Abstract
A case review of prosopagnosia was carried out. One hundred and fourteen cases, eighty five males and twenty nine females, satisfied the definition of prosopagnosia. Incidence of different etiologies, visual field defect, accompanied neuropsychological symptoms, and anatomical findings were analysed as a function of sex.
Significant differneces were found in incidence of strokes in male and female prosopagnostics (55% versus 19%, X2=7.00, P<0.01). In additon, female prosopagnostics were significantly more often accompanied by impaired recognition of unknown faces than male prosopagnostics (X2=4.94, P<0.05). While female prosopagnostics had only one and half times more frequently left homonymous hemianopsias than right ones, male prosopagnostic had six times more frequently. High incidence of strokes in male patients supports the theory of male vulnerability to strokes in visual associative cortex. On the other hand, frequent association of prosopagnosia with impaired recognition of unknown face and bilateral distribution of hemianopsia in female patients suggests different lateralization of functions underlying facial recognition in males and females.
