Psychologists have turned to the popular TV series Game of Thrones to gain insights into how our brains recognize faces. Their research sheds light on prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, a condition that affects the ability to identify faces.
The study delved into how watching Game of Thrones affected brain activity in over 70 participants. Half of them were fans of the show, while the other half had never seen it. When the lead characters appeared on screen, MRI scans revealed higher brain activity in the regions associated with non-visual knowledge in participants familiar with the characters. Interestingly, these connections were weaker in those unfamiliar with the show.
Researchers also explored the impact of familiarity on brain activity in individuals with prosopagnosia. Similar to the neurotypical group, those who had watched Game of Thrones showed different brain responses compared to those who hadn’t. This highlighted the importance of personal knowledge in face recognition.
Professor Tim Andrews, the senior author of the study, expressed excitement about the findings, suggesting that recognizing faces goes beyond visual features and involves associating faces with personal knowledge and experiences.
Facial recognition plays a vital role in daily interactions, and difficulties in this area can lead to mental health challenges and social anxiety. The research indicates that prosopagnosia is linked to reduced neural connections, making it harder to connect faces with personal information crucial for recognition.
The choice of Game of Thrones for the study was influenced by its broad international appeal and well-developed characters. Lead author Kira Noad highlighted the importance of using video footage over static images to create a study format that mirrors real-life scenarios.
Further studies are needed to delve deeper into how brain regions interact during facial recognition and what factors may disrupt this process. The study titled ‘Familiarity enhances functional connectivity between visual and non-visual regions of the brain during natural viewing’ has been published in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
