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A century of prosopometamorphopsia studies
Jan Dirk Blom1, Bastiaan C Ter Meulen2, Jitze Dool2
1Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, the Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Prosopometamorphopsia, a rare visual disorder causing facial distortions, reveals that face perception networks are adaptable and resilient. Brain lesion analysis clarifies how these networks maintain normal facial perception despite damage.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Neurology
Background:
- Prosopometamorphopsia is an extremely rare disorder characterized by facial distortions.
- Understanding face gestalt perception is crucial for visual neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review cases of prosopometamorphopsia and analyze the underlying brain mechanisms of face gestalt perception.
- To investigate the network properties and adaptability of facial perception systems.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of 81 cases (8 new, 73 published over a century).
- Analysis of lesion locations associated with bilateral and unilateral facial distortions.
- Examination of evidence for network adaptability and compensatory mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Bilateral facial distortions linked to right-sided/bilateral occipital lesions.
- Unilateral distortions associated with ipsilateral lesions and splenium of the corpus callosum.
- Tentative evidence for left frontal and right parietal involvement in image fusion.
Conclusions:
- Face perception relies on adaptable, disseminated brain networks capable of maintaining function despite damage.
- High recovery rates and phenomena like cerebral asthenopia highlight network resilience.
- Potential for specialized networks for familiar/unfamiliar and own/other faces requires further investigation.
