Dr. Curtis Cripe: Important Facts on Prosopanosia

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Dr. Curtis Cripe is a brain injury and child neurodevelopment expert who leads the research and development team of NTL Group. Part of the team's tasks is the study of rare neurological disorders such as prosopagnosia or face blindness. Today, Dr. Curtis Cripe discusses this disorder.

Prosopagnosia prevents a person from recognizing faces, even familiar ones. According to reports, 1 out of 50 people in the UK suffer from developmental prosopagnosia. While many people fail to recognize that they have this condition, there is more to prosopagnosia than just being unable to recognize someone's face.

There are two types of prosopagnosia. These are developmental and acquired.

Developmental prosopagnosia occurs without brain injury. It may be genetic, with the person recognizing the signs later. Some children with this condition develop coping strategies to recognize the people around them. Others even grow up without knowing that there is a name for their face blindness, Dr. Curtis Cripe explains.

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Acquired prosopagnosia, on the other hand, is when a person develops the condition after brain damage due to a stroke or a head injury. In this case, a person discerns that their mind cannot identify people like they used to.

Neurodevelopment experts have yet to find a cure for prosopagnosia. Many studies are trying to find the cause of this condition and what can be done to help patients improve facial recognition.

Those living with prosopagnosia can work with neuropsychologists and neurodevelopment experts to help them find ways to develop recognition strategies that will help them socialize. There are also resources and support groups that can help patients and their families understand their condition better, adds Dr. Curtis Cripe.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is a neuroengineer with a diverse multidisciplinary background, including software development, bioengineering, addiction recovery, psychophysiology, brain injury, and more. Visit this blog to read similar articles.