments, and identify commonalities and distinctions between these different forms of prosopagnosia. Owing to their atypicalities in visual perception, we recommend that the prosopagnosia index should be used to screen out potential prosopagnosia cases from broader vision research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edwin J Burns
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK.
| | - Elizabeth Gaunt
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
| | - Betiel Kidane
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
| | - Lucy Hunter
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
| | - Jaylea Pulford
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
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Kho SK, Keeble DRT, Wong HK, Estudillo AJ. Investigating the role of the fusiform face area and occipital face area using multifocal transcranial direct current stimulation. Neuropsychologia 2023; 189:108663. [PMID: 37611740 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
The functional role of the occipital face area (OFA) and the fusiform face area (FFA) in face recognition is inconclusive to date. While some research has shown that the OFA and FFA are involved in early (i.e., featural processing) and late (i.e., holistic processing) stages of face recognition respectively, other research suggests that both regions are involved in both early and late stages of face recognition. Thus, the current study aims to further examine the role of the OFA and the FFA using multifocal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). In Experiment 1, we used computer-generated faces. Thirty-five participants completed whole face and facial features (i.e., eyes, nose, mouth) recognition tasks after OFA and FFA stimulation in a within-subject design. No difference was found in recognition performance after either OFA or FFA stimulation. In Experiment 2 with 60 participants, we used real faces, provided stimulation following a between-subjects design and included a sham control group. Results showed that FFA stimulation led to enhanced efficiency of facial features recognition. Additionally, no effect of OFA stimulation was found for either facial feature or whole face recognition. These results suggest the involvement of FFA in the recognition of facial features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siew Kei Kho
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, UK; School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Malaysia.
| | | | - Hoo Keat Wong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Malaysia
| | - Alejandro J Estudillo
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, UK; School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Malaysia.
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Leong BQZ, Estudillo AJ, Hussain Ismail AM. Holistic and featural processing's link to face recognition varies by individual and task. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16869. [PMID: 37803085 PMCID: PMC10558561 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44164-w] [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: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
While it is generally accepted that holistic processing facilitates face recognition, recent studies suggest that poor recognition might also arise from imprecise perception of local features in the face. This study aimed to examine to what extent holistic and featural processing relates to individual differences in face recognition ability (FRA), during face learning (Experiment 1) and face recognition (Experiment 2). Participants performed two tasks: (1) The "Cambridge Face Memory Test-Chinese" which measured participants' FRAs, and (2) an "old/new recognition memory test" encompassing whole faces (preserving holistic and featural processing) and faces revealed through a dynamic aperture (impairing holistic processing but preserving featural processing). Our results showed that participants recognised faces more accurately in conditions when holistic information was preserved, than when it is impaired. We also show that the better use of holistic processing during face learning and face recognition was associated with better FRAs. However, enhanced featural processing during recognition, but not during learning, was related to better FRAs. Together, our findings demonstrate that good face recognition depends on distinct roles played by holistic and featural processing at different stages of face recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Qi Zheng Leong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia.
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole House Talbot Campus, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Alejandro J Estudillo
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia.
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole House Talbot Campus, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK.
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Manippa V, Palmisano A, Ventura M, Rivolta D. The Neural Correlates of Developmental Prosopagnosia: Twenty-Five Years on. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1399. [PMID: 37891769 PMCID: PMC10605188 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13101399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Manippa
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
| | - Annalisa Palmisano
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Martina Ventura
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour, and Development, Western Sydney University, Sydney 2145, Australia
| | - Davide Rivolta
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70122 Bari, Italy; (V.M.); (A.P.); (M.V.)
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15
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DeGutis J, Bahierathan K, Barahona K, Lee E, Evans TC, Shin HM, Mishra M, Likitlersuang J, Wilmer JB. What is the prevalence of developmental prosopagnosia? An empirical assessment of different diagnostic cutoffs. Cortex 2023; 161:51-64. [PMID: 36905701 PMCID: PMC10065901 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The prevalence of developmental prosopagnosia (DP), lifelong face recognition deficits, is widely reported to be 2-2.5%. However, DP has been diagnosed in different ways across studies, resulting in differing prevalence rates. In the current investigation, we estimated the range of DP prevalence by administering well-validated objective and subjective face recognition measures to an unselected web-based sample of 3116 18-55 year-olds and applying DP diagnostic cutoffs from the last 14 years. We found estimated prevalence rates ranged from .64-5.42% when using a z-score approach and .13-2.95% when using a percentile approach, with the most commonly used cutoffs by researchers having a prevalence rate of .93% (z-score, .45% when using percentiles). We next used multiple cluster analyses to examine whether there was a natural grouping of poorer face recognizers but failed to find consistent grouping beyond those with generally above versus below average face recognition. Lastly, we investigated whether DP studies with more relaxed diagnostic cutoffs were associated with better performance on the Cambridge Face Perception Test. In a sample of 43 studies, there was a weak nonsignificant association between greater diagnostic strictness and better DP face perception accuracy (Kendall's tau-b correlation, τb =.18 z-score; τb = .11 percentiles). Together, these results suggest that researchers have used more conservative DP diagnostic cutoffs than the widely reported 2-2.5% prevalence. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using more inclusive cutoffs, such as identifying mild and major forms of DP based on DSM-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Kanisha Bahierathan
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Katherine Barahona
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - EunMyoung Lee
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Travis C Evans
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hye Min Shin
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maruti Mishra
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, USA
| | - Jirapat Likitlersuang
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeremy B Wilmer
- Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
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16
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Preference for horizontal information in faces predicts typical variations in face recognition but is not impaired in developmental prosopagnosia. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:261-268. [PMID: 36002717 PMCID: PMC9971097 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02163-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Face recognition is strongly influenced by the processing of orientation structure in the face image. Faces are much easier to recognize when they are filtered to include only horizontally oriented information compared with vertically oriented information. Here, we investigate whether preferences for horizontal information in faces are related to face recognition abilities in a typical sample (Experiment 1), and whether such preferences are lacking in people with developmental prosopagnosia (DP; Experiment 2). Experiment 1 shows that preferences for horizontal face information are linked to face recognition abilities in a typical sample, with weak evidence of face-selective contributions. Experiment 2 shows that preferences for horizontal face information are comparable in control and DP groups. Our study suggests that preferences for horizontal face information are related to variations in face recognition abilities in the typical range, and that these preferences are not aberrant in DP.
