3.17 : 안면인식불능증

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is the inability to recognize faces.

In severe cases, individuals with prosopagnosia may not recognize close family members, including parents and spouses, by their faces.

Prosopagnosia specifically impairs facial recognition, while the recognition of other objects or stimuli remains unaffected.

As a result, individuals with prosopagnosia depend on non-facial cues, such as unique skin patterns, body shape, and size, specific styles or colors of eyeglasses, and preferred clothing styles, to identify familiar people.

Prosopagnosia can be present from birth or acquired through brain injury, stroke, or neurological disease.

Developmental prosopagnosia disrupts neural communication and hinders face processing from infancy or early childhood to adulthood.

Studies show that the fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobe is crucial for facial recognition. Damage to this area can cause prosopagnosia.

This condition also demonstrates the limitations of brain plasticity, as facial recognition impairments persist throughout life despite repeated exposure to familiar faces.