Configural face processes in acquired and developmental prosopagnosia: evidence for two separate face systems?

Configural face processes were tested using face recognition and face detec tion tasks in a comparison of acquired and developmental prosopagnosia. In the recognition task the two patients showed a very different pattern. The developmental patient does not show an inversion effect while the acquired prosopagnosia patient is better at matching inverted than normal stimuli. M oreover, there is no effect of face context on matching features in the dev elopmental case while the acquired prosopagnosia patient shows a strong neg ative-effect of context. However, in a speeded face detection task both pat ients are similarly unimpaired. The results are consistent with the existen ce of two separate face systems, one involved in face detection and the oth er in face recognition. NeuroReport 11:3145-3150 (C) 2000 Lippincott Willia ms & Wilkins.