Face Recognition Training for Face Blindness

Overseen By Joseph DeGutis, Ph.D.

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Disqualifiers: Neurological disorders, Psychiatric disorders, Substance dependence, others

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 3

Duration: 6 weeks

72 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Do I have to stop taking my current medications for the trial?

The trial protocol does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications. However, if you have ADHD, your medication must have been consistent for the past 6 months. Also, if you are currently in a behavioral or pharmacological intervention, you cannot participate.

What data supports the idea that Face Recognition Training for Face Blindness is an effective treatment?

The available research shows that Face Recognition Training can be effective for people with face blindness. For example, a study on a 6-year-old boy named L.G. showed that after training, he could recognize relatives and classmates better and stopped misrecognizing strangers. Another study found that adults and children with face recognition difficulties improved their face memory after training, with the greatest improvements seen in those who initially had the poorest skills. These improvements lasted even two weeks after the training ended. Additionally, a case study of an 8-year-old child named AL showed that training helped him better recognize familiar faces and reduced his reliance on nonfacial cues. Overall, these studies suggest that Face Recognition Training can help improve face recognition skills in both children and adults with face blindness. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

What safety data exists for face recognition training for face blindness?

The provided research does not directly address safety data for face recognition training. However, it discusses the efficacy of face training programs in improving face-processing skills in individuals with face recognition difficulties, including developmental prosopagnosia. The studies suggest improvements in face memory and perception, indicating potential benefits, but do not explicitly mention safety concerns or adverse effects. ^{1 3 6 7 8}

Is Face Memory Training, Face Perception Training a promising treatment for face blindness?

Yes, Face Memory Training and Face Perception Training show promise as treatments for face blindness. Studies have shown improvements in face memory for both adults and children with face recognition difficulties. These gains were especially notable in those with the most severe difficulties and persisted even after training ended. This suggests that the training can help improve face recognition skills. ^{1 3 4 9 10}

What is the purpose of this trial?

The goal of this study is to test the effectiveness of two experimental training programs aimed at improving face processing in developmental prosopagnosia (perception training, memory training) in comparison to an active control. The investigators will use a longitudinal design and randomize developmental prosopagnosics to three parallel arms: active control, perception training and memory training.

Research Team

Joseph DeGutis, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Harvard Medical School/VA Boston Healthcare Systems

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for adults aged 18-90 with lifelong difficulties in recognizing faces, impacting daily life. They must perform poorly on specific face recognition tests. Excluded are those with severe cognitive impairments, psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia or major depression, substance dependence, recent behavioral interventions, or significant neurological disorders.

Inclusion Criteria

You have had trouble recognizing faces for as long as you can remember, and it affects your daily life. This difficulty is not due to a specific event like a stroke or seizure.

You have performed significantly below average on tests that measure how well you recognize famous faces and remember faces.

Exclusion Criteria

I have a history of serious brain or nerve conditions.

You have serious mental health conditions like schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, or severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

You are currently addicted to alcohol or drugs.

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2 weeks

1 visit (in-person)

Treatment

Participants undergo 6 weeks of face perception or memory training, or active control training

6 weeks

Weekly coaching sessions

Post-Treatment Assessment

Participants are assessed within two weeks of training completion

2 weeks

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in face recognition abilities after a 12-week no-contact period

12 weeks

1 visit (in-person)

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Face Memory Training
• Face Perception Training
• Placebo control training

Trial Overview The study compares two experimental training programs designed to improve face processing abilities in people with developmental prosopagnosia against an active control group. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: perception training, memory training, or placebo control.

Participant Groups

Group I: Memory Training Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants will perform 6 weeks of face memory training (5 x 40 min sessions/week) that targets enhancing encoding to improve face recollection. As training progresses, the repetition lags (spaces between repeated foil faces) and number of faces will increase.

Group II: Perception Training Active Control 1 Intervention

Participants will perform 6 weeks of face perception training (5 x 40 min sessions/week) that require discriminating faces based on internal features (e.g., eyebrow-eye distance). As training progresses, the faces will become more challenging and the face sizes will vary.

Group III: Active Control Training Placebo Group 1 Intervention

Participants will perform 6 weeks of face perception training (5 x 40 min sessions/week) that require discriminating faces based on external facial features (e.g., hair). As training progresses, the faces will become more challenging and the face sizes will vary.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Lead Sponsor

Trials

24

Recruited

10,800+

Findings from Research

A 6-year-old boy with congenital prosopagnosia showed significant improvements in face recognition after a targeted training program, successfully recognizing relatives and classmates by the end of the intervention.

Eye movement recordings indicated that the boy initially focused on the lower parts of faces, but training helped him learn to explore and recognize internal facial features, leading to better recognition abilities.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Congenital prosopagnosia in a child: Neuropsychological assessment, eye movement recordings and training. Pizzamiglio, MR., De Luca, M., Di Vita, A., et al.[2017]

Strategic compensatory training, like verbalizing distinctive facial features, has been found to be the most effective approach for improving face processing in individuals with acquired prosopagnosia (AP).

