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1
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Audette PL, Côté L, Blais C, Duncan J, Gingras F, Fiset D. Part-based processing, but not holistic processing, predicts individual differences in face recognition abilities. Cognition 2025; 256:106057. [PMID: 39746240 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2024.106057] [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: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 08/06/2024] [Accepted: 12/26/2024] [Indexed: 01/04/2025]
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the roles of part-based and holistic processing for face processing ability (FPA). A psychophysical paradigm in which the efficiency at recognizing isolated or combined facial parts was used (N = 64), and holistic processing was defined as the perceptual integration from multiple parts. FPA and object processing ability were measured using a battery of tasks. A multiple linear regression including three predictors, namely perceptual integration, part-based efficiency, and object processing, explained 40 % of the variance in FPA. Most importantly, our results reveal a strong predictive relationship between part-based efficiency and FPA, a small predictive relationship between object processing ability and FPA, and no predictive relationship between perceptual integration and FPA. This result was obtained despite considerable variance in perceptual integration skills-with some participants exhibiting a highly efficient integration. These results indicate that part-based processing plays a pivotal role in FPA, whereas holistic processing does not.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Louis Audette
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, J8X3X7, Canada.
| | - Laurianne Côté
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, J8X3X7, Canada.
| | - Caroline Blais
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, J8X3X7, Canada.
| | - Justin Duncan
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, J8X3X7, Canada.
| | - Francis Gingras
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, J8X3X7, Canada.
| | - Daniel Fiset
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, J8X3X7, Canada.
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2
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Barton JJS, Duchaine B, Albonico A. Imagery and perception in acquired prosopagnosia: Functional variants and their relation to structure. Cortex 2025; 183:330-348. [PMID: 39645440 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.11.011] [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: 08/19/2024] [Revised: 10/22/2024] [Accepted: 11/12/2024] [Indexed: 12/09/2024]
Abstract
Current models of face perception and the face-processing network suggest that acquired prosopagnosia may not be a single disorder but rather a family of variants differing in mechanism. It has been proposed that tests of face perception and face imagery can probe component processes to support apperceptive, associative, and amnestic distinctions. However, validating this proposal is hampered by the rarity of this condition. Here we report observations gathered over two-and-a-half decades on the perception of facial shape and the imagery for famous faces of twenty-three patients. Patients with lesions limited to the occipitotemporal lobes had an apperceptive profile, with impaired perception of facial shape but no or mild deficits for face imagery. The apperceptive defect affected not just configuration but also feature size and external contour, especially in the upper face, and was more severe when subjects attended to multiple aspects of the face. An amnestic profile, with severely impaired imagery and minimally affected perception, was seen in two patients, one with right and one with bilateral anterior temporal damage. Four patients had an apperceptive/amnestic combination, all with bilateral occipitotemporal and right anterior temporal damage. Right anterior temporal damage alone often caused only mild imagery deficits: along with their relatively intact face perception, these subjects came closest to meeting proposed exclusionary criteria for an associative variant, i.e., relative preservation of both imagery and perception. These results confirm a link between apperceptive prosopagnosia and occipitotemporal lesions. Damage to the right anterior temporal lobe was common to all with a severe amnestic deficit, but often requiring additional damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J S Barton
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
| | - Brad Duchaine
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA
| | - Andrea Albonico
- Department of Psychology, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, Canada
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3
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Barton JJS. The 2024 Richardson Lecture: Prosopagnosia - A Classic Neurologic Deficit Meets the Modern Era. Can J Neurol Sci 2024:1-9. [PMID: 39391940 DOI: 10.1017/cjn.2024.295] [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: 10/12/2024]
Abstract
