The term originally referred to a condition following acute brain damage (acquired prosopagnosia), but a congenital or developmental form of the disorder also exists, with a prevalence of 2.5%.

The functionality of the fusiform gyrus allows most people to recognize faces in more detail than they do similarly complex inanimate objects.

It remains unclear whether the fusiform gyrus is specific for the recognition of human faces or if it is also involved in highly trained visual stimuli.

The term "hereditary prosopagnosia" was introduced if DP affected more than one family member, essentially accenting the possible genetic contribution of this condition.

To examine this possible genetic factor, 689 randomly selected students were administered a survey in which seventeen developmental prosopagnosics were quantifiably identified.

This study provides epidemiological evidence that congenital prosopagnosia is a frequently occurring cognitive disorder that often runs in families.

The analysis of pedigree trees formed within the study also indicates that the segregation pattern of hereditary prosopagnosia (HPA) is fully compatible with autosomal dominant inheritance.

[12] Positron emission tomography (PET) and fMRI scans have shown that, in individuals without prosopagnosia, these areas are activated specifically in response to face stimuli.

Vascular causes of prosopagnosia include posterior cerebral artery infarcts (PCAIs) and hemorrhages in the infero-medial part of the temporo-occipital area.

[10] Recent studies have confirmed that right hemisphere damage to the specific temporo-occipital areas mentioned above is sufficient to induce prosopagnosia.

The reliability of the BFRT was questioned when a study conducted by Duchaine and Nakayama showed that the average score for 11 self-reported prosopagnosics was within the normal range.

[citation needed] The Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) was developed by Duchaine and Nakayama to better diagnose people with prosopagnosia.

[27] Management strategies for acquired prosopagnosia, such as a person who has difficulty recognizing people's faces after a stroke, generally have a low rate of success.

[27] Selective inabilities to recognize faces were documented as early as the 19th century, and included case studies by Hughlings Jackson and Jean-Martin Charcot.

He described three cases, including a 24-year-old man who sustained a bullet wound to the head and lost his ability to recognize his friends, family, and even his own face.

However, he was able to recognize and identify them through other sensory modalities such as auditory, tactile, and even other visual stimuli patterns (such as gait and other physical mannerisms).

[28] A case of a prosopagnosia is "Dr P." in Oliver Sacks' 1985 book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, though this is more properly considered to be one of a more general visual agnosia.

His recognition of pictures of his family and friends appeared to be based on highly specific features, such as his brother's square jaw and big teeth.

[33] It has also been argued that prosopagnosia may be a general impairment in understanding how individual perceptual components make up the structure or gestalt of an object.

Many adults with developmental prosopagnosia report that for a long time they had no idea that they had a deficit in face processing, unaware that others could distinguish people solely on facial differences.

Prosopagnosic children even have a hard time telling family members apart, or recognizing people out of context (e.g., the teacher in a grocery store).

[citation needed] Prosopagnosia particularly in children poses a special risk of danger, as the inability to accurately recognize familiar faces or the misidentification of strangers[20] can put the child in an unsafe situation.

In the 1965 British epic comedy film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, Pierre DuBois (Jean-Pierre Cassel) meets several girls of different nationalities, whom he perceives as all having the face of Irina Demich.

The character Inga Karkhuul Khura'in in the video game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice has prosopagnosia.

The protagonist of the NBC television series Brilliant Minds, neurologist Dr. Oliver Wolfe, played by Zachary Quinto, has prosopagnosia.

In Trial & Error, Josh's assistant and head researcher, Anne Flatch (played by Sherri Shephard) suffers from numerous medical conditions, the main (and most regularly mentioned) one being prosopagnosia.