Topographic disorientation (TD) in Developmental and Aquired Prosopagnosia patients

Abstract

Previous studies report that acquired prosopagnosia is frequently associated with topographic disorientation. However, whether this is associated with a specific anatomic subtype of prosopagnosia, how frequently it is seen with the developmental variant of this disorder, and what specific topographic function is impaired to account for this problem are not known. We studied ten subjects with acquired prosopagnosia from either occipitotemporal or anterior temporal lesions and seven with developmental prosopagnosia. Subjects were given a battery of topographic tests, including house and scene recognition, the road map test, a test of path integration from optic flow, and cognitive map formation and use. House and/or scene recognition were frequently impaired after either occipitotemporal or anterior temporal lesions in acquired prosopagnosia. Subjects with occipitotemporal lesions were also impaired in cognitive map formation: an overlap lesion analysis identified right fusiform and parahippocampal gyri as a likely correlate of this deficit. Path integration was intact in all and only one subject with acquired prosopagnosia had mild difficulty with directional orientation on the road map test. Only one subject with developmental prosopagnosia had difficulty with cognitive map formation, and none were impaired on the other tests. We conclude that topographic disorientation in acquired prosopagnosia reflects impaired place recognition, with a contribution from poor cognitive map formation when there is occipitotemporal damage. Topographic impairments are less frequent in developmental prosopagnosia.

Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2016