Acquired prosopagnosia is a rare disorder, but it serves as a model for impairments in expert-level visual processing. This review discusses five key observations made over the past 30 years. First, there are variants, an apperceptive type linked to damage to the inferior occipitotemporal cortex and an amnestic type associated with anterior temporal lesions, both either right or bilateral. Second, these variants are clustered in syndromes with other perceptual deficits, the apperceptive type with field defects, dyschromatopsia and topographagnosia, and the amnestic type with topographagnosia and the auditory disorders of phonagnosia and acquired amusia. Third, extensive testing often shows additional problems with recognizing exemplars of other objects, especially when degrees of expertise are taken into account. Fourth, the prosopagnosic impairment does not affect all facial information. For example, the perception of expression and lip-reading likely depends on other neural substrates than those for processing facial identity. Last, face perception in prosopagnosia is not immutable but can improve with extensive training, though as yet this does not represent a cure for the condition. Continuing work with neural networks and animal models will enhance our understanding of this intriguing condition and what it tells us about how our brains process vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J S Barton
- Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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4
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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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5
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Chakravarthula PN, Eckstein MP. A preference to look closer to the eyes is associated with a position-invariant face neural code. Psychon Bull Rev 2024; 31:1268-1279. [PMID: 37930609 PMCID: PMC11192658 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02412-0] [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: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
When looking at faces, humans invariably move their eyes to a consistent preferred first fixation location on the face. While most people have the preferred fixation location just below the eyes, a minority have it between the nose-tip and mouth. Not much is known about whether these long-term differences in the preferred fixation location are associated with distinct neural representations of faces. To study this, we used a gaze-contingent face adaptation aftereffect paradigm to test in two groups of observers, one with their mean preferred fixation location closer to the eyes (upper lookers) and the other closer to the mouth (lower lookers). In this task, participants were required to maintain their gaze at either their own group's mean preferred fixation location or that of the other group during adaptation and testing. The two possible fixation locations were 3.6° apart on the face. We measured the face adaptation aftereffects when the adaptation and testing happened while participants maintained fixation at either the same or different locations on the face. Both groups showed equally strong adaptation effects when the adaptation and testing happened at the same fixation location. Crucially, only the upper lookers showed a partial transfer of the FAE across the two fixation locations, when adaptation occurred at the eyes. Lower lookers showed no spatial transfer of the FAE irrespective of the adaptation position. Given the classic finding that neural tuning is increasingly position invariant as one moves higher in the visual hierarchy, this result suggests that differences in the preferred fixation location are associated with distinct neural representations of faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Puneeth N Chakravarthula
- Psychological and Brain Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 4525 Scott Ave, St. Louis, MO, 2126 B63110, USA.
| | - Miguel P Eckstein
- Psychological and Brain Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
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6
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Volfart A, Rossion B, Brissart H, Busigny T, Colnat-Coulbois S, Maillard L, Jonas J. Stability of face recognition abilities after left or right anterior temporal lobectomy. J Neuropsychol 2024; 18 Suppl 1:115-133. [PMID: 37391874 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
Patients with anterior temporal lobe (ATL) resection due to mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) have difficulties at identifying familiar faces and explicitly remembering newly learned faces but their ability to individuate unfamiliar faces remains largely unknown. Moreover, the extent to which their difficulties with familiar face identity recognition and learning is truly due to the ATL resection remains unknown. Here, we report a study of 24 MTLE patients and matched healthy controls tested with an extensive set of seven face and visual object recognition tasks (including three tasks evaluating unfamiliar face individuation) before and about 6 months after unilateral (nine left, 15 right) ATL resection. We found that ATL resection has little or no effect on the patients' preserved pre-surgical ability to perform unfamiliar face individuation, both at the group and individual levels. More surprisingly, ATL resection also has little effect on the patients' performance at recognizing and naming famous faces as well as at learning new faces. A substantial proportion of right MTLE patients (33%) even improved their response times on several tasks, which may indicate a functional release of visuo-spatial processing after resection in the right ATL. Altogether this study shows that face recognition abilities are mainly unaffected by ATL resection in MTLE, either because the critical regions for face recognition are spared or because performance at some tasks is already lower than normal preoperatively. Overall, these findings urge caution when interpreting the causal effect of brain lesions on face recognition ability in patients with ATL resection due to MTLE. They also illustrate the complexity of predicting cognitive outcomes after epilepsy surgery because of the influence of many different intertwined factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angélique Volfart