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17
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Freud E, Di Giammarino D, Stajduhar A, Rosenbaum RS, Avidan G, Ganel T. Recognition of Masked Faces in the Era of the Pandemic: No Improvement Despite Extensive Natural Exposure. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:1635-1650. [DOI: 10.1177/09567976221105459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Face masks, which became prevalent across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic, have had a negative impact on face recognition despite the availability of critical information from uncovered face parts, especially the eyes. An outstanding question is whether face-mask effects would be attenuated following extended natural exposure. This question also pertains, more generally, to face-recognition training protocols. We used the Cambridge Face Memory Test in a cross-sectional study ( N = 1,732 adults) at six different time points over a 20-month period, alongside a 12-month longitudinal study ( N = 208). The results of the experiments revealed persistent deficits in recognition of masked faces and no sign of improvement across time points. Additional experiments verified that the amount of individual experience with masked faces was not correlated with the mask effect. These findings provide compelling evidence that the face-processing system does not easily adapt to visual changes in face stimuli, even following prolonged real-life exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erez Freud
- Department of Psychology and the Centre for Vision Research, York University
| | | | - Andreja Stajduhar
- Department of Psychology and the Centre for Vision Research, York University
| | - R. Shayna Rosenbaum
- Department of Psychology and the Centre for Vision Research, York University
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada
| | - Galia Avidan
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
| | - Tzvi Ganel
- Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
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18
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Dunn JD, Varela VPL, Nicholls VI, Papinutto M, White D, Miellet S. Face-Information Sampling in Super-Recognizers. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:1615-1630. [PMID: 36044042 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221096320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceptual processes underlying individual differences in face-recognition ability remain poorly understood. We compared visual sampling of 37 adult super-recognizers-individuals with superior face-recognition ability-with that of 68 typical adult viewers by measuring gaze position as they learned and recognized unfamiliar faces. In both phases, participants viewed faces through "spotlight" apertures that varied in size, with face information restricted in real time around their point of fixation. We found higher accuracy in super-recognizers at all aperture sizes-showing that their superiority does not rely on global sampling of face information but is also evident when they are forced to adopt piecemeal sampling. Additionally, super-recognizers made more fixations, focused less on eye region, and distributed their gaze more than typical viewers. These differences were most apparent when learning faces and were consistent with trends we observed across the broader ability spectrum, suggesting that they are reflective of factors that vary dimensionally in the broader population.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Dunn
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
| | | | - Victoria I Nicholls
- Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge
| | | | - David White
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
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19
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Bennetts RJ, Gregory NJ, Tree J, Di Bernardi Luft C, Banissy MJ, Murray E, Penton T, Bate S. Face specific inversion effects provide evidence for two subtypes of developmental prosopagnosia. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108332. [PMID: 35839963 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Many studies have attempted to identify the perceptual underpinnings of developmental prosopagnosia (DP). The majority have focused on whether holistic and configural processing mechanisms are impaired in DP. However, previous work suggests that there is substantial heterogeneity in holistic and configural processing within the DP population; further, there is disagreement as to whether any deficits are face-specific or reflect a broader perceptual deficit. This study used a data-driven approach to examine whether there are systematic patterns of variability in DP that reflect different underpinning perceptual deficits. A group of individuals with DP (N = 37) completed a cognitive battery measuring holistic/configural and featural processing in faces and non-face objects. A two-stage cluster analysis on data from the Cambridge Face Perception Test identified two subgroups of DPs. Across several tasks, the first subgroup (N = 21) showed typical patterns of holistic/configural processing (measured via inversion effects); the second (N = 16) was characterised by reduced or abolished inversion effects compared to age-matched control participants (N = 91). The subgroups did not differ on tasks measuring upright face matching, object matching, non-face holistic processing, or composite effects. These findings indicate two separable pathways to face recognition impairment, one characterised by impaired configural processing and the other potentially by impaired featural processing. Comparisons to control participants provide some preliminary evidence that the deficit in featural processing may extend to some non-face stimuli. Our results demonstrate the utility of examining both the variability between and consistency across individuals with DP as a means of illuminating our understanding of face recognition in typical and atypical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel J Bennetts
- College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University, UK.
| | | | - Jeremy Tree
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, UK
| | | | - Michael J Banissy
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, UK; Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
| | - Ebony Murray
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Gloucestershire, UK
| | - Tegan Penton
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
| | - Sarah Bate
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, UK
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20
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Lee JKW, Janssen SMJ, Estudillo AJ. A featural account for own-face processing? Looking for support from face inversion, composite face, and part-whole tasks. Iperception 2022; 13:20416695221111409. [PMID: 35836702 PMCID: PMC9274829 DOI: 10.1177/20416695221111409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely accepted that face perception relies on holistic processing. However, this holistic advantage is not always found in the processing of the own face. Our study aimed to explore the role of holistic and featural processing in the identification of the own face, using three standard, but largely independent measures of holistic face processing: the face inversion task, the composite face task, and the part-whole task. Participants were asked to identify their face, a friend’s face, and an unfamiliar face in three different experimental blocks: (a) inverted versus upright; (b) top and bottom halves of the face aligned versus misaligned; and (c) facial features presented in isolation versus whole foil face context. Inverting a face impaired its identification, regardless of the identity. However, alignment effects were only found when identifying a friend or an unfamiliar face. In addition, a stronger feature advantage (i.e., better recognition for isolated features compared to in a whole-face context) was observed for the own face compared to the friend and unfamiliar faces. Altogether, these findings suggest that the own face is processed in a more featural manner but also relies on holistic processing. This work also highlights the importance of taking into consideration that different holistic processing paradigms could tap different forms of holistic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasmine K W Lee
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Steve M J Janssen
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Alejandro J Estudillo
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia
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21
