Face memory and discrimination: an analysis of the persistent effects of penetrating brain wounds.

This study was designed to examine the effects of penetrating head injury upon face discrimination and memory in 213 brain-injured Vietnam veterans and 49 normal controls. Impairment on tests of face memory was most associated with bilateral lesions and with unilateral lesions of the temporal lobe. Impairment on a test of face discrimination was most associated with right hemisphere, and with bilateral lesions which included either frontal or parietal lobe involvement. Performance on these tasks appeared independent of other visuospatial or verbal tasks. Cluster analysis revealed a dissociation between performance on facial memory and facial discrimination tasks.