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Bruno Rossion
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Hélène Brissart
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Thomas Busigny
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Sophie Colnat-Coulbois
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurochirurgie, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Louis Maillard
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Jacques Jonas
- CNRS, CRAN UMR 7039, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
- CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
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7
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Chang CH, Zehra S, Nestor A, Lee ACH. Using image reconstruction to investigate face perception in amnesia. Neuropsychologia 2023; 185:108573. [PMID: 37119985 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Damage to the medial temporal lobe (MTL), which is traditionally considered to subserve memory exclusively, has been reported to contribute to impaired face perception. However, it remains unknown how exactly such brain lesions may impact face representations and in particular facial shape and surface information, both of which are crucial for face perception. The present study employed a behavioral-based image reconstruction approach to reveal the pictorial representations of face perception in two amnesic patients: DA, who has an extensive bilateral MTL lesion that extends beyond the MTL in the right hemisphere, and BL, who has damage to the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). Both patients and their respective matched controls completed similarity judgments for pairs of faces, from which facial shape and surface features were subsequently derived and synthesized to create images of reconstructed facial appearance. Participants also completed a face oddity judgment task (FOJT) that has previously been shown to be sensitive to MTL cortical damage. While BL exhibited an impaired pattern of performance on the FOJT, DA demonstrated intact performance accuracy. Notably, the recovered pictorial content of faces was comparable between both patients and controls, although there was evidence for atypical face representations in BL particularly with regards to color. Our work provides novel insight into the face representations underlying face perception in two well-studied amnesic patients in the literature and demonstrates the applicability of the image reconstruction approach to individuals with brain damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Hsun Chang
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sukhan Zehra
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Adrian Nestor
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andy C H Lee
- Department of Psychology (Scarborough), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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8
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Music perception in acquired prosopagnosia. Neuropsychologia 2023; 183:108540. [PMID: 36913989 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108540] [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: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acquired prosopagnosia is often associated with other deficits such as dyschromatopsia and topographagnosia, from damage to adjacent perceptual networks. A recent study showed that some subjects with developmental prosopagnosia also have congenital amusia, but problems with music perception have not been described with the acquired variant. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to determine if music perception was also impaired in subjects with acquired prosopagnosia, and if so, its anatomic correlate. METHOD We studied eight subjects with acquired prosopagnosia, all of whom had extensive neuropsychological and neuroimaging testing. They performed a battery of tests evaluating pitch and rhythm processing, including the Montréal Battery for the Evaluation of Amusia. RESULTS At the group level, subjects with anterior temporal lesions were impaired in pitch perception relative to the control group, but not those with occipitotemporal lesions. Three of eight subjects with acquired prosopagnosia had impaired musical pitch perception while rhythm perception was spared. Two of the three also showed reduced musical memory. These three reported alterations in their emotional experience of music: one reported music anhedonia and aversion, while the remaining two had changes consistent with musicophilia. The lesions of these three subjects affected the right or bilateral temporal poles as well as the right amygdala and insula. None of the three prosopagnosic subjects with lesions limited to the inferior occipitotemporal cortex exhibited impaired pitch perception or musical memory, or reported changes in music appreciation. CONCLUSION Together with the results of our previous studies of voice recognition, these findings indicate an anterior ventral syndrome that can include the amnestic variant of prosopagnosia, phonagnosia, and various alterations in music perception, including acquired amusia, reduced musical memory, and subjective reports of altered emotional experience of music.
