title: Deficits in long-term recognition memory reveal dissociated subtypes in congenital prosopagnosia.
abstract: The study investigates long-term recognition memory in congenital prosopagnosia (CP), a lifelong impairment in face identification that is present from birth. Previous investigations of processing deficits in CP have mostly relied on short-term recognition tests to estimate the scope and severity of individual deficits. We firstly report on a controlled test of long-term (one year) recognition memory for faces and objects conducted with a large group of participants with CP. Long-term recognition memory is significantly impaired in eight CP participants (CPs). In all but one case, this deficit was selective to faces and didn't extend to intra-class recognition of object stimuli. In a test of famous face recognition, long-term recognition deficits were less pronounced, even after accounting for differences in media consumption between controls and CPs. Secondly, we combined test results on long-term and short-term recognition of faces and objects, and found a large heterogeneity in severity and scope of individual deficits. Analysis of the observed heterogeneity revealed a dissociation of CP into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. Thirdly, we found that among CPs self-assessment of real-life difficulties, based on a standardized questionnaire, and experimentally assessed face recognition deficits are strongly correlated. Our results demonstrate that controlled tests of long-term recognition memory are needed to fully assess face recognition deficits in CP. Based on controlled and comprehensive experimental testing, CP can be dissociated into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. The CP subtypes identified align with those found in prosopagnosia caused by cortical lesions; they can be interpreted with respect to a hierarchical neural system for face perception.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. rainer.stollhoff@mis.mpg.de
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stollhoff
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jost
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Elze
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kennerknecht
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005145:Face; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders; D057567:Memory, Long-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010641:Phenotype; D020238:Prosopagnosia / Q000145:classification / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012647:Self-Assessment; D055815:Young Adult