2024-07-24 12:06:07
Psychologists are using the series “Game of Thrones” to understand the mechanism by which the brain helps us recognize faces, reported the electronic publication “Euricolort”.
The findings provide new insight into prosopagnosia, a medical condition characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces and affecting approximately 1 in 50 people.
The researchers scanned the brains of over 70 volunteers while they watched footage from the popular TV series. Half of the participants were aware of the main characters of the series, and the other half had never seen the production.
When the central images appeared on the screen, the magnetic resonance imaging study showed that brain activity increased in neurotypical participants familiar with the characters. This is seen in areas related to non-visual knowledge about actors, such as who they are and what we know about them. Connections between the brain and non-visual areas also increased in people familiar with Game of Thrones. However, this activity was significantly weaker in the group of participants who had never watched the series.
To determine whether these brain regions are important for face recognition, the researchers repeated the test in people with prosopagnosia. Half of them had seen Game of Thrones, while the others were unfamiliar with the film. Consistent with their difficulty in noticing faces, the familiarity effect was not found in the same brain regions found in the other participants. The connections between visual and non-visual areas were also reduced in volunteers suffering from prosopagnosia.
“We were excited to see the results of the study as they show that our ability to recognize faces depends on what we know about people, not just what they look like,” said Professor Tim Andrews of the University of York, who is also the scientific leader of the research.
“Although it was thought that we recognize faces by learning their visual properties – features, configuration, etc., our research shows that it involves associating the image with knowledge about it, including character, body language, our personal experience with it and our opinion of him”.
Face recognition is essential for everyday life and social interactions, experts say. When people experience difficulties, it can have a significant impact on their lives and relationships, often leading to mental health problems and social anxiety.
The researchers chose to show participants footage from Game of Thrones because of the show’s international popularity and many well-developed main characters.
“The series captivates people around the world with its strong characters and their deeply nuanced personalities,” explains Kira Noad, who is part of the research team that conducted the study. According to her, much previous research into the brain mechanisms behind pattern recognition has been done in the laboratory with two-dimensional static images of faces. “We aimed to create a research format that was more like real life – to use video to show complex scenes with multiple people,” she says.
Further research is needed to investigate in more detail how activity in different areas of the brain enables us to recognize faces, as well as which factors may disrupt this process.
The results of the study were published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, BTA writes.