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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: 2.7] [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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10
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Rehabilitation of visual disorders. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:361-386. [PMID: 33832686 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00015-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
While there is a long history of rehabilitation for motor deficits following cerebral lesions, less is known about our ability to improve visual deficits. Vision therapy, prisms, occluders, and filters have been advocated for patients with mild traumatic brain injury, on the premise that some of their symptoms may reflect abnormal visual or ocular motor function, but the evidence for their efficacy is modest. For hemianopia, attempts to restore vision have had unimpressive results, though it appears possible to generate blindsight through training. Strategic approaches that train more efficient use of visual search in hemianopia have shown consistent benefit in visual function, while prism aids may help some patients. There are many varieties of alexia. Strategic adaptation of saccades can improve hemianopic alexia, but there has been less work and mixed results for pure alexia, neglect dyslexia, attentional dyslexia, and the central dyslexias. A number of approaches have been tried in prosopagnosia, with recent studies of small groups suggesting that face perception of prosopagnosic subjects can be enhanced through perceptual learning.
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11
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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: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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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12
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Yuan Y, Huang F, Gao ZH, Cai WC, Xiao JX, Yang YE, Zhu PL. Delayed diagnosis of prosopagnosia following a hemorrhagic stroke in an elderly man: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2020; 8:6487-6498. [PMID: 33392335 PMCID: PMC7760442 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i24.6487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acquired prosopagnosia is a rare condition characterized by the loss of familiarity with previously known faces and the inability to recognize new ones. It usually occurs after the onset of brain lesions such as in a stroke. The initial identification of prosopagnosia generally relies on a patient’s self-report, which can be challenging if it lacks an associated chief complaint. There were few cases of prosopagnosia presenting purely as eye symptoms in the previous literature confirmed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
CASE SUMMARY We present a case of delayed diagnosis of prosopagnosia after a right hemisphere stroke in an elderly man whose chief complaint was persistent and progressive "blurred vision" without facial recognition impairment. Ophthalmic tests revealed a homonymous left upper quadrantanopia, with normal visual acuity. He was found by accident to barely recognize familiar faces. The patient showed severe deficit in face recognition and perception tests, and mild memory loss in neuropsychological assessments. Further functional MRI revealed the visual recognition deficits were face-specific. After behavioral intervention, the patient started to rely on other cues to compensate for poor facial recognition. His prosopagnosia showed no obvious improvement eight months after the stroke, which had negative impact on his social network.
CONCLUSION Our case demonstrates that the presentation of prosopagnosia can be atypical, and visual difficulties might be a clinical manifestation solely of prosopagnosia, which emphasizes the importance of routinely considering face recognition impairment among elderly patients with brain lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Yuan
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Shengli Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University , Fuzhou 350100, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Institute of Clinical Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Center for Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
| | - Feng Huang
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Shengli Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University , Fuzhou 350100, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Institute of Clinical Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Center for Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
| | - Zhong-Hai Gao
- Department of Ophthalmology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
| | - Wen-Chao Cai
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
| | - Jia-Xin Xiao
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Shengli Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University , Fuzhou 350100, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Institute of Clinical Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Center for Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
| | - Yue-Er Yang
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Shengli Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University , Fuzhou 350100, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Institute of Clinical Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Center for Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
| | - Peng-Li Zhu
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Shengli Clinical Medical College, Fujian Medical University , Fuzhou 350100, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Institute of Clinical Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
- Fujian Provincial Center for Geriatrics, Fuzhou 350001, Fujian Province, China
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13
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Investigating face and house discrimination at foveal to parafoveal locations reveals category-specific characteristics. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8306. [PMID: 32433486 PMCID: PMC7239942 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-65239-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Since perceptual and neural face sensitivity is associated with a foveal bias, and neural place sensitivity is associated with a peripheral bias (integration over space), we hypothesized that face perception ability will decline more with eccentricity than place perception ability. We also wanted to examine whether face perception ability would show a left visual field (LeVF) bias due to earlier reports suggesting right hemisphere dominance for faces, or would show an upper or lower visual field bias. Participants performed foveal and parafoveal face and house discrimination tasks for upright or inverted stimuli (≤4°) while their eye movements were monitored. Low-level visual tasks were also measured. The eccentricity-related accuracy reductions were evident for all categories. Through detailed analyses we found (i) a robust face inversion effect across the parafovea, while for houses an opposite effect was found, (ii) higher eccentricity-related sensitivity for face performance than for house performance (via inverted vs. upright within-category eccentricity-driven reductions), (iii) within-category but not across-category performance associations across eccentricities, and (iv) no hemifield biases. Our central to parafoveal investigations suggest that high-level vision processing may be reflected in behavioural performance.