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Berger A, Fry R, Bobak A, Juliano A, DeGutis J. EXPRESS: Distinct abilities associated with matching same identity faces vs. discriminating different faces: Evidence from individual differences in prosopagnosics and controls. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2022; 75:2256-2271. [PMID: 35034524 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221076817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Previous face matching studies provide evidence that matching same identity faces (match trials) and discriminating different face identities (non-match trials) rely on distinct processes. For example, instructional studies geared towards improving face matching in applied settings have often found selective improvements in match or non-match trials only. Additionally, a small study found that developmental prosopagnosics (DPs) have specific deficits in making match but not non-match judgments. In the current study, we sought to replicate this finding in DPs and examine how individual differences across DPs and controls in match vs. non-match performance relate to featural vs. holistic processing abilities. 43 DPs and 27 controls matched face images shown from similar front views or with varied lighting or viewpoint. Participants also performed tasks measuring featural (eyes/mouth) and holistic processing (part-whole task). We found that DPs showed worse overall matching performance than controls and that their relative match vs. non-match deficit depended on image variation condition, indicating that DPs do not consistently show match- or non-match-specific deficits. When examining the association between holistic and featural processing abilities and match vs. non-match trials in the entire group of DPs and controls, we found a very clear dissociation: Match trials significantly correlated with eye processing ability (r=.48) but not holistic processing (r=.11), whereas non-match trials significantly correlated with holistic processing (r=.32) but not eye processing (r=.03). This suggests that matching same identity faces relies more on eye processing while discriminating different faces relies more on holistic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Berger
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA 1810.,Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
| | - Regan Fry
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 1811.,Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anna Bobak
- Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK 7622
| | - Angela Juliano
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 1861.,Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 1811.,Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
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22
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Gobbo S, Calati R, Silveri MC, Pini E, Daini R. The rehabilitation of object agnosia and prosopagnosia: A systematic review. Restor Neurol Neurosci 2022; 40:217-240. [PMID: 36155537 DOI: 10.3233/rnn-211234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Agnosia for objects is often overlooked in neuropsychology, especially with respect to rehabilitation. Prosopagnosia has been studied more extensively, yet there have been few attempts at training it. The lack of training protocols may partially be accounted for by their relatively low incidence and specificity to sensory modality. However, finding effective rehabilitations for such deficits may help to reduce their impact on the social and psychological functioning of individuals. OBJECTIVE Our aim in this study was to provide clinicians and researchers with useful information with which to conduct new studies on the rehabilitation of object agnosia and prosopagnosia. To accomplish this, we performed a systematic and comprehensive review of the effect of neuropsychological rehabilitation on visual object and prosopagnosia. METHODS The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. In addition, the Single-Case Experimental Design (SCED) and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) scales were used to assess the quality of reporting. RESULTS Seven articles regarding object agnosia, eight articles describing treatments for prosopagnosia, and two articles describing treatments for both deficits were included. CONCLUSIONS In the light of the studies reviewed, treatments based on analysis of parts seem effective for object agnosia, while prosopagnosia appears to benefit most from treatments relying on holistic/configural processing. However, more attempts at rehabilitation of face and object agnosia are needed to clarify the mechanisms of these processes and possible rehabilitations. Moreover, a publication bias could mask a broader attempt to find effective treatments for visual agnosia and leaving out studies that are potentially more informative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Gobbo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Raffaella Calati
- Department of Adult Psychiatry, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France
| | | | - Elisa Pini
- Neuroscience Department "Fondazione Poliambulanza" Hospital, Brescia, Italy
| | - Roberta Daini
- Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Milan Center for Neuroscience (Neuromi)
- University Research Center in Opticsand Optometry, Università di Milano-Bicocca (Comib), Milano, Italy
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23
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Bate S, Dalrymple K, Bennetts RJ. OUP accepted manuscript. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac068. [PMID: 35386218 PMCID: PMC8977649 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
While there have been decades of clinical and theoretical interest in developmental and acquired face recognition difficulties, very little work has examined their remediation. Here, we report two studies that examined the efficacy of an existing face training programme in improving face-processing skills in adults and children with developmental face recognition impairments. The programme has only been trialled in typical children to date, where 2 weeks of perceptual training (modelled on an adapted version of the popular family game Guess Who?) resulted in face-specific improvements for memory but not perception after 2 weeks of training. In Study 1, we performed a randomized, parallel groups, placebo-controlled trial of the same programme in 20 adults with a pre-existing diagnosis of developmental prosopagnosia. Assessment tasks were administered immediately before and after training, and 2 weeks later. Face-specific gains in memory (but not perception) were observed in the experimental group and were greatest in those with the poorest face recognition skills at entry. These gains persisted 2 weeks after training ceased. In Study 2, a case-series approach was used to administer the experimental version of the training programme to four children who presented with difficulties in face recognition. Improvements in face memory were observed in three of the participants; while one also improved at face perception, there was mixed evidence for the face specificity of these gains. Together, these findings suggest plasticity in the human face recognition system through to at least mid-adulthood and also pave the way for longer-term implementations of the face training programme that will likely elicit greater gains in both adults and children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Bate
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK
- Correspondence to: Professor Sarah Bate Department of Psychology Faculty of Science and Technology Bournemouth University Poole House Fern Barrow Poole BH12 5BB, UK E-mail:
| | - Kirsten Dalrymple
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Rachel J. Bennetts
- Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University, London UB8 3PH, UK
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24
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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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25
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Sigurdardottir HM, Arnardottir A, Halldorsdottir ET. Faces and words are both associated and dissociated as evidenced by visual problems in dyslexia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23000. [PMID: 34837013 PMCID: PMC8626489 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02440-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Faces and words are traditionally assumed to be independently processed. Dyslexia is also traditionally thought to be a non-visual deficit. Counter to both ideas, face perception deficits in dyslexia have been reported. Others report no such deficits. We sought to resolve this discrepancy. 60 adults participated in the study (24 dyslexic, 36 typical readers). Feature-based processing and configural or global form processing of faces was measured with a face matching task. Opposite laterality effects in these tasks, dependent on left-right orientation of faces, supported that they tapped into separable visual mechanisms. Dyslexic readers tended to be poorer than typical readers at feature-based face matching while no differences were found for global form face matching. We conclude that word and face perception are associated when the latter requires the processing of visual features of a face, while processing the global form of faces apparently shares minimal-if any-resources with visual word processing. The current results indicate that visual word and face processing are both associated and dissociated-but this depends on what visual mechanisms are task-relevant. We suggest that reading deficits could stem from multiple factors, and that one such factor is a problem with feature-based processing of visual objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heida Maria Sigurdardottir
- Icelandic Vision Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Saemundargata 12, 102, Reykjavik, Iceland.
