Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia
Other namesFace blindness
The fusiform face area, the part of the brain associated with facial recognition
Pronunciation
  • /ˌprɒsəpæɡˈnziə/
SpecialtyNeurology

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is a cognitive disorder of face perception in which the ability to recognize familiar faces, including one's own face (self-recognition), is impaired, while other aspects of visual processing (e.g., object discrimination) and intellectual functioning (e.g., decision-making) remain intact. The term originally referred to a condition following acute brain damage (acquired prosopagnosia), but a congenital or developmental form of the disorder also exists, with a prevalence of 2.5%.