title: Abnormal configural face perception in a patient with right anterior temporal lobe atrophy.
abstract: Face perception is a vital aspect of human social functioning and involves specialized cognitive and neural mechanisms. For example, configural face processing involves determining the relationship between the parts of the face, and this process enables us to differentiate between different faces. Here, we report an unusual case in which right anterior temporal lobe atrophy resulted in a profound deficit in the ability to recognize faces. We demonstrate that this patient is not able to process faces via configural information, raising the possibility that the right anterior temporal lobe has a role in configural face processing.
authors.affiliation: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. markaw@mit.edu
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Halmagyi
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010469:Perceptual Distortion / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18