| | - Alexandra Arnardottir
- Icelandic Vision Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Iceland, Saemundargata 12, 102, Reykjavik, Iceland
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26
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Stantić M, Hearne B, Catmur C, Bird G. Use of the Oxford face matching test reveals an effect of ageing on face perception but not face memory. Cortex 2021; 145:226-235. [PMID: 34763129 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.08.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Effects of ageing on both face perception and face memory have previously been reported. Previous studies, however, have not controlled for the effects of face perception when assessing face memory, meaning that apparent effects of ageing on face memory may actually be due to effects of ageing on face perception. Here, both face perception and face memory were assessed in a sample of adults ranging in age from 18 to 93, and the effect of age on face memory was assessed after controlling for face perception. Face perception was assessed using both a standard test and the Oxford face matching test (OFMT), deliberately designed to avoid the bias towards younger, neurotypical samples that may be present in other tests. An effect of ageing on face perception was found using both tests, with the unbiased OFMT being more sensitive to the effect of age. Importantly, when controlling for face perception using the OFMT, no effect of age on face memory was found. Indicative scores on the OFMT from a sample of 989 participants are provided, broken down by age and gender.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirta Stantić
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
| | - Bethan Hearne
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Feizabadi M, Albonico A, Starrfelt R, Barton JJS. Whole-object effects in visual word processing: Parallels with and differences from face recognition. Cogn Neuropsychol 2021; 38:231-257. [PMID: 34529548 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2021.1974369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Visual words and faces differ in their structural properties, but both are objects of high expertise. Holistic processing is said to characterize expert face recognition, but the extent to which whole-word processes contribute to word recognition is unclear, particularly as word recognition is thought to proceed by a component-based process. We review the evidence for experimental effects in word recognition that parallel those used to support holistic face processing, namely inversion effects, the part-whole task, and composite effects, as well as the status of whole-word processing in pure alexia and developmental dyslexia, contrasts between familiar and unfamiliar languages, and the differences between handwriting and typeset font. The observations support some parallels in whole-object influences between face and visual word recognition, but do not necessarily imply similar expert mechanisms. It remains to be determined whether and how the relative balance between part-based and whole-object processing differs for visual words and faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monireh Feizabadi
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrea Albonico
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Randi Starrfelt
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Belanova E, Davis JP, Thompson T. The part-whole effect in super-recognisers and typical-range-ability controls. Vision Res 2021; 187:75-84. [PMID: 34225132 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2021.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Face recognition skills are distributed on a continuum, with developmental prosopagnosics and super-recognisers at the bottom and top ends, respectively. Holistic processing propensity is associated with face recognition ability and may be impaired in some developmental prosopagnosics and enhanced in some super-recognisers. Across two experiments we compared holistic processing of 75 super-recognisers and 89 typical-range ability controls using The Part-Whole Effect (PWE) paradigm. A subgroup of super-recognisers demonstrated enhanced PWEs in the nose region, suggesting they integrate the nose into the holistic face percept more effectively than controls. Focussed processing of the nose region, an optimal viewing position to extract the holistic properties of faces, has previously been associated with superior face recognition, and this may partly explain the superiority of some super-recognisers. However, a few super-recognisers generated extreme nose region performance patterns in an opposite direction across both experiments, suggesting their superiority is driven by alternative mechanisms. These results support proposals that super-recognition is associated with heterogeneous underlying processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Belanova
- School of Human Sciences, Institute of Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.
| | - Josh P Davis
- School of Human Sciences, Institute of Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.
| | - Trevor Thompson
- School of Human Sciences, Institute of Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom.
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29
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Different measures of holistic face processing tap into distinct but partially overlapping mechanisms. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:2905-2923. [PMID: 34180032 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02337-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Holistic processing, which includes the integration of facial features and analysis of their relations to one another, is a hallmark of what makes faces 'special'. Various experimental paradigms purport to measure holistic processing but these have often produced inconsistent results. This has led researchers to question the nature and structure of the mechanism(s) underlying holistic processing. Using an individual differences approach, researchers have examined relations between various measures of holistic processing in an attempt to resolve these questions. In keeping with this, we examined relationships between four commonly used measures of holistic face processing in a large group of participants (N = 223): (1) The Face Inversion Effect, (2) the Part Whole Effect (PWE), (3) the Composite Face Effect, and (4) the Configural Featural Detection Task (CFDT). Several novel methodological and analytical elements were introduced, including the use of factor analysis and the inclusion of control conditions to confirm the face specificity of all of the effects measured. The four indexes of holistic processing derived from each measure loaded onto two factors, one encompassing the PWE and the CFDT, and one encompassing the CE. The 16 conditions tested across the four tasks loaded onto four factors, each factor corresponding to a different measure. These results, together with those of other studies, suggest that holistic processing is a multifaceted construct and that different measures tap into distinct but partially overlapping elements of it.
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The Oxford Face Matching Test: A non-biased test of the full range of individual differences in face perception. Behav Res Methods 2021; 54:158-173. [PMID: 34131874 PMCID: PMC8863687 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-021-01609-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Tests of face processing are typically designed to identify individuals performing outside of the typical range; either prosopagnosic individuals who exhibit poor face processing ability, or super recognisers, who have superior face processing abilities. Here we describe the development of the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT), designed to identify individual differences in face processing across the full range of performance, from prosopagnosia, through the range of typical performance, to super recognisers. Such a test requires items of varying difficulty, but establishing difficulty is problematic when particular populations (e.g., prosopagnosics, individuals with autism spectrum disorder) may use atypical strategies to process faces. If item difficulty is calibrated on neurotypical individuals, then the test may be poorly calibrated for atypical groups, and vice versa. To obtain items of varying difficulty, we used facial recognition algorithms to obtain face pair similarity ratings that are not biased towards specific populations. These face pairs were used as stimuli in the OFMT, and participants were required to judge whether the face images depicted the same individual or different individuals. Across five studies the OFMT was shown to be sensitive to individual differences in the typical population, and in groups of both prosopagnosic individuals and super recognisers. The test-retest reliability of the task was at least equivalent to the Cambridge Face Memory Test and the Glasgow Face Matching Test. Furthermore, results reveal, at least at the group level, that both face perception and face memory are poor in those with prosopagnosia, and are good in super recognisers.
