Typecasting « Andrea’s Buzzing About:

Typecasting « Andrea’s Buzzing About:

Here is a very insightful post on Andrea's blog about recognizing people she sees everyday, inspired by a "twinning" incident. Twinning is what I call it when you see the same person several times and recognize them as that person, only to later find it was was two different, but somehow similar, people. This is not an unusual occurrence for Prosopagnosics.

A Web Site For PA Kids and Their Parents

Find A Face Organization Web Site

Here is a brand new Prosopagnosic web site for Kids. Says the co-founder Anne Mills:

"It's there to provide a service for parents of children and children with Prosopagnosia and other adults interested in helping children with PA, and will be directed by it's members' concerns. Many of the current members do not have PA, as that isn't a requirement for membership.

We are looking for someone with a degree in child psychology, or related field to volunteer to contribute to a monthly question and answer column. Please email me at annemills80@findaface.org if you are interested."

This will be a good resource for teachers who need to be aware of the possibility of undiagnosed prosopagnosia in their students. Another good outlet to further public education.

Brain Man, One Man's Gift May Be The Key To Better Understanding The Brain - CBS News

On the American television show "60 minutes", there was an interview with a Savant named Daniel Tamment. He is an Englishman, who is a 27-year-old math and memory wizard. The interview with Morley Safer can be seen in full here.

Daniel's is a fascinating case, but of particular interest to me is the statement he makes to Morley at the end of the interview:

"'One hour after we leave today, and I will not remember what you look like. And I will find it difficult to recognize you, if I see you again. I will remember your handkerchief. And I will remember you have four buttons on your sleeve. And I'll remember the type of tie you're wearing. It's the details that I remember,' Tammet tells Safer."

The problem he is describing sounds exactly like prosopagnosia. It would not be unusual for him to have PA, since he has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome—a mild form of autism. Prosopagnosia often occurs along with both of these conditions.

Mind Hacks: When faces fade

This post originated from www.MindHacks.com. Specific post link in title.

A March 2005 article in New Scientist reports on a study on a type of inherited prosopagnosia, suggesting a genetic basis for face recognition.

The research was an international effort, led by husband and wife team, geneticists Thomas and Martina Grüter. Notably, Thomas has a particular interest in this area, as he has prosopagnosia himself.

Mind Hacks spoke to two members of the research team about this intriguing study: Thomas on his own experience of prosopagnosia and the genetics of face recognition, and neuropsychologist Hadyn Ellis on the implications for the developing field of 'cognitive genetics'. Follow the title links for the entire interviews.

* * *

Thomas and Martina are part of a team of geneticists from the Institute of Human Genetics in Münster, Germany. They became interested in how Thomas' condition seemed to run in families and decided to study it in more detail. They recruited neuropsychologists from Cardiff University, initiating an international effort to examine the genetic basis of face perception.

The main finding of the study was that prosopagnosia seemed to be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, meaning only a single gene from one parent is needed to cause the condition.

Could it really be the case that the development of face recognition relies on a single gene ? We tackled Thomas on this controversial interpretation, but first we wanted to know, what it is like having prosopagnosia? * * *

How did you first realise you were unable to recognise faces as well as other people?

When I didn't recognize my teachers in the street. Some didn't care, but others were not amused. Most of the time, I wasn't even aware that I had overlooked them, if so, they didn't say a word.

What is it like having prosopagnosia ? For example, do faces seem strange or distorted to you?

Faces look perfectly normal, they just fade in my memory very quickly. I can recognize emotions as well as other people, maybe better.

To most people, not being able to recognise faces would seem a great disability. Why do you think most people with hereditary prosopagnosia are not significantly impaired by their condition ?

They have had all of their life to cope with the problem. They have learned to recognize people by other features like gait [walking style] or voice. And, of course, like colorblind people, they cannot imagine how it feels to remember faces normally.

Face blindness is a common hereditary disorder

This article on recent research into the hereditary type of prosopagnosia (HPA), which came out last summer. There are some statements I noted in bold type.

Face blindness is a common hereditary disorder: "Face blindness is a common hereditary disorder

"In the first study to examine whether the inability to recognize faces can be inherited, researchers found that it is in fact a common disorder that runs in families and is one of the most frequent disorders apparently controlled by a defect in a single gene. The study was published online June 30, 2006 in American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, and is available via Wiley InterScience.