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14
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Prete G, Fabri M, Foschi N, Tommasi L. Voice gender categorization in the connected and disconnected hemispheres. Soc Neurosci 2020; 15:385-397. [PMID: 32130082 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2020.1734654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The role of the left and right hemispheres in processing the gender of voices is controversial, some evidence suggesting a bilateral involvement, some others suggesting a right-hemispheric superiority. We investigated this issue in a gender categorization task involving healthy participants and a male split-brain patient: female or male natural voices were presented in one ear during the simultaneous presentation of white noise in the other ear (dichotic listening paradigm). Results revealed faster responses by the healthy participants for stimuli presented in the left than in the right ear, although no asymmetries emerged between the two ears in the accuracy of both the patient and the control group. Healthy participants were also more accurate at categorizing female than male voices, and an opposite-gender bias emerged - at least in females - showing faster responses in categorizing voices of the opposite gender. The results support a bilateral hemispheric involvement in voice gender categorization, without asymmetries in the patient, but with a faster categorization when voices are directly presented to the right hemisphere in the healthy sample. Moreover, when the two hemispheres directly interact with one another, a faster categorization of voices of the opposite gender emerges, and it can be an evolutionary grounded bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Prete
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti, Italy
| | - Mara Fabri
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neuroscience and Cell Biology Section, Polytechnic University of Marche , Ancona, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Foschi
- Regional Epilepsy Center, Neurological Clinic, "Ospedali Riuniti" , Ancona, Italy
| | - Luca Tommasi
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara , Chieti, Italy
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15
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Djouab S, Albonico A, Yeung SC, Malaspina M, Mogard A, Wahlberg R, Corrow SL, Barton JJS. Search for Face Identity or Expression: Set Size Effects in Developmental Prosopagnosia. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:889-905. [PMID: 31905091 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The set size effect during visual search indexes the effects of processing load and thus the efficiency of perceptual mechanisms. Our goal was to investigate whether individuals with developmental prosopagnosia show increased set size effects when searching faces for face identity and how this compares to search for face expression. We tested 29 healthy individuals and 13 individuals with developmental prosopagnosia. Participants were shown sets of three to seven faces to judge whether the identities or expressions of the faces were the same across all stimuli or if one differed. The set size effect was the slope of the linear regression between the number of faces in the array and the response time. Accuracy was similar in both controls and prosopagnosic participants. Developmental prosopagnosic participants displayed increased set size effects in face identity search but not in expression search. Single-participant analyses reveal that 11 developmental prosopagnosic participants showed a putative classical dissociation, with impairments in identity but not expression search. Signal detection theory analysis showed that identity set size effects were highly reliable in discriminating prosopagnosic participants from controls. Finally, the set size ratios of same to different trials were consistent with the predictions of self-terminated serial search models for control participants and prosopagnosic participants engaged in expression search but deviated from those predictions for identity search by the prosopagnosic cohort. We conclude that the face set size effect reveals a highly prevalent and selective perceptual inefficiency for processing face identity in developmental prosopagnosia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Djouab
- University of British Columbia.,University of Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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16
