Table of contents:
- What is prosopagnosia?
- What causes prosopagnosia?
- 1. Developmental Prosopagnosia
- 2. Acquired Prosopagnosia
- How is prosopagnosia diagnosed?
- Is prosopagnosia curable?
Usually, when someone has a new acquaintance with a new person, the first thing that is remembered is his face. Meanwhile, the person's name tends to be forgotten. However, there are also people who can't remember faces at all, you know. In fact, this includes a health problem called prosopagnosia. Prosopagnosia is a term for people who are "face blind". Are you one of those people who find it difficult to recognize someone's face? Check out the various symptoms and causes of this disorder.
What is prosopagnosia?
Prosopagnosia is a nervous system disorder characterized by difficulty recognizing faces. Prosopagnosia is a term that comes from Greek. "Prosop" means face and "agnosia" means ignorance.
The severity of prosopagnosia varies widely. If it is very bad, the sufferer cannot recognize the faces of the people closest to them even though they are often seen every day. Even to the point of not being able to remember his own face.
What causes prosopagnosia?
There are two main types of prosopagnosia viz developmental prosopagnosia which occurs in the absence of trauma to the brain. While acquired prosopagnosia occurs because of trauma to the brain, accidents, to strokes.
1. Developmental Prosopagnosia
People who experience this usually do not have the ability to recognize faces from birth. Also, he may not even be aware of his own condition, that he doesn't have the ability to remember faces.
This disease is more often associated with genetic disorders that run in families.
2. Acquired Prosopagnosia
A cquired prospagnosia is difficulty remembering faces due to previous trauma to the brain. Unlike the first type, people with acquired prosopagnosia will immediately notice the disorder.
This condition occurs due to damage to the fusiform gyrus, which is the area of the brain that regulates memory for remembering faces. However, keep in mind that prosopagnosia is a disorder that makes it difficult for a person to remember faces, not memory loss or even other nervous disorders.
So, people who suffer from this condition still have good memories related to experiences or events that they have experienced.
How is prosopagnosia diagnosed?
If indeed you find it suddenly difficult to remember someone's face, especially if you have just experienced certain trauma, you should immediately consult a neurologist. To diagnose this disease, the doctor will perform some initial examinations. For example, by giving you several pictures of faces to memorize and then you are asked to recall them.
You can also be given pictures of famous figures to recognize or compare two facial images to look for similarities and differences. Some other tests that can be done for example Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT) and Warrington Recognition Memory of Faces (WRMF).
In addition, experts also advise not to do the test yourself via the internet and just stick with the results. The article is, of course, these results are not necessarily reliable.
Is prosopagnosia curable?
Until now, there is no therapy that can cure the condition of prosopagnosia. Patients who experience prosopagnosia can be conditioned to recognize someone based on characteristics such as gait, hair style, speaking habits, height and other physical characteristics.