Prosopagnosia (PA) or face blindness is characterized by the inability to differentiate faces, except for the most familiar ones such as members of one's family. It can be caused by brain injury, but cases where the disorder appears to run in families have also been reported. In the first systematic study of hereditary prosopagnosia (HPA), researchers led by Ingo Kennerknecht, M.D. of the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Muenster in Germany, recruited 689 subjects from local secondary schools and a medical school and administered a questionnaire to identify those with suspected HPA. They found 17 cases of the disorder, and of the 14 subjects who consented to further interfamilial testing, all of them had at least one first degree relative who also had it."

"Nearly all affected persons report a problem in deciding immediately whether a face is known," the authors state. Subjects report uncertainty in social situations and the inability to visualize the faces of close relatives or recall mental images of trees, leaves, or birds. They generally have difficulty following TV programs or movies because they cannot tell similar actors apart. All of the PA subjects revealed that they used up to three different strategies for overcoming the disorder. In the compensation strategy, subjects attempt to recognize people by other characteristics such as voice, gait, clothing or hair color. In the explanation strategy, subjects have a ready set of excuses as to why they can't recognize someone, such as being deep in thought or needing new glasses. In the avoidance strategy, subjects try to avoid situations where they might be unable to recognize faces, such as large functions or crowded places.

Inability to recall images of trees, leaves, or birds? Hmmm, I've never heard that before. I would say I'm not affected in this way, but then its not something I have ever focused on. I've heard many prosopagnosics (PA's) have trouble recognizing cars, but I've tested on this and seem to do ok.

The summary hits the nail on the head regarding the 3 coping strategies. One of the reasons I finally decided to "come out" about PA (albeit slowly) was that I noticed I was lying ALL the time, trying to cover up for my lapses, and make sure people did not feel that I took them lightly. My most frequent excuse was probably "I didn't recognize you because I was in my own little world.", implying I was daydreaming, and, of course, I never do that.

Amazon.com: The Echo Maker: A Novel: Books: Richard Powers

This is one of the few novels I have heard about that talks about prosopagnosia. The main character learns about the condition in the process of being diagnosed after a head injury.

Amazon.com: The Echo Maker: A Novel: Books: Richard Powers:

"Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. A truck jackknifes off an 'arrow straight country road' near Kearney, Nebr., in Powers's ninth novel, becoming the catalyst for a painstakingly rendered minuet of self-reckoning. The accident puts the truck's 27-year-old driver, Mark Schluter, into a 14-day coma. When he emerges, he is stricken with Capgras syndrome: he's unable to match his visual and intellectual identifications with his emotional ones. He thinks his sister, Karin, isn't actually his sister—she's an imposter (the same goes for Mark's house). A shattered and worried Karin turns to Gerald Weber, an Oliver Sacks–like figure who writes bestsellers about neurological cases, but Gerald's inability to help Mark, and bad reviews of his latest book, cause him to wonder if he has become a 'neurological opportunist.' Then there are the mysteries of Mark's nurse's aide, Barbara Gillespie, who is secretive about her past and seems to be much more intelligent than she's willing to let on, and the meaning of a cryptic note left on Mark's nightstand the night he was hospitalized. MacArthur fellow Powers (Gold Bug Variations, etc.) masterfully charts the shifting dynamics of Karin's and Mark's relationship, and his prose—powerful,"

prosopagnosia - Definitions from Dictionary.com

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source

pros·o·pag·no·sia (prs-pg-nzh, -z-)
n.

An inability or difficulty in recognizing familiar faces; it may be congenital or result from injury or disease of the brain.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source

Main Entry: pros·op·ag·no·sia
Pronunciation: "präs-&p-ag-'nO-zh&
Function: noun
: a form of visual agnosia characterized by an inability to recognize faces

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source

prosopagnosia

prosopagnosia: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB

3 lbs - Available on iTunes

I just found out you can also buy the 3lbs episode on iTunes for 1.99. It's the one called 'Heart Stopping'.

Here's a URL for it on the the iTunes Music Store
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewVideo?id=207093333&p=205451654&s=143441


There are four episodes up, even though only three aired.

3 lbs is on BBC1

3 lbs: CBS's cancelled Neurology Drama


I loved this show because there was some fun neuroscience stuff going on in the background as the personal drama of the characters played out. I was truly excited to see the third episode include a story line about Prosopagnosia. Unfortunately, that was the last episode we here in the U.S. were able to see, as the show was cancelled.

I just got a tip that the show is now airing in the UK. The face blind episode has already aired. It's on Sundays, BBC1, at 10.45pm. You might be able to find the episode repeated at some other time. I don't know how many episodes they will continue with in the UK, but if you like brain science, its a great show.

Comic Book Illustration

What I see when I look at you.

What I see in my mind when I look away. Hopefully your clothes, hair, or build are unique enough that I will remember you from them.