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Research on memory and language has been historically studied to understand the role of verbal memory in language. But it is far from clear how visual memory is involved in acquiring knowledge and language. In this review, we focus on the visuospatial sketchpad from the working memory model, which explains the perception and storage of visual representations to process language. It is significant from the light of findings that verbal memory is necessary for language; similarly, visual memory is also crucial in the processing and comprehension of language. To this point, we review the analysis of dual-coding theory, which suggests that verbal and visual memory are equally crucial for language processing. Further, the visual memory turns into visual or mental imagery that acts as an offline perception in the absence of sensory input. For people with aphantasia, this mental imagery is absent or impaired, leading to difficulties in language comprehension. Therefore, studying the importance of visual memory and mental imagery in language processing is necessary. Taken together, the present paper provides a broad-spectrum understanding of the mind's eye that develops and comprehends the information with mental imageries. The article explains the biological pathway of visual representations in the visual cortex, forming visual memory and mental imageries that eventually help in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To learn about prosopagnosia (face blindness), including its types, prevalence, diagnosis and care • To consider the potential effects of mask-wearing mandates due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on child health, particularly social and developmental outcomes • To identify the importance of using body language, gesture and verbal communication when visual information is reduced as a result of mask wearing Prosopagnosia or 'face blindness' is the inability to recognise people's faces. There are two types: congenital or developmental prosopagnosia, which is the most common, and acquired prosopagnosia, which may occur secondary to brain tumours, stroke or other brain disorders. The authors of this article explored if mask wearing as a result of the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may affect social and developmental outcomes in children, including the development of prosopagnosia. Limited research on this topic is available and, although some relevant publications were found, no definitive evidence of mask-induced prosopagnosia in children was identified. However, nurses should be aware of this issue and discuss coping strategies to support children with the condition. Longitudinal studies on outcomes in children from different age groups who grew up during the COVID-19 pandemic will provide further insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Prosopagnosia is a neurological disorder characterized by the inability to recognise faces. Prosopagnosia is also known as face blindness or facial agnosia. Prosopagnosia can be acquired or hereditary. The prevalence can approach 2.5% of the population. Aim: The aim of this study is to create an awareness of prosopagnosia syndrome among the dental students MATERIALS AND METHOD: A random survey sampling using a self structured questionnaire of 15 questions was circulated among 100 dental practitioners of Saveetha dental college. The data were compiled in excel and the results were statistically analyzed using spss software. RESULTS: Within the limits of this study, we arrive at the results that female respondents (67.55%) had greater awareness than male respondents (32.45%) on prosopagnosia syndrome. The results of this study also show that the respondents are least aware about prosopagnosia syndrome, the cause, treatment and measures taken for this syndrome. CONCLUSION: Thus from the results obtained, most of the practitioners were unaware of this syndrome and its causes. Hence every dentist and dental practitioner has to be aware of prosopagnosia syndrome to treat such patients who address them in an effective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficits in social communication are one of the behavioral signatures of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because faces are arguably the most important social stimuli that we encounter in everyday life, investigating the ability of individuals with ASD to process faces is thought to be important for understanding the nature of ASD. However, although a considerable body of evidence suggests that ASD individuals show specific impairments in face processing, a significant number of studies argue otherwise. Through a literature review, we found that this controversy is largely attributable to the different face tests used across different studies. Therefore, a more reliable and valid face test is needed. To this end, we performed a meta-analysis on data gleaned from a variety of face tests conducted on individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) who suffer a selective deficit in face processing. Based on this meta-analysis, we selected an old/new face recognition test that relies on face memory as a standard diagnostic test for measuring specific face processing deficits. This test not only reliably reflects DP individuals' subjective experiences with faces in their daily lives, but also effectively differentiates deficits in face processing from deficits caused by other general problems. In addition, DP individuals' performance in this test predicts their performance in a variety of face tests that examine specific components of face processing (e.g., holistic processing of faces). Finally, this test can be easily administrated and is not overly sensitive to prior knowledge. In summary, this test can be used to evaluate face-processing ability, and it helped to resolve the controversy whether individuals with ASD exhibit face-processing deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term covert recognition refers to recognition without awareness. In the context of face recognition, it refers to the fact that some individuals show behavioural, electrophysiological or autonomic indices of recognition in the absence of overt, conscious recognition. Originally described in cases of people that have lost their ability to overtly recognize faces (acquired prosopagnosia, AP), covert face recognition has more recently also been described in cases of congenital prosopagnosia (CP), who never develop typical overt face recognition skills. The presence of covert processing in a developmental disorder such as CP is a particularly intriguing phenomenon, and its investigation is relevant for a variety of reasons. From a theoretical point of view, it is useful to help shed light on the cognitive and neural underpinnings of face recognition deficits. From a clinical point of view, it has the potential to aid the design of rehabilitation protocols aimed at improving face recognition skills in this population. In the current review we selectively summarize the recent literature on covert face recognition in CP, highlight its main findings, and provide a theoretical interpretation for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current report we describe a successful training study aimed at improving recognition of a set of familiar face photographs in K., a 4-year-old girl with congenital prosopagnosia (CP). A detailed assessment of K.'s face-processing skills showed a deficit in structural encoding, most pronounced in the processing of facial features within the face. In addition, eye movement recordings revealed that K.'s scan paths for faces were characterized by a large percentage of fixations directed to areas outside the internal core features (i.e., eyes, nose, and mouth), in particular by poor attendance to the eye region. Following multiple baseline assessments, training focused on teaching K. to reliably recognize a set of familiar face photographs by directing visual attention to specific characteristics of the internal features of each face. The training significantly improved K.'s ability to recognize the target faces, with her performance being flawless immediately after training as well as at a follow-up assessment 1 month later. In addition, eye movement recordings following training showed a significant change in K.'s scan paths, with a significant increase in the percentage of fixations directed to the internal features, particularly the eye region. Encouragingly, not only was the change in scan paths observed for the set of familiar trained faces, but it generalized to a set of faces that was not presented during training. In addition to documenting significant training effects, our study raises the intriguing question of whether abnormal scan paths for faces may be a common factor underlying face recognition impairments in childhood CP, an issue that has not been explored so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]