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Cohen AL, Soussand L, Corrow SL, Martinaud O, Barton JJS, Fox MD. Looking beyond the face area: lesion network mapping of prosopagnosia. Brain 2019; 142:3975-3990. [PMID: 31740940 PMCID: PMC6906597 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Damage to the right fusiform face area can disrupt the ability to recognize faces, a classic example of how damage to a specialized brain region can disrupt a specialized brain function. However, similar symptoms can arise from damage to other brain regions, and face recognition is now thought to depend on a distributed brain network. The extent of this network and which regions are critical for facial recognition remains unclear. Here, we derive this network empirically based on lesion locations causing clinically significant impairments in facial recognition. Cases of acquired prosopagnosia were identified through a systematic literature search and lesion locations were mapped to a common brain atlas. The network of brain regions connected to each lesion location was identified using resting state functional connectivity from healthy participants (n = 1000), a technique termed lesion network mapping. Lesion networks were overlapped to identify connections common to lesions causing prosopagnosia. Reproducibility was assessed using split-half replication. Specificity was assessed through comparison with non-specific control lesions (n = 135) and with control lesions associated with symptoms other than prosopagnosia (n = 155). Finally, we tested whether our facial recognition network derived from clinically evident cases of prosopagnosia could predict subclinical facial agnosia in an independent lesion cohort (n = 31). Our systematic literature search identified 44 lesions causing prosopagnosia, only 29 of which intersected the right fusiform face area. However, all 44 lesion locations fell within a single brain network defined by connectivity to the right fusiform face area. Less consistent connectivity was found to other face-selective regions. Surprisingly, all 44 lesion locations were also functionally connected, through negative correlation, with regions in the left frontal cortex. This connectivity pattern was highly reproducible and specific to lesions causing prosopagnosia. Positive connectivity to the right fusiform face area and negative connectivity to left frontal regions were independent predictors of prosopagnosia and predicted subclinical facial agnosia in an independent lesion cohort. We conclude that lesions causing prosopagnosia localize to a single functionally connected brain network defined by connectivity to the right fusiform face area and to left frontal regions. Implications of these findings for models of facial recognition deficits are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander L Cohen
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Computational Radiology Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Louis Soussand
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Olivier Martinaud
- Department of Neurology Neuropsychology and Imaging of Human Memory, Caen-Normandy University, PSL Research University, EPHE, INSERM, Caen University Hospital, Caen, France
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
| | - Michael D Fox
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Division of Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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17
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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: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [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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18
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Barton JJS, Albonico A, Susilo T, Duchaine B, Corrow SL. Object recognition in acquired and developmental prosopagnosia. Cogn Neuropsychol 2019; 36:54-84. [PMID: 30947609 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2019.1593821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Whether face and object recognition are dissociated in prosopagnosia continues to be debated: a recent review highlighted deficiencies in prior studies regarding the evidence for such a dissociation. Our goal was to study cohorts with acquired and developmental prosopagnosia with a complementary battery of tests of object recognition that address prior limitations, as well as evaluating for residual effects of object expertise. We studied 15 subjects with acquired and 12 subjects with developmental prosopagnosia on three tests: the Old/New Tests, the Cambridge Bicycle Memory Test, and the Expertise-adjusted Test of Car Recognition. Most subjects with developmental prosopagnosia were normal on the Old/New Tests: for acquired prosopagnosia, subjects with occipitotemporal lesions often showed impairments while those with anterior temporal lesions did not. Ten subjects showed a putative classical dissociation between the Cambridge Face and Bicycle Memory Tests, seven of whom had normal reaction times. Both developmental and acquired groups showed reduced car recognition on the expertise-adjusted test, though residual effects of expertise were still evident. Two subjects with developmental prosopagnosia met criteria for normal object recognition across all tests. We conclude that strong evidence for intact object recognition can be found in a few subjects but the majority show deficits, particularly those with the acquired form. Both acquired and developmental forms show residual but reduced object expertise effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J S Barton
