Prosopagnosia Test, Symptoms, Causes, Cure: What is prosopagnosia caused by?

Prosopagnosia, commonly called face blindness, is simply a condition which describes one’s inability to accurately remember faces.

People who suffer from prosopagnosia are not able to recognize family members, partners and even friends.

Some may be unaware they have the condition, instead believing they have a “bad memory for faces”.

But prosopagnosia is entirely unrelated to intelligence or broader memory ability.

Prosopagnosia test

Neurologists mostly use computer-based tests to see if people can spot famous faces and memorize and recognize a set of unfamiliar faces.

The neurologist may advise some tests to confirm the diagnosis such as Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT) and Warrington Recognition Memory of Faces (RMF).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain can help diagnose areas of damage in the brain.

Prosopagnosia symptoms

The most common symptoms of prosopagnosia are;

1. Poor recognition of familiar individuals in person or in photographs.
2. Difficulty distinguishing individuals wearing uniforms or similar articles of clothing.
3. Establishment of identities by asking personal questions or by focusing on telltale clothing, hairstyles, jewelry, perfumes, or colognes.
4. Refusal to greet individuals by name.
5. Avoidance of meeting new people.
6. An inability to describe faces.
7. Confusion regarding plotlines in movies or plays with numerous characters.
8. Feelings of disorientation in crowded locations.

Prosopagnosia causes

What is prosopagnosia caused by? The causes of prosopagnosia are classified into two;

1. Developmental prosopagnosia; where a person has prosopagnosia without having brain damage.
2. Acquired prosopagnosia; where a person develops prosopagnosia after brain damage, often following a stroke or head injury

Prosopagnosia cure

As of now, there’s no specific treatment for prosopagnosia.

However, there may be using alternative strategies to use in recognizing people, such as remembering the way they walk or their hairstyle, voice or clothing.

But the strategies outlined above do not not always work, as for example, when a person with prosopagnosia meets someone in an unfamiliar location.