Abstract
Traditionally, perceptual processing of faces and words is considered highly specialized, strongly lateralized, and largely independent. This has, however, recently been challenged by studies showing that learning to read may affect the perceptual and neural processes involved in face recognition. In this light, investigating face processing in dyslexia, and reading in prosopagnosia becomes interesting: Do deficits in the two domains dissociate? Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a disorder of face processing in the absence of brain injury, and in the context of normal intelligence and general cognitive development. In three experiments, we investigated reading performance in a group of 11 participants with DP and matched controls: First, we examined if reading speed was affected by word length. Secondly, we compared RTs for single word and single letter stimuli. Third, we measured the word superiority effect in accuracy of word and letter report with brief exposure durations. These data were also analysed using methods based on a Theory of Visual Attention1, to extract estimates of perceptual processing speed for words and letters. We find that the group of DPs perform well within the normal range on all reading tests. They show normal reading RTs, and no abnormal word length effects. They also show an RT advantage for short words over single letters, as we have previously found in normal subjects.2 The DP group also show the typical word superiority effect, reflected in better overall accuracy, a lower perceptual threshold, and higher processing speed for words compared to letters. In sum, we find no evidence that reading skills are abnormal in developmental prosopagnosia, a finding that may challenge the recently proposed hypothesis that reading development and face processing abilities are intrinsically linked. References 1 Bundesen, C. (1990). Psych.Rev., 97, 523-547. 2 Starrfelt, R., et al. (2013). Front.Hum.Neurosci., 7, 519.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015