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31
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Marzi T, Gronchi G, Turano MT, Giovannelli F, Giganti F, Rebai M, Viggiano MP. Mapping the Featural and Holistic Face Processing of Bad and Good Face Recognizers. Behav Sci (Basel) 2021; 11:bs11050075. [PMID: 34068256 PMCID: PMC8153130 DOI: 10.3390/bs11050075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual abilities in face recognition (good versus bad recognizers) were explored by means of event-related potentials (ERPs). The adaptation response profile of the N170 component to whole faces, eyes and mouths was used in order to highlight the crucial role of individual abilities in identity repetition processes for unfamiliar faces. The main point of this study is to underline the importance of characterizing the performance (bad or good) of the participants and to show that behaviorally selected groups might reveal neural differences. Good recognizers showed selective right hemisphere N170 repetition effects for whole faces and not for features. On the contrary, bad recognizers showed a general repetition effect not specifically related to faces and more pronounced processing for features. These findings suggest a different contribution of holistic and featural analysis in bad and good performers. In conclusion, we propose that the N170 might be used as a tool to tease apart face encoding processes as a function of individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tessa Marzi
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 12 Via di San Salvi, 50135 Firenze, Italy; (T.M.); (G.G.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | - Giorgio Gronchi
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 12 Via di San Salvi, 50135 Firenze, Italy; (T.M.); (G.G.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | | | - Fabio Giovannelli
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 12 Via di San Salvi, 50135 Firenze, Italy; (T.M.); (G.G.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | - Fiorenza Giganti
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 12 Via di San Salvi, 50135 Firenze, Italy; (T.M.); (G.G.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
| | - Mohamed Rebai
- Department of Psychology, University of Rouen, 76130 Mont-Saint-Aignan, France;
| | - Maria Pia Viggiano
- Section of Psychology—Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child’s Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 12 Via di San Salvi, 50135 Firenze, Italy; (T.M.); (G.G.); (F.G.); (F.G.)
- Correspondence:
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Barton JJS, Davies-Thompson J, Corrow SL. Prosopagnosia and disorders of face processing. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:175-193. [PMID: 33832676 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00006-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Face recognition is a form of expert visual processing. Acquired prosopagnosia is the loss of familiarity for facial identity and has several functional variants, namely apperceptive, amnestic, and associative forms. Acquired forms are usually caused by either occipitotemporal or anterior temporal lesions, right or bilateral in most cases. In addition, there is a developmental form, whose functional and structural origins are still being elucidated. Despite their difficulties with recognizing faces, some of these subjects still show signs of covert recognition, which may have a number of explanations. Other aspects of face perception can be spared in prosopagnosic subjects. Patients with other types of face processing difficulties have been described, including impaired expression processing, impaired lip-reading, false familiarity for faces, and a people-specific amnesia. Recent rehabilitative studies have shown some modest ability to improve face perception in prosopagnosic subjects through perceptual training protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J S Barton
- Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
| | - Jodie Davies-Thompson
- Face Research Swansea, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Sketty, United Kingdom
| | - Sherryse L Corrow
- Visual Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN, United States
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Fisher K, Towler J, Rossion B, Eimer M. Neural responses in a fast periodic visual stimulation paradigm reveal domain-general visual discrimination deficits in developmental prosopagnosia. Cortex 2020; 133:76-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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Minio-Paluello I, Porciello G, Pascual-Leone A, Baron-Cohen S. Face individual identity recognition: a potential endophenotype in autism. Mol Autism 2020; 11:81. [PMID: 33081830 PMCID: PMC7576748 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-020-00371-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Face individual identity recognition skill is heritable and independent of intellectual ability. Difficulties in face individual identity recognition are present in autistic individuals and their family members and are possibly linked to oxytocin polymorphisms in families with an autistic child. While it is reported that developmental prosopagnosia (i.e., impaired face identity recognition) occurs in 2-3% of the general population, no prosopagnosia prevalence estimate is available for autism. Furthermore, an autism within-group approach has not been reported towards characterizing impaired face memory and to investigate its possible links to social and communication difficulties. METHODS The present study estimated the prevalence of prosopagnosia in 80 autistic adults with no intellectual disability, investigated its cognitive characteristics and links to autism symptoms' severity, personality traits, and mental state understanding from the eye region by using standardized tests and questionnaires. RESULTS More than one third of autistic participants showed prosopagnosia. Their face memory skill was not associated with their symptom's severity, empathy, alexithymia, or general intelligence. Face identity recognition was instead linked to mental state recognition from the eye region only in autistic individuals who had prosopagnosia, and this relationship did not depend on participants' basic face perception skills. Importantly, we found that autistic participants were not aware of their face memory skills. LIMITATIONS We did not test an epidemiological sample, and additional work is necessary to establish whether these results generalize to the entire autism spectrum. CONCLUSIONS Impaired face individual identity recognition meets the criteria to be a potential endophenotype in autism. In the future, testing for face memory could be used to stratify autistic individuals into genetically meaningful subgroups and be translatable to autism animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Minio-Paluello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy.