- a Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , Canada
| | - Andrea Albonico
- a Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , Canada
| | - Tirta Susilo
- b School of Psychology , Victoria University of Wellington , Wellington , New Zealand
| | - Brad Duchaine
- c Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences , Dartmouth College , Hanover , NH , USA
| | - Sherryse L Corrow
- a Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Psychology , University of British Columbia , Vancouver , Canada.,d Department of Psychology , Bethel University , Minneapolis , MN , USA
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19
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Burra N, Mares I, Senju A. The influence of top-down modulation on the processing of direct gaze. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2019; 10:e1500. [PMID: 30864304 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Revised: 01/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Gaze or eye contact is one of the most important nonverbal social cues, which is fundamental to human social interactions. To achieve real time and dynamic face-to-face communication, our brain needs to process another person's gaze direction rapidly and without explicit instruction. In order to explain the fast and spontaneous processing of direct gaze, the fast-track modulator model was proposed. Here, we review recent developments in gaze processing research in the last decade to extend the fast-track modulator model. In particular, we propose that task demand or top-down modulation could play a more crucial role at gaze processing than formerly assumed. We suggest that under different task demands, top-down modulation can facilitate or interfere with the direct gaze effects for early visual processing. The proposed modification of the model extends the role of task demand and its implication on the direct gaze effect, as well as the need to better control for top-down processing in order to better disentangle the role of top-down and bottom-up processing on the direct gaze effect. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Psychology > Perception and Psychophysics Neuroscience > Cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Burra
- Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Education, Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Ines Mares
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, England
| | - Atsushi Senju
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, England.,Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, England
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20
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Tests of whole upright face processing in prosopagnosia: A literature review. Neuropsychologia 2018; 121:106-121. [PMID: 30389553 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Prosopagnosia refers to an acquired or developmental deficit in face recognition. This neuropsychological impairment has received increasing attention over the last decade, in particular because of an increased scientific interest in developmental prosopagnosia. Studies investigating prosopagnosia have used a variety of different clinical and experimental tests to assess face processing abilities. With such a large variety of assessment methods available, test selection can be challenging. Some previous works have aimed to provide an overview of tests used to diagnose prosopagnosia. However, no overview that is based on a structured review of the literature is available. We review the literature to identify tests that have been used to assess the processing of whole upright faces in acquired and developmental prosopagnosia over the last five years (2013-2017). We not only review tests that have been used for diagnostic purposes, but also tests that have been used for experimental purposes. Tests are categorised according to i) their experimental designs and, ii) the stage of face processing that they assess. On this basis, we discuss considerations regarding test designs for future studies. A visual illustration providing a structured overview of paradigms available for testing the processing of whole upright faces is provided. This visual illustration can be used to inform test selection when designing a study and to apply a structured approach to interpreting findings from the literature. The different approaches to assessment of face processing in prosopagnosia have been necessary and fruitful in generating data and hypotheses about the cause of face processing deficits. However, impairments at different levels of face processing have often been interpreted as reflecting a deficit in the recognition stage of face processing. Based on the data now available on prosopagnosia, we advocate for a more structured approach to assessment, which may facilitate a better understanding of the key deficits in prosopagnosia and of the level(s) of face processing that are impaired.
