Prosopo-affective agnosia and computerized tomography findings in patients with cerebral disorders

Thirty-nine male patients (median age 61, range 19-92) from a neurologic ward were examined by a test for prosopo-affective agnosia (PAA), i.e., impairment in the recognition of facial affect (emotions) with no impairment in the recognition of facial features (PA, prosopo-agnosia). The scores for patients without hemispheric damage were close to those of normal subjects; the scores for patients with right and left hemispheric disease were lower; and the worst performers were patients with diffuse bilateral disease. The relative independence of PAA from PA was re-affirmed. The neurologic findings on 21 patients were confirmed by computerized tomography (CT). On the PAA test, patients with negative CT results had scores close to those of normal subjects; patients with right or left hemispheric disease had lower scores; and the worst performers were patients with diffuse cortical atrophy. All patients who scored 87.5 percent or lower showed positive results with the CT scan, indicating that the PAA test may have some value in predicting positive CT findings. A significant deterioration in the ability to recognize facial affect was evident in the group of 15 patients aged 65 or older.