It’s called prosopagnosia or face blindness. Lee Health Family Medicine Physician Dr. Gerry Tolbert said those dealing with it can see faces, but won’t recognize them, “So I see your face, but it’s just eyes, and nose, and a mouth. It’s like looking at an emoji every time I look at a person, so I don’t see Dan, or Fred, or Jill, I see smiley face, smiley face, smiley face.”
Dr. Tolbert said it stems from a problem inside the brain, “Part of the brain that were still working on understanding, just doesn’t communicate with the other part. What you’re getting is you get the information, it comes in as far as we can tell, people are still seeing the same faces, it’s just a part of the brain that processes that face doesn’t connect it to the information that you stored about that person.”
It can come from a variety of causes, including stroke or brain underdevelopment. “If it happens because of something like a stroke, it’s going to be fairly rapid. If it happens because of development or if it’s something that wasn’t structurally working at birth, they may not even realize that it’s something that’s missing, because of that it can be different for each person,” said Dr. Tolbert.
Treatment for face blindness can be tricky. “Is there a way to fix the problem, or treat the problem? Yes, there are lots of strategies and things that can be done from a lifestyle perspective, but in terms of actually fixing the brain itself no,” said Dr. Tolbert. “You may know what their voice sounds like. You may know how tall they are. You may know what their likes are and their dislikes, but you can’t take their face and attach it to the same information.”
Prosopagnosia can also affect someone’s ability to recognize objects. If you have concerns about face blindness, it’s best to speak with your doctor.
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