Very often when you are strolling down the street some people do not say hello, and, even when urged, they are unable to connect the face of the person in front of them with a specific name.
Such individuals may have prosopagnosia and have difficulty recognizing people.
They pay attention to some characteristics of acquaintances and then recognize them, but if these characteristics are changed, or the usual meeting context changes, the difficulty becomes evident with embarrassing forgetfulness.
For this reason, the diagnosis is also complicated as the use of compensatory strategies masks the main symptom of the pathology which consists in the non-recognition of faces.
This pathology is widespread in the population in 2.5-3% in its congenital form and not secondary to other pathologies.
We list the 7 main signs and symptoms attributable to prosopagnosia:
1. Difficulty recognizing a family member or friend, especially if they do not expect to meet him: it is difficult for a person with normal facial recognition to have this type of experience. People with prosopagnosia struggle to recognize their family members in contexts other than the usual ones.
2. When meeting someone new, they try to remember their haircut or distinctive feature rather than their face. This is a common coping strategy. It is easier for a person with prosopagnosia to look for traits to recognize people rather than the face (for example, a limp).
3. Some people avoid watching television for this reason. The difficulty is less with cartoon characters.
4. It is a rather rare symptom, it occurs more in self-recognition in childhood photos or in distinguishing oneself from a sibling.
5. People with prosopagnosia don’t recognize people on the street. Some people use the technique of smiling at everyone and for this reason they are considered very friendly people.
6. Many people with prosopagnosia use hair as a way to remember people, so a change in haircut makes you lose the ability to recognize people identified in this way.
7. Often people who know each other expect a greeting, those with prosopagnosia have difficulty recognizing people out of context and often lose friendships and acquaintances because they give the impression of being detached.
Currently, tests are used to evaluate the presence of prosopagnosia in an individual, these tests are still in the standardization phase as the mechanism of onset of this disorder is complex, which is not completely known.
Some people who have suffered an ischemic stroke may have this disorder as a consequence of the disease.
Genetic and neurobiological hypotheses still under study were considered.
Since the cause of the disease is not known, a specific treatment is not yet conceivable, although some behavioral techniques are considered valid to induce a greater possibility of visual recognition.
The main purpose of current treatments should try to reduce the distress of affected individuals as the embarrassing situations they often find themselves in can also lead to social isolation.
References:
http://www.humanuniqueness.org/do-you-suffer-from-face-blindness-seven-signs-and-symptoms-of-prosopagnosia/
