Gelder, Beatrice deFrissen, IljaBarton, JasonHadjikhani, Nouchine2019-10-132003Gelder, B. de, I. Frissen, J. Barton, and N. Hadjikhani. 2003. “A Modulatory Role for Facial Expressions in Prosopagnosia.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100 (22): 13105–10. doi:10.1073/pnas.1735530100.0027-84240744-28311091-6490http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:41542826Brain-damaged patients experience difficulties in recognizing a face (prosopagnosics), but they can still recognize its expression. The dissociation between these two face-related skills has served as a keystone of models of face processing. We now report that the presence of a facial expression can influence face identification. For normal viewers, the presence of a facial expression influences performance negatively, whereas for prosopagnosic patients, it improves performance dramatically. Accordingly, although prosopagnosic patients show a failure to process the facial configuration in the interest of face identification, that ability returns when the face shows an emotional expression. Accompanying brain-imaging results indicate activation in brain areas (amygdala, superior temporal sulcus, parietal cortex) outside the occipitotemporal areas normally activated for face identification and lesioned in these patients. This finding suggests a modulatory role of these areas in face identification that is independent of occipitotemporal face areas.en-USJournal Article2019-10-1310.1073/pnas.1735530100