| | - Giuseppina Porciello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Alvaro Pascual-Leone
- Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Guttmann Brain Health Institute, Institut Guttmann de Neurorehabilitació, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Bylemans T, Vrancken L, Verfaillie K. Developmental Prosopagnosia and Elastic Versus Static Face Recognition in an Incidental Learning Task. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2098. [PMID: 32982859 PMCID: PMC7488957 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research on the beneficial effect of motion has postulated that learning a face in motion provides additional cues to recognition. Surprisingly, however, few studies have examined the beneficial effect of motion in an incidental learning task and developmental prosopagnosia (DP) even though such studies could provide more valuable information about everyday face recognition compared to the perception of static faces. In the current study, 18 young adults (Experiment 1) and five DPs and 10 age-matched controls (Experiment 2) participated in an incidental learning task during which both static and elastically moving unfamiliar faces were sequentially presented and were to be recognized in a delayed visual search task during which the faces could either keep their original presentation or switch (from static to elastically moving or vice versa). In Experiment 1, performance in the elastic-elastic condition reached a significant improvement relative to the elastic-static and static-elastic condition, however, no significant difference could be detected relative to the static-static condition. Except for higher scores in the elastic-elastic compared to the static-elastic condition in the age-matched group, no other significant differences were detected between conditions for both the DPs and the age-matched controls. The current study could not provide compelling evidence for a general beneficial effect of motion. Age-matched controls performed generally worse than DPs, which may potentially be explained by their higher rates of false alarms. Factors that could have influenced the results are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Bylemans
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Leia Vrancken
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Karl Verfaillie
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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36
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Stumps A, Saad E, Rothlein D, Verfaellie M, DeGutis J. Characterizing developmental prosopagnosia beyond face perception: Impaired recollection but intact familiarity recognition. Cortex 2020; 130:64-77. [PMID: 32640375 PMCID: PMC10762680 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Converging lines of research suggests that many developmental prosopagnosics (DPs) have impairments beyond face perception, but currently no framework exists to characterize these impaired mechanisms. One potential extra-perceptual deficit is that DPs encode/retrieve faces in a distinct manner from controls that does not sufficiently support individuation. To test this possibility, 30 DPs and 30 matched controls performed an old/new face recognition task while providing confidence ratings, to which a model-based ROC analysis was applied. DPs had significantly reduced recollection compared to controls, driven by fewer 'high-confidence target' responses, but intact familiarity. Recollection and face perception ability uniquely predicted objective and subjective prosopagnosia symptoms, together explaining 51% and 56% of the variance, respectively. These results suggest that a specific deficit in face recollection in DP may represent a core aspect of the difficulty in confidently identifying an individual by their face.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Stumps
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elyana Saad
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Rothlein
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mieke Verfaellie
- Memory Disorders Research Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, USA
| | - Joseph DeGutis
- Boston Attention and Learning Laboratory, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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37
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Wilcockson TD, Burns EJ, Xia B, Tree J, Crawford TJ. Atypically heterogeneous vertical first fixations to faces in a case series of people with developmental prosopagnosia. VISUAL COGNITION 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2020.1797968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas D.W. Wilcockson
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
- Psychology Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | | | - Baiqiang Xia
- Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Oulu, Finland
| | - Jeremy Tree
- Psychology Department, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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38
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Tian X, Wang R, Zhao Y, Zhen Z, Song Y, Liu J. Multi-Item Discriminability Pattern to Faces in Developmental Prosopagnosia Reveals Distinct Mechanisms of Face Processing. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:2986-2996. [PMID: 31813985 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2018] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) show specific deficits in face processing. However, the mechanism underlying the deficits remains largely unknown. One hypothesis suggests that DP shares the same mechanism as normal population, though their faces processing is disproportionally impaired. An alternative hypothesis emphasizes a qualitatively different mechanism of DP processing faces. To test these hypotheses, we instructed DP and normal individuals to perceive faces and objects. Instead of calculating accuracy averaging across stimulus items, we used the discrimination accuracy for each item to construct a multi-item discriminability pattern. We found DP's discriminability pattern was less similar to that of normal individuals when perceiving faces than perceiving objects, suggesting that DP has qualitatively different mechanism in representing faces. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study was conducted to reveal the neural basis and found that multi-voxel activation patterns for faces in the right fusiform face area and occipital face area of DP were deviated away from the mean activation pattern of normal individuals. Further, the face representation was more heterogeneous in DP, suggesting that deficits of DP may come from multiple sources. In short, our study provides the first direct evidence that DP processes faces qualitatively different from normal population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Tian
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Ruosi Wang
- Psychology Department, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Yuanfang Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Zonglei Zhen
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yiying Song
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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39
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Monti C, Sozzi M, Bossi F, Corbo M, Rivolta D. Atypical holistic processing of facial identity and expression in a case of acquired prosopagnosia. Cogn Neuropsychol 2020; 36:358-382. [PMID: 31983272 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1718071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Typical face perception is mediated by holistic processing (i.e., the simultaneous integration of face parts into a whole representation). People with Acquired Prosopagnosia (AP), who have lost the ability to recognise faces after a brain lesion, should thus show atypical holistic coding. Our aim is to use the composite-face effect (CFE) as a measure of holistic processing in ST, a 48-year-old woman with AP but normal recognition of facial expressions of emotions, and matched healthy control participants. Two experiments examining the CFE for identity (Experiment 1) and for expression of emotions (Experiment 2) were conducted. Contrary to controls, in both experiments, ST showed an atypical (i.e., reversed) CFE, thus suggesting altered holistic mechanisms affecting both components of perceptual judgement. Results also suggest that normal facial expression recognition is achievable even with holistic processing difficulties, possibly through compensatory, part-based, mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Monti
- Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa di Cura del Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Matteo Sozzi
- Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa di Cura del Policlinico, Milano, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit, "A.Manzoni" Hospital, Lecco, Italy
| | | | - Massimo Corbo
- Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa di Cura del Policlinico, Milano, Italy
| | - Davide Rivolta
- Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
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40
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Marsh JE, Biotti F, Cook R, Gray KLH. The discrimination of facial sex in developmental prosopagnosia. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19079. [PMID: 31836836 PMCID: PMC6910918 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55569-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by difficulties recognising and discriminating faces. It is currently unclear whether the perceptual impairments seen in DP are restricted to identity information, or also affect the perception of other facial characteristics. To address this question, we compared the performance of 17 DPs and matched controls on two sensitive sex categorisation tasks. First, in a morph categorisation task, participants made binary decisions about faces drawn from a morph continuum that blended incrementally an average male face and an average female face. We found that judgement precision was significantly lower in the DPs than in the typical controls. Second, we used a sex discrimination task, where female or male facial identities were blended with an androgynous average face. We manipulated the relative weighting of each facial identity and the androgynous average to create four levels of signal strength. We found that DPs were significantly less sensitive than controls at each level of difficulty. Together, these results suggest that the visual processing difficulties in DP extend beyond the extraction of facial identity and affects the extraction of other facial characteristics. Deficits of facial sex categorisation accord with an apperceptive characterisation of DP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade E Marsh
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
| | - Federica Biotti
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Richard Cook
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Katie L H Gray
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
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41
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Self-reported face recognition is highly valid, but alone is not highly discriminative of prosopagnosia-level performance on objective assessments. Behav Res Methods 2019; 51:1102-1116. [PMID: 30761463 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-018-01195-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Severe developmental deficits in face recognition ability (developmental prosopagnosia, or DP) have been vigorously studied over the past decade, yet many questions remain unanswered about their origins, nature, and social consequences. A rate-limiting factor in answering such questions is the challenge of recruiting rare DP participants. Although self-reported experiences have long played a role in efforts to identify DPs, much remains unknown about how such self-reports can or should contribute to screening or diagnosis. Here, in a large, population-based web sample, we investigated the effectiveness of self-report, used on its own, as a screen to identify individuals who will ultimately fail, at a conventional cutoff, the two types of objective tests that are most commonly used to confirm DP diagnoses: the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) and the famous faces memory test (FFMT). We used a highly reliable questionnaire (alpha = .91), the Cambridge Face Memory Questionnaire (CFMQ), and revealed strong validity via high correlations of .44 with the CFMT and .52 with the FFMT. However, cutoff analyses revealed that no CFMQ score yielded a clinical-grade combination of sensitivity and positive predictive value in enough individuals to support using it alone as a DP diagnostic or screening tool. This result was replicated in an analysis of data from the widely used PI20 questionnaire, a 20-question self-assessment of facial recognition similar in form to the CFMQ. We therefore recommend that screens for DP should, wherever possible, include objective as well as subjective assessment tools.