Recent studies indicate that adults with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) may benefit from both remedial training and treatments like oxytocin, showing group-level improvements and potential for generalization, suggesting that they have a more intact face processing system compared to those with AP.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Face processing improvements in prosopagnosia: successes and failures over the last 50 years. DeGutis, JM., Chiu, C., Grosso, ME., et al.[2023]

A face training program was effective in improving face memory skills in adults with developmental prosopagnosia, showing significant gains that persisted for at least two weeks after training, particularly in those with the most severe recognition difficulties.

In a smaller study with children, three out of four participants showed improvements in face memory, indicating that the training may also benefit younger individuals, although results for face perception were mixed.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Face recognition improvements in adults and children with face recognition difficulties. Bate, S., Dalrymple, K., Bennetts, RJ.[2022]

Acquired prosopagnosia, a condition where individuals lose the ability to recognize faces, can result from brain lesions and has different forms, including apperceptive, amnestic, and associative variants.

Recent studies indicate that perceptual training can modestly improve face recognition abilities in individuals with prosopagnosia, suggesting potential rehabilitation strategies for this condition.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prosopagnosia and disorders of face processing. Barton, JJS., Davies-Thompson, J., Corrow, SL.[2021]

The case study of AL, an 8-year-old with prosopagnosia, revealed specific impairments in facial feature perception, particularly with eyes and nose, while showing relatively better perception of mouth features.

A targeted treatment program improved AL's ability to name familiar faces and reduced his reliance on non-facial cues, leading to fewer misidentifications of unfamiliar faces, indicating the potential for effective intervention in face perception impairments.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Developmental prosopagnosia: A case analysis and treatment study. Brunsdon, R., Coltheart, M., Nickels, L., et al.[2010]

The computerized Benton Face Recognition Test (BFRT-c) and the Cambridge Face Perception Test (CFPT) were found to be effective in differentiating individuals with developmental prosopagnosia from age-matched controls, with BFRT-c performing as well or better than CFPT.

These tests outperformed other assessments like the University of Southern California Face Perception Test and a novel same/different face matching test, suggesting that BFRT-c and CFPT are reliable tools for assessing face perception impairments in both clinical and research settings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Comparing the sensitivity of face matching assessments to detect face perception impairments. Mishra, MV., Fry, RM., Saad, E., et al.[2022]

The term 'prosopagnosia' is often misused to describe patients with face recognition issues, but this condition should only refer to visual recognition deficits, not those involving other modalities like voice or name recognition.

Two case studies and a neuroanatomical analysis highlight the importance of accurately diagnosing recognition deficits, as mislabeling can lead to misunderstandings about the nature and scope of a patient's condition.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Not all patients labeled as "prosopagnosia" have a real prosopagnosia. Gainotti, G.[2019]

The case study focuses on a 13-year-old boy and his mother, both with congenital prosopagnosia, highlighting the significant impact this disorder has on their daily lives, including safety concerns and difficulties in social interactions.

The study emphasizes the need for tailored interventions and coping strategies, particularly for school nurses, to support students with prosopagnosia in managing academic and interpersonal challenges.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Do I know you? A case study of prosopagnosia (face blindness). Diaz, AL.[2008]

Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) performed similarly to control participants on a standardized test of unfamiliar face matching (Glasgow Face Matching Test), indicating that their face recognition issues may not stem from a basic perceptual deficit.

However, DP participants showed significantly poorer performance on a more variable test (Local Heroes Test) that involved matching faces under different conditions, suggesting they struggle specifically with matching images of the same person that vary in appearance.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Face matching impairment in developmental prosopagnosia. White, D., Rivolta, D., Burton, AM., et al.[2019]

Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is diagnosed at a low rate of 0.012% in the population, indicating it is likely underdiagnosed despite its significant impact on quality of life.

Individuals with prosopagnosia often have higher rates of comorbid conditions such as personality disorders, depression, epilepsy, and anxiety, suggesting that these conditions may be linked and highlighting the need for better diagnostic practices.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Interrogating an ICD-coded electronic health records database to characterize the epidemiology of prosopagnosia. Pressl, C., Jiang, CS., Correa da Rosa, J., et al.[2022]

References

1. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Congenital prosopagnosia in a child: Neuropsychological assessment, eye movement recordings and training. [2017]

2. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Face processing improvements in prosopagnosia: successes and failures over the last 50 years. [2023]

3. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Face recognition improvements in adults and children with face recognition difficulties. [2022]

4. Netherlands pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Prosopagnosia and disorders of face processing. [2021]

5. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Developmental prosopagnosia: A case analysis and treatment study. [2010]

6. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Comparing the sensitivity of face matching assessments to detect face perception impairments. [2022]

7. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Not all patients labeled as "prosopagnosia" have a real prosopagnosia. [2019]

8. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Do I know you? A case study of prosopagnosia (face blindness). [2008]

9. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Face matching impairment in developmental prosopagnosia. [2019]

10. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Interrogating an ICD-coded electronic health records database to characterize the epidemiology of prosopagnosia. [2022]