prosopagnosia

American  

[proh-soh-pag-noh-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh, prahs-uh-] / ˌproʊ soʊ pægˈnoʊ ʒə, -ʒi ə, -zi ə, ˌprɑs ə- /

noun

Neurology, Pathology.

1. a neurological disorder, unrelated to impaired vision or memory dysfunction, that makes the recognition of faces extremely difficult or impossible.

   The seemingly healthy woman was diagnosed with prosopagnosia after failing to identify her parents, her husband, herself, or any of her children from a collection of photographs.

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prosopagnosia British  

/ ˌprɒsəpæɡˈnəʊszɪə /

noun

1. an inability to recognize faces

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Etymology

Origin of prosopagnosia

First recorded in 1950; from Greek prósōp(on) “face, person” ( cf. prosopopoeia ( def. )) + agnosia ( def. )

Explanation

If you run into someone you know well, and they look you right in the face but don't recognize you — perhaps they have prosopagnosia, or "face blindness." Prosopagnosia is a neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces. People who suffer from prosopagnosia can see someone's face, but they can't connect the face with the identity of the person they're seeing — even if the person is a family member or close friend. The condition may be genetic, or it may be acquired after a brain injury or disease. To compensate, people with prosopagnosia use other cues to identify people, such as a person's voice or distinctive clothing. The word prosopagnosia comes from the Greek words prosopon, meaning "face," and agnosia, meaning "not knowing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prosopagnosia

The onset of prosopagnosia, Postal says, depends on what caused it.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2022

The best way to get a diagnosis, he says, “is to register with a lab that does research on prosopagnosia and participate in their studies.” Faceblind.org is recruiting for such a study, he adds.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2022

After all, as the researchers noted, all victims of prosopagnosia suffer from the same medical problems through the "highly interconnected neural structures between different temporal, occipital, and frontal brain areas with several feedback loops."

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2022

Pitt hasn't received an official diagnosis for prosopagnosia, but he told GQ that he has long struggled to recognize the faces of other individuals.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2022

What other information can a person suffering from prosopagnosia use to figure out whom they are seeing?

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013