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21
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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: 5.3] [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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22
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Fiset D, Blais C, Royer J, Richoz AR, Dugas G, Caldara R. Mapping the impairment in decoding static facial expressions of emotion in prosopagnosia. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 12:1334-1341. [PMID: 28459990 PMCID: PMC5597863 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsx068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 04/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Acquired prosopagnosia is characterized by a deficit in face recognition due to diverse brain lesions, but interestingly most prosopagnosic patients suffering from posterior lesions use the mouth instead of the eyes for face identification. Whether this bias is present for the recognition of facial expressions of emotion has not yet been addressed. We tested PS, a pure case of acquired prosopagnosia with bilateral occipitotemporal lesions anatomically sparing the regions dedicated for facial expression recognition. PS used mostly the mouth to recognize facial expressions even when the eye area was the most diagnostic. Moreover, PS directed most of her fixations towards the mouth. Her impairment was still largely present when she was instructed to look at the eyes, or when she was forced to look at them. Control participants showed a performance comparable to PS when only the lower part of the face was available. These observations suggest that the deficits observed in PS with static images are not solely attentional, but are rooted at the level of facial information use. This study corroborates neuroimaging findings suggesting that the Occipital Face Area might play a critical role in extracting facial features that are integrated for both face identification and facial expression recognition in static images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Fiset
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Canada.,Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Montréal, Canada
| | - Caroline Blais
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Canada.,Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Montréal, Canada
| | - Jessica Royer
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Canada.,Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Montréal, Canada
| | - Anne-Raphaëlle Richoz
- Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Gabrielle Dugas
- Département de Psychoéducation et de Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Canada.,Centre de Recherche en Neuropsychologie et Cognition, Montréal, Canada
| | - Roberto Caldara
- Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
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23
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Corrow SL, Albonico A, Barton JJS. Diagnosing Prosopagnosia: The Utility of Visual Noise in the Cambridge Face Recognition Test. Perception 2018; 47:330-343. [PMID: 29320938 DOI: 10.1177/0301006617750045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Adding visual noise to facial images has been used to increase reliance on configural processing. Whether this enhances the ability of tests to diagnose prosopagnosia is not known. We examined 15 subjects with developmental prosopagnosia, 13 subjects with acquired prosopagnosia, and 38 control subjects with the Cambridge Face Memory Test. We compared their performance on the second phase, without visual noise, and on the third phase, which adds visual noise. We analyzed the results with signal detection theory methods. The performance of controls worsened more than did that of prosopagnosic subjects when noise was added. The second phase showed better ability to discriminate between prosopagnosic and control subjects than did the third phase. For developmental prosopagnosia, a test using only the 48 trials of the first and second phases yielded sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 91% with a criterion of 33/48 correct, performance characteristics that are similar for a criterion of 43/72 for the whole test. We conclude that a shortened Cambridge Face Memory Test without the noisy images may be a quicker yet equally effective instrument for diagnosing prosopagnosia. The theoretical advantage of noisy images is outweighed by the poorer performance of control subjects with visual noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sherryse L Corrow
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, VGH Eye Care Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrea Albonico
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, VGH Eye Care Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, VGH Eye Care Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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24
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Eyetracking metrics reveal impaired spatial anticipation in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Neuropsychologia 2017; 106:328-340. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Revised: 09/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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25
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Ramon M, Busigny T, Gosselin F, Rossion B. All new kids on the block? Impaired holistic processing of personally familiar faces in a kindergarten teacher with acquired prosopagnosia. VISUAL COGNITION 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2016.1273985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Meike Ramon
- Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Busigny
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Frederic Gosselin
- Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
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26
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Davies-Thompson J, Fletcher K, Hills C, Pancaroglu R, Corrow SL, Barton JJS. Perceptual Learning of Faces: A Rehabilitative Study of Acquired Prosopagnosia. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 29:573-591. [PMID: 28139958 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Despite many studies of acquired prosopagnosia, there have been only a few attempts at its rehabilitation, all in single cases, with a variety of mnemonic or perceptual approaches, and of variable efficacy. In a cohort with acquired prosopagnosia, we evaluated a perceptual learning program that incorporated variations in view and expression, which was aimed at training perceptual stages of face processing with an emphasis on ecological validity. Ten patients undertook an 11-week face training program and an 11-week control task. Training required shape discrimination between morphed facial images, whose similarity was manipulated by a staircase procedure to keep training near a perceptual threshold. Training progressed from blocks of neutral faces in frontal view through increasing variations in view and expression. Whereas the control task did not change perception, training improved perceptual sensitivity for the trained faces and generalized to new untrained expressions and views of those faces. There was also a significant transfer to new faces. Benefits were maintained over a 3-month period. Training efficacy was greater for those with more perceptual deficits at baseline. We conclude that perceptual learning can lead to persistent improvements in face discrimination in acquired prosopagnosia. This reflects both acquisition of new skills that can be applied to new faces as well as a degree of overlearning of the stimulus set at the level of 3-D expression-invariant representations.
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