Damage to which brain region presents as an inability to recognize faces?

• A. Inability to Recognize Faces
• B. Memory Loss
• C. Impaired Language Production
• D. Emotional Blunting

Answer: (A)

Face recognition relies on a specialized area in the ventral temporal cortex, the fusiform gyrus, specifically the fusiform face area. When this region is damaged, the brain can no longer process facial identity effectively, leading to prosopagnosia—the inability to recognize familiar faces even though vision and other cognitive functions may be intact. This disruption is distinct from memory problems (hippocampus/medial temporal lobe), language production deficits (Broca’s area in the left frontal lobe), or emotional blunting (limbic system and related circuits). Thus, the inability to recognize faces points most directly to injury of the fusiform gyrus’s face-processing region.