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42
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Tanaka JW, Heptonstall B, Campbell A. Part and whole face representations in immediate and long-term memory. Vision Res 2019; 164:53-61. [PMID: 31585389 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Although there is empricial support for the old adage that "we never forget a face" (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 104 (1975) 54-75), the cognitive processes responsible for our long-term face memories are not well understood. By manipulating the upright and inverted orientation of faces during encoding and retrieval, we investigated the influence of holistic processing on our ability to recognize faces stored in long-term memory. In Experiment 1, participants were trained to identify 12 novel upright faces (six male, six female) by name (e.g., "Joe," "Sue") to a criterion of 100% accuracy. Following learning, holistic memory for the upright and inverted faces was tested using the parts/wholes face recognition task. Different groups of participants were tested either immediately, one week, or two weeks after learning. A significant holistic effect was found for faces tested in their original upright orientation that was stable over the immediate, one-week, and two-week testing periods. In contrast, recognition of the same faces when shown inverted was poor and showed no evidence of holistic processing. In Experiment 2, faces were learned in their inverted orientations with 100% accuracy and tested in their upright and inverted orientations. At the immediate, one-week, or two-week intervals, recognition of inverted faces was relatively poor and there was no evidence of holistic processing for faces tested either in inverted or upright orientations. Collectively, these results indicate holistic processing provides an efficient means for the encoding and retrieval of faces in long-term memory that are relatively stable with the passage of time.
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Corrow SL, Davies-Thompson J, Fletcher K, Hills C, Corrow JC, Barton JJS. Training face perception in developmental prosopagnosia through perceptual learning. Neuropsychologia 2019; 134:107196. [PMID: 31541661 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent work has shown that perceptual learning can improve face discrimination in subjects with acquired prosopagnosia. OBJECTIVE In this study, we administered the same program to determine if such training would improve face perception in developmental prosopagnosia. METHOD We trained ten subjects with developmental prosopagnosia for several months with a program that required shape discrimination between morphed facial images, using a staircase procedure to keep training near each subject's perceptual threshold. To promote ecological validity, training progressed from blocks of neutral faces in frontal view through increasing variations in view and expression. Five subjects did 11 weeks of a control television task before training, and the other five were re-assessed for maintenance of benefit 3 months after training. RESULTS Perceptual sensitivity for faces improved after training but did not improve after the control task. Improvement generalized to untrained expressions and views of these faces, and there was some evidence of transfer to new faces. Benefits were maintained over three months. Training also led to improvements on standard neuropsychological tests of short-term familiarity, and some subjects reported positive effects in daily life. CONCLUSION We conclude that perceptual learning can lead to persistent improvements in face discrimination in developmental prosopagnosia. The strong generalization suggests that learning is occurring at the level of three-dimensional representations with some invariance for the dynamic effects of expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherryse L Corrow
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Visual Cognition Laboratory, Psychology Department, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, UK
| | - Jodie Davies-Thompson
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; FaReS (Face Research, Swansea), Department of Psychology, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, UK
| | - Kimberley Fletcher
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; University Hospitals of Derby & Burton NHS Foundation TrustUK
| | - Charlotte Hills
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jeffrey C Corrow
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
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Lee DH, Corrow SL, Pancaroglu R, Barton JJS. The Scanpaths of Subjects with Developmental Prosopagnosia during a Face Memory Task. Brain Sci 2019; 9:brainsci9080188. [PMID: 31382482 PMCID: PMC6721422 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci9080188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The scanpaths of healthy subjects show biases towards the upper face, the eyes and the center of the face, which suggests that their fixations are guided by a feature hierarchy towards the regions most informative for face identification. However, subjects with developmental prosopagnosia have a lifelong impairment in face processing. Whether this is reflected in the loss of normal face-scanning strategies is not known. The goal of this study was to determine if subjects with developmental prosopagnosia showed anomalous scanning biases as they processed the identity of faces. We recorded the fixations of 10 subjects with developmental prosopagnosia as they performed a face memorization and recognition task, for comparison with 8 subjects with acquired prosopagnosia (four with anterior temporal lesions and four with occipitotemporal lesions) and 20 control subjects. The scanning of healthy subjects confirmed a bias to fixate the upper over the lower face, the eyes over the mouth, and the central over the peripheral face. Subjects with acquired prosopagnosia from occipitotemporal lesions had more dispersed fixations and a trend to fixate less informative facial regions. Subjects with developmental prosopagnosia did not differ from the controls. At a single-subject level, some developmental subjects performed abnormally, but none consistently across all metrics. Scanning distributions were not related to scores on perceptual or memory tests for faces. We conclude that despite lifelong difficulty with faces, subjects with developmental prosopagnosia still have an internal facial schema that guides their scanning behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Ho Lee
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3N9, Canada
| | | | - Raika Pancaroglu
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3N9, Canada
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 3N9, Canada.
