Persistent task-specific impairment of holistic face processing in acquired prosopagnosia

Abstract

Abstract Face recognition deficits observed in Acquired Prosopagnosia are typically associated with impaired holistic processing. Nonetheless, whether this deficit is task-dependent, face-specific, and persistent over time has been under investigated. The present study examined the role of holistic processing in a case of acquired prosopagnosia (Patient DS). Patient DS, along with several neurotypical participants, completed the three standard measures of holistic face processing: the face inversion, part-whole, and composite face tasks, as well as a measure of non-face global processing: the Navon task. Our single-case analyses indicated that, compared to neurotypical participants, DS showed (1) impaired inversion effects, but (2) comparable part-whole and composite face effects, as well as (3) comparable global precedence effect in the Navon task. Interestingly, the same pattern of preserved and impaired holistic processing was observed in a second evaluation of DS four years later. While these findings suggest that holistic processing deficits in Acquired Prosopagnosia may be task-specific and persist over time—pointing toward the potential chronicity of the impairment—they should be interpreted with caution, given the floor effects and the single-case design.