Diagnosing prosopagnosia

If you have problems recognising faces, your GP may refer you to a clinical neuropsychologist working within the NHS or private practice.

You may also be referred to a researcher who specialises in the field and is based at a nearby university.

You'll have an assessment involving a range of tests that assess your face recognition ability, among other skills. For example, you may be asked to:

  • memorise and later recognise faces you've never seen before
  • recognise famous faces
  • spot similarities and differences between faces presented next to each other
  • judge age, gender or emotional expression from a set of faces

If you live within travelling distance of Bournemouth University, the Centre for Face Processing Disorders may be able to offer you a formal testing session and the opportunity to take part in their research programme.

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018