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Bate S, Bennetts RJ, Gregory N, Tree JJ, Murray E, Adams A, Bobak AK, Penton T, Yang T, Banissy MJ. Objective Patterns of Face Recognition Deficits in 165 Adults with Self-Reported Developmental Prosopagnosia. Brain Sci 2019; 9:brainsci9060133. [PMID: 31174381 PMCID: PMC6627939 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci9060133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last 15 years, increasing numbers of individuals have self-referred to research laboratories in the belief that they experience severe everyday difficulties with face recognition. The condition “developmental prosopagnosia” (DP) is typically diagnosed when impairment is identified on at least two objective face-processing tests, usually involving assessments of face perception, unfamiliar face memory, and famous face recognition. While existing evidence suggests that some individuals may have a mnemonic form of prosopagnosia, it is also possible that other subtypes exist. The current study assessed 165 adults who believe they experience DP, and 38% of the sample were impaired on at least two of the tests outlined above. While statistical dissociations between face perception and face memory were only observed in four cases, a further 25% of the sample displayed dissociations between impaired famous face recognition and intact short-term unfamiliar face memory and face perception. We discuss whether this pattern of findings reflects (a) limitations within dominant diagnostic tests and protocols, (b) a less severe form of DP, or (c) a currently unrecognized but prevalent form of the condition that affects long-term face memory, familiar face recognition or semantic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Bate
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Rachel J Bennetts
- College of Health and Life Sciences, Division of Psychology, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK.
| | - Nicola Gregory
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Jeremy J Tree
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
| | - Ebony Murray
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Amanda Adams
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Anna K Bobak
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK.
| | - Tegan Penton
- MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK.
| | - Tao Yang
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London SE14 6NW, UK.
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
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Arizpe JM, Noles DL, Tsao JW, Chan AWY. Eye Movement Dynamics Differ between Encoding and Recognition of Faces. Vision (Basel) 2019; 3:vision3010009. [PMID: 31735810 PMCID: PMC6802769 DOI: 10.3390/vision3010009] [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: 05/17/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial recognition is widely thought to involve a holistic perceptual process, and optimal recognition performance can be rapidly achieved within two fixations. However, is facial identity encoding likewise holistic and rapid, and how do gaze dynamics during encoding relate to recognition? While having eye movements tracked, participants completed an encoding ("study") phase and subsequent recognition ("test") phase, each divided into blocks of one- or five-second stimulus presentation time conditions to distinguish the influences of experimental phase (encoding/recognition) and stimulus presentation time (short/long). Within the first two fixations, several differences between encoding and recognition were evident in the temporal and spatial dynamics of the eye-movements. Most importantly, in behavior, the long study phase presentation time alone caused improved recognition performance (i.e., longer time at recognition did not improve performance), revealing that encoding is not as rapid as recognition, since longer sequences of eye-movements are functionally required to achieve optimal encoding than to achieve optimal recognition. Together, these results are inconsistent with a scan path replay hypothesis. Rather, feature information seems to have been gradually integrated over many fixations during encoding, enabling recognition that could subsequently occur rapidly and holistically within a small number of fixations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M. Arizpe
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Danielle L. Noles
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- School of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Jack W. Tsao
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Memphis, TN 38104, USA
| | - Annie W.-Y. Chan
- Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Children’s Foundation Research Institute, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis, TN 38103, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Brunel University London, London, UB8 3PH, UK
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Is developmental prosopagnosia best characterised as an apperceptive or mnemonic condition? Neuropsychologia 2019; 124:285-298. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Tardif J, Morin Duchesne X, Cohan S, Royer J, Blais C, Fiset D, Duchaine B, Gosselin F. Use of Face Information Varies Systematically From Developmental Prosopagnosics to Super-Recognizers. Psychol Sci 2018; 30:300-308. [DOI: 10.1177/0956797618811338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Face-recognition abilities differ largely in the neurologically typical population. We examined how the use of information varies with face-recognition ability from developmental prosopagnosics to super-recognizers. Specifically, we investigated the use of facial features at different spatial scales in 112 individuals, including 5 developmental prosopagnosics and 8 super-recognizers, during an online famous-face-identification task using the bubbles method. We discovered that viewing of the eyes and mouth to identify faces at relatively high spatial frequencies is strongly correlated with face-recognition ability, evaluated from two independent measures. We also showed that the abilities of developmental prosopagnosics and super-recognizers are explained by a model that predicts face-recognition ability from the use of information built solely from participants with intermediate face-recognition abilities ( n = 99). This supports the hypothesis that the use of information varies quantitatively from developmental prosopagnosics to super-recognizers as a function of face-recognition ability.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sarah Cohan
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University
| | - Jessica Royer
- Département de Psychoéducation et Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais
| | - Caroline Blais
- Département de Psychoéducation et Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais
| | - Daniel Fiset
- Département de Psychoéducation et Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais
| | - Brad Duchaine
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
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Towler J, Fisher K, Eimer M. Holistic face perception is impaired in developmental prosopagnosia. Cortex 2018; 108:112-126. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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50
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Royer J, Blais C, Charbonneau I, Déry K, Tardif J, Duchaine B, Gosselin F, Fiset D. Greater reliance on the eye region predicts better face recognition ability. Cognition 2018; 181:12-20. [PMID: 30103033 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Interest in using individual differences in face recognition ability to better understand the perceptual and cognitive mechanisms supporting face processing has grown substantially in recent years. The goal of this study was to determine how varying levels of face recognition ability are linked to changes in visual information extraction strategies in an identity recognition task. To address this question, fifty participants completed six tasks measuring face and object processing abilities. Using the Bubbles method (Gosselin & Schyns, 2001), we also measured each individual's use of visual information in face recognition. At the group level, our results replicate previous findings demonstrating the importance of the eye region for face identification. More importantly, we show that face processing ability is related to a systematic increase in the use of the eye area, especially the left eye from the observer's perspective. Indeed, our results suggest that the use of this region accounts for approximately 20% of the variance in face processing ability. These results support the idea that individual differences in face processing are at least partially related to the perceptual extraction strategy used during face identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Royer
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada
| | - Caroline Blais
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada
| | - Isabelle Charbonneau
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada
| | - Karine Déry
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada
| | - Jessica Tardif
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Canada
| | - Brad Duchaine
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, United States
| | | | - Daniel Fiset
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Canada.
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