Local but not long-range microstructural differences of the ventral temporal cortex in developmental prosopagnosia

Song, S., Garrido, L. ORCID: 0000-0002-1955-6506, Nagy, Z. , Mohammadi, S., Steel, A., Driver, J., Dolan, R. J., Duchaine, B. & Furl, N. (2015). Local but not long-range microstructural differences of the ventral temporal cortex in developmental prosopagnosia. Neuropsychologia, 78, pp. 195-206. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.010

Abstract

Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) experience face recognition impairments despite normal intellect and low-level vision and no history of brain damage. Prior studies using diffusion tensor imaging in small samples of subjects with DP (n=6 or n=8) offer conflicting views on the neurobiological bases for DP, with one suggesting white matter differences in two major long-range tracts running through the temporal cortex, and another suggesting white matter differences confined to fibers local to ventral temporal face-specific functional regions of interest (fROIs) in the fusiform gyrus. Here, we address these inconsistent findings using a comprehensive set of analyzes in a sample of DP subjects larger than both prior studies combined (n=16). While we found no microstructural differences in long-range tracts between DP and age-matched control participants, we found differences local to face-specific fROIs, and relationships between these microstructural measures with face recognition ability. We conclude that subtle differences in local rather than long-range tracts in the ventral temporal lobe are more likely associated with developmental prosopagnosia.

Publication Type:	Article
Publisher Keywords:	Diffusion-weighted imaging, Inferior longitudinal fasciculus, Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, Prosopagnosia, Face perception, Individual differences
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Psychology