Persistent task-specific impairment of holistic face processing in acquired prosopagnosia

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuropsychology
• Vision Science

Background:

• Acquired prosopagnosia is characterized by face recognition deficits, often linked to impaired holistic processing.
• The task-dependency, face-specificity, and temporal persistence of these holistic processing deficits remain under-investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role and characteristics of holistic processing in a single case of acquired prosopagnosia (Patient DS).
• To determine if holistic processing deficits are task-specific and persist over time.

Main Methods:

• Patient DS and neurotypical controls completed standard holistic face processing tasks (face inversion, part-whole, composite face).
• Global non-face processing was assessed using the Navon task.
• A longitudinal assessment was conducted four years after the initial evaluation.

Main Results:

• Patient DS exhibited impaired face inversion effects but comparable part-whole and composite face effects relative to controls.
• Global precedence effects in the Navon task were comparable between Patient DS and controls.
• The observed pattern of preserved and impaired holistic processing remained consistent in the follow-up evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Holistic processing deficits in acquired prosopagnosia may be task-specific rather than global.
• The findings suggest that these specific deficits can be persistent and potentially chronic.
• Caution is advised due to the single-case design and potential floor effects in the analyses.