Do you suffer from Prosopagnosia?

 

A rare disease or a health syndrome catches the blaring limelight when a celebrity gets vocal and talks about it. Be it body shaming or the bio-polar syndrome, the health concern opens the minds of the audience and becomes a topic for discussion.

It was only when recently Hollywood actor Brad Pitt’s confession which made blazing headlines that he is ‘suffering from ‘prosopagnosia’ or face blindness in lucid language. A couple of months back too, VJ, actor, influencer Shenaz Treasurywala made the revelation through a series of Instagram stories. “I have been diagnosed with prosopagnosia. Now I understand why I’ve never been able to put faces together. It’s a cognitive disorder… I always feel ashamed I can’t recognize faces, I recognize voices,” Shenaz wrote.

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While the hype didn’t make much of an impact with Shenaz’s revelation, Brad Pitt surely opened up a can of worms which got people talking and thinking.

What is Prosopagnosia all about?

Face blindness, or prosopagnosia, is a brain disorder. It’s characterized by the inability to recognize or differentiate faces. People with face blindness may struggle to notice differences in faces of strangers. Others may even have a hard time recognizing familiar faces.

Is it a genetic ailment?

Prosopagnosia is thought to be caused by abnormalities, impairment, or damage of a fold in the brain called the right fusiform gyrus. This area in the brain plays an important role in coordinating the neural systems that affect facial memory and perception. Though it hasn’t been yet proved to have a genetic pattern, Prosopagnosia can be caused by stroke, injury to the brain, or some neurodegenerative diseases.

Is there a sure-shot cure for Prosopagnosia?

There is no cure for face blindness. Treatment focuses on helping people with the condition find coping mechanisms to better identify individuals.

The neurologist may have you take an assessment that evaluates your ability to recognize facial features and help the patient learn to focus on other visual or verbal clues to identify a person.