Final answer:
Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is a perceptual disorder where individuals cannot recognize faces, even of familiar people. They rely on alternative cues, such as voice or distinct physical features, to identify others. Prosopagnosia can stem from brain trauma or may be congenital.
Step-by-step explanation:
The perceptual disorder in which a person has lost the ability to recognize familiar faces is known as prosopagnosia. This disorder, also referred to as face blindness, can be extremely challenging for those affected. If a person with prosopagnosia encounters someone they know, they may not recognize them solely by facial features. Instead, they might use other cues such as the sound of the person's voice, their hairstyle, a distinctive article of clothing, or unique physical features like a mole. Prosopagnosia can result from trauma to the brain or may be present from birth, often associated with an underdevelopment of the anterior fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe, which is responsible for visual recognition and memory association.