Prosopagnosia is known as the inability to recognize facial identities. This disorder prevents individuals from recognizing friends and family as well as themselves. It is only found in about two percent of the general population. Being that these individuals are incapable of facial recognition, most prosopagnosics actually use different features of an individual to correctly identify them. These features include hair color, style of clothing, voice, etc. Using these different identifiers make it easier for prosopagnosics to follow conversations, television shows and movies.
A common misconception about this disorder is that many prosopagnosics have poor eyesight. However, prosopagnosia actually is caused by irregularities in the neural networks and is more common than we believe it to be. Hollywood star Brad Pitt has opened up about his struggle with facial recognition and how it has impacted his social life. He mentions how many people are offended that he doesn't recognize them but the truth is that he can't do anything to change it. Because of this, he actually prefers to stay in instead of go out so that he will not be put into uncomfortable situations. I would love to see further research into prosopagnosia and if the fusiform gyrus can be altered on either side to help those who suffer from the disorder to eventually be cured from it.
https://www.faceblind.org/research/
https://www.medicaldaily.com/brad-pitt-says-he-has-face-blindness-prosopagnosia-more-common-thought-246184
https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/a-quirk-of-the-brain-called-prosopagnosia-makes-it-hard/
Hey Alyssa! I love the example you provided about Brad Pitt having this disorder since you brought in a real life situation. I think it’s really cool that people with this disorder use other identifiers in order to recognize their family and or friends. Overall, your explanation of prosopagnosia was very clear and understanding.
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