Helping the faceblind see - U of M and prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia (also known as face blindness) is a condition that refers to the inability to recognize a face that you've seen before and should be able to recall. Those affected can read emotions in a face, but identifying the person is next to impossible without certain cues.
Previously, much of the research into prosopagnosia has focused on adults. Dr. Al Yonas and Sherryse Corrow of the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development recently began working to better identify this disorder in children, with the hopes of eventually developing better treatment methods.

[@cerebulon]

I have this problem. The way I've learned to deal with it is to find imperfections in people - things that set them apart. Scars, hairstyles, jewelry, moles, freckles, etc. Some people walk or gesture a certain way and I've learned to identify them in that manner. But when people change their hairstyles or clothing styles dramatically, I have no idea who they are until they speak or otherwise indicate their identities. I'm really bad at identifying movie stars though.

[@imeliayohed9813]

Can you recognize only by their voices?

[@rahsd]

I Have this problem too

[@elgmalone]

@cerebulon I also have this problem and rely very heavily on voice recognition. I use the other tricks too. Body type, clothes, hair texture / style. A lot of recognition has to do with logic too. For instance following the plot of a movie or tv show can be difficult, I have to listen very closely to what is being said so I can match the characters up to previous scenes. But none of this works all of the time and I end up in a lot of embarrassing situations.

[@prolo6309]

Oh man, I got an idea, could you draw a what you see and post the video on KZbin?

[@DontHugMePlzz]

My friends and I have figured out i probably have face blindness, I think all of them look the same, and i cannot reconise them. I cant reconise my own parents or siblings faces. I tend to reconise people by their voice

[@djSpinege]

i can only recognize about 5 faces in my life at any time and it fades away if i don't see them everyday. i don't think i have Prosopagnosia but i know i have some mild form of it.

[@rickylionheart4577]

You definitely have prosopagnosia

[@susanking5918]

Just read Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney where the husband has this condition. Major aspect of the story. Interesting to learn about.

[@ElskaTheAnimator]

I can only recognize and remember people that I know very well or that have a “special face”, otherwise I usually recognize people by hair texture, hair style, hair colour and things like that which makes it REALLY annoying when someone dramatically cuts their hair like from long to short because it shocks my recognition and also I suspect I might be autistic and so I hate changes, and when someone cuts their hair it’s extremely frustrating. They will never get a positive comment out of me, I literally had a friend getting mad at me because I wasn’t complimenting her new hair when she had it and suddenly she started bullying me and we’re not friends anymore. I suspect I might have an extremely mild case of prosopagnosia, there’s also the fact that my father recognizes people by their shoes (He told me about it) so maybe I somehow got it from him?

[@pirmansyah-oe1it]

I can remember them for 2 weeks, before 2 weeks i can talk with wrong people. I stay calm, bcz i dont want to hurt him and myself. This is really suffering me, if they're using glasses or unique hair style its easy to remembering, but same hair, not using glasses,standard weight i always confusing

[@SheFishes22]

Do you have trouble bonding and forming love attachments?

[@auroraastarr]

I can recognize people if I see them regularly or If they are important to me.Like If I used to know you but haven't seen you in a long time and you weren't that close to me,I can't recognize their face then.So I might have a mild prosopagnosia maybe?

[@nominae]

Wahta I dont even realise they are same person, the man and woman except when I see the cut line on their forehead.

[@roadhouse_blues8081]

I never knew about this until now .. I have so many questions.. Can they see the facial features clearly ? I guess they can see them clearly but can’t differentiate between each individual ?? Is that correct ? Someone said she can remember 3-4 faces in her life ? So does that mean this disease allows them to see and differentiate a individual’s face when they see two faces simultaneously , but this diseases makes them to forget the faces if they don’t see it soon again?? Does that mean if you live with a person and see them all the time, you can remember and recognise their face ?

[@michellekaiser5907]

I just cannot recognize casual acquaintances, if I haven't seen them for a few months. I am essentially in hell at my husband's work functions.

[@roadhouse_blues8081]

Michelle Kaiser thanks for your reply .. it’s really unusual .. I hope it doesn’t cause any major problems for you in future . god bless you Love from india 🇮🇳

[@veronicaruston8224]

Maybe try watching the video. Literally all of your questions are answered in it.

[@roadhouse_blues8081]

@@veronicaruston8224 thanks for your polite reply on my comment from 2 years ago !

[@elgmalone]

@grunder20 What does that have to do with this video?

[@WrathOfDemons]

try it out with people dear to you and see if you can find a difference, just test it out

[@slonamu]

The best in this video is the little girl in the lab!

[@scarl3tflam3]

I think i have mild face blindness. Things got even harder for me when my classmates start to put on their hair scarfs because they are muslims.

[@WrathOfDemons]

what if instead of trying to use there eyes to recognize people they use touch feeling around peoples faces

[@prolo6309]

Nah, they can recognize their voice and their personality.

[@nivedyaraj852]

nah that'd be weird

[@veronicaruston8224]

They're not actually blind. I don't want people touching my face. Who knows where their hands have been.

[@niarataylor9523]

I dont know if I have this but when two actors look vaugely alike some hair color same bone structure I have a hard time following a plot so I have to learn their name quickly or keep imdb open so I can keep staring at their faces.

[@elvirathon]

Mine is very much like yours , my brain uses kind of a placeholder image , Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon were the same guy to me

[@Meeraal99]

Read the book Holding up the universe by Jennifer Niven

[@veronicaruston8224]

Irrelevant

[@weo1weo1weo1]

what did god do?

[@5amiam813]

Is this really a disorder? I mostly recognise people by their bodies, how they hold and move them. Also smell but I guess society wouldn't be too comfortable with a tiny subsection going around sniffing them. Also challenge is good for you. Finding your own way around a problem is really rewarding. Please don't take that away from these children. Infact stop experimenting on kids. Thankyou.

[@veronicaruston8224]

You're an experiment, too, but you don't even know it.

[@5amiam813]

@@veronicaruston8224 What is the experiment?

[@sterlingdriggs8806]

Yes this is a disorder. A person without the disorder could see somebody's face and tell them apart from everyone else on the planet except for perhaps a twin. We can usually recognize if we saw somebody before, even if it was years ago.

[@nickreynolds9745]

Me :)

[@grunder20]

God really is incredible.

[@BB-sg6oj]

can people with face blindness recognize own children?

[@prolo6309]

No, a KZbinr from Serbia cannot recognize his cousins.

[@MsBabyho]

I don't think so. But they can recognize them by some other senses. Or by the way they walk, talk or smell.