March 14, 2023 – COVID-19 has been shown to cause lack of taste and smell in some people and in addition causes “brain fog.”
Now New Research A study published in Cortex links this to face blindness – or prosopagnosia – the lack to acknowledge faces.
“Self-report data from 54 participants with long COVID showed that a majority reported impairment in visual perception and navigation skills,” the researchers wrote. “COVID-19 can cause severe and selective neuropsychological impairments that resemble deficits following brain injury, and it appears that profound visual impairment is not uncommon in people with long COVID.”
It is unknown how many individuals suffer from face blindness. Some are born with it, while others lose the power to acknowledge faces as a consequence of brain damage, typically attributable to a stroke or brain injury. USA today reported.
Facial recognition occurs in six areas on either side of the brain. Damage to one among these areas – particularly on the proper side – can impair facial recognition.
Another study found that greater than 1% of individuals have difficulty recognizing faces. Some can't follow TV shows since the actors look similar. And the disorder could make social situations awkward. In extreme cases, victims can't recognize themselves.
The researchers wrote about one participant within the study, a 28-year-old woman they called only Annie.
She contracted COVID-19 in March 2020. She recovered enough to work at home again by mid-April 2020. When she saw her family for the primary time in June of this 12 months, she couldn’t recognize her father and will not distinguish him from an uncle.
“My father’s voice came from the face of a stranger,” she told researchers.
Annie reported having a tough time navigating her food market and finding her automobile within the car parking zone, and she or he is experiencing the standard symptoms of Long COVID – fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and migraines.