No Association Between Face Recognition and Spatial Navigation: Evidence from Developmental Prosopagnosia and Super-Recognizers
Authors: Estudillo, A.J., Dark, O., Wiener, J.M., Bate, S.
Journal: Brain Sciences
Publication Date: 01/11/2025
Volume: 15
Issue: 11
eISSN: 2076-3425
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15111140
Abstract:Background/Objectives: Previous studies have reported associations between prosopagnosia and spatial navigation, but it remains unclear whether this link is merely coincidental (i.e., observable only in prosopagnosia) or genuinely interdependent (i.e., such that variation in one ability predicts variation in the other across the full spectrum of face-recognition abilities). This study aimed to directly test this possibility by examining the relationship between face recognition and navigational skills in developmental prosopagnosics (DPs), super-recognizers (SRs), and control participants. Methods: Eighteen DPs, sixteen SRs, and twenty-eight control participants were tested in a recently validated route-learning task, in which they were asked to memorize a route from a first-person perspective. In the subsequent test stages, both route repetition and route retracing were assessed. Results: Group analyses showed comparable performance in route repetition and retracing across the three groups. Single-case analyses confirmed these findings and indicated that only two DPs and two SRs performed worse than control participants in route retracing. Conclusions: These findings suggest that spatial navigation and face recognition are not directly associated and therefore appear to be different skills.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/41621/
Source: Scopus
No Association Between Face Recognition and Spatial Navigation: Evidence from Developmental Prosopagnosia and Super-Recognizers.
Authors: Estudillo, A.J., Dark, O., Wiener, J.M., Bate, S.
Journal: Brain Sci
Publication Date: 24/10/2025
Volume: 15
Issue: 11
ISSN: 2076-3425
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15111140
Abstract:Background/Objectives: Previous studies have reported associations between prosopagnosia and spatial navigation, but it remains unclear whether this link is merely coincidental (i.e., observable only in prosopagnosia) or genuinely interdependent (i.e., such that variation in one ability predicts variation in the other across the full spectrum of face-recognition abilities). This study aimed to directly test this possibility by examining the relationship between face recognition and navigational skills in developmental prosopagnosics (DPs), super-recognizers (SRs), and control participants. Methods: Eighteen DPs, sixteen SRs, and twenty-eight control participants were tested in a recently validated route-learning task, in which they were asked to memorize a route from a first-person perspective. In the subsequent test stages, both route repetition and route retracing were assessed. Results: Group analyses showed comparable performance in route repetition and retracing across the three groups. Single-case analyses confirmed these findings and indicated that only two DPs and two SRs performed worse than control participants in route retracing. Conclusions: These findings suggest that spatial navigation and face recognition are not directly associated and therefore appear to be different skills.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/41621/
Source: PubMed
No Association Between Face Recognition and Spatial Navigation: Evidence from Developmental Prosopagnosia and Super-Recognizers
Authors: Estudillo, A.J., Dark, O., Wiener, J.M., Bate, S.
Journal: BRAIN SCIENCES
Publication Date: 2025
Volume: 15
Issue: 11
eISSN: 2076-3425
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15111140
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/41621/
Source: Web of Science
No Association Between Face Recognition and Spatial Navigation: Evidence from Developmental Prosopagnosia and Super-Recognizers.
Authors: Estudillo, A.J., Dark, O., Wiener, J.M., Bate, S.
Journal: Brain sciences
Publication Date: 10/2025
Volume: 15
Issue: 11
Pages: 1140
eISSN: 2076-3425
ISSN: 2076-3425
DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15111140
Abstract:Background/Objectives: Previous studies have reported associations between prosopagnosia and spatial navigation, but it remains unclear whether this link is merely coincidental (i.e., observable only in prosopagnosia) or genuinely interdependent (i.e., such that variation in one ability predicts variation in the other across the full spectrum of face-recognition abilities). This study aimed to directly test this possibility by examining the relationship between face recognition and navigational skills in developmental prosopagnosics (DPs), super-recognizers (SRs), and control participants. Methods: Eighteen DPs, sixteen SRs, and twenty-eight control participants were tested in a recently validated route-learning task, in which they were asked to memorize a route from a first-person perspective. In the subsequent test stages, both route repetition and route retracing were assessed. Results: Group analyses showed comparable performance in route repetition and retracing across the three groups. Single-case analyses confirmed these findings and indicated that only two DPs and two SRs performed worse than control participants in route retracing. Conclusions: These findings suggest that spatial navigation and face recognition are not directly associated and therefore appear to be different skills.
https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/41621/
Source: Europe PubMed Central