Covert Matching of Unfamiliar Faces in a Case of Prosopagnosia: an ERP Study

Perspectives on Prosopagnosia and Models of Face Recognition

“…This suggests that the early processes of face perception may not have been entirely normal in FE, and is consistent with the Farah et al (1993) model. An additional consideration is the contradiction between Bobes et al (2003) and Bobes et al (1999). The earlier paper also reported the results of an ERP study of participant FE but reached the contrasting conclusion that FRUs were impaired.…”

“…The earlier paper also reported the results of an ERP study of participant FE but reached the contrasting conclusion that FRUs were impaired. The discrepancy may be resolved by considering that the task presented by Bobes et al (1999) relied on face structural information held in long-term memory, whereas the task presented by Bobes et al (2003, this issue) did not. This permits an alternative account, as follows.…”

“…The achievement of an impaired representation of an unfamiliar face explains covert success and overt failure in the immediate sequential matching of unfamiliar faces. Impairment to the store of face records explains covert and overt failure in the task of Bobes et al (1999) that required long-term storage. This implies damage to early face perception and to the stage of storing structural face representations and is thus consistent with the Farah et al (1993) model.…”

“…For example, a sequential matching task on unfamiliar faces (e.g. Bobes et al, 2003, this issue) might rely only on the structural encoding stage and some other system involving the temporary storage of an abstract structural record of an unfamiliar face. Note that structural encoding must be a common stage for familiar and unfamiliar faces since it is only after this stage that a face can be categorised as familiar.…”

Brain potentials reflect residual face processing in a case of prosopagnosia

“…Additionally, in the present study covert recognition was examined in forced-choice behavioural tasks and with the SCR for purposes of comparison with the preceding literature. Covert matching of unfamiliar faces had been previously evinced in this patient using ERPs (Bobes, Lopera, García, Díaz-Comas, Galán, & Valdés-Sosa, 2003), by means of an identity-matching task that employed sequentially presented unfamiliar faces.…”