[A case of prosopoagnosia (author's transl)].

A case of prosopoagnosia is described in a ten year old boy who was admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery in Parma, because of a cerebral contusion. This symptom is present in a number of patients with lesions involving the right hemisphere, particularly in post-rolandic injuries, often associated with left visual field defect, with directional and vestibular disturbances and metamorphopsia. This symptom may be interpreted as a defect which avoids simultaneous and them total acknowledgements. The acknoyledgement of human faces is an acquired ability susceptible to a regression to an infantile level.