COVID can cause ‘face blindness’ says Dartmouth researchers

COVID-19 can cause difficulty recognizing faces and navigational problems, according to a new Dartmouth study in Cortex.

You can read Dartmouth News report here:

It’s widely known that COVID-19 can cause a range of neurological problems, including the loss of smell and taste, and impairments in attention, memory, speech, and language, known as “brain fog.” The Dartmouth study is the first to report prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, following symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

The researchers worked with Annie, a 28-year-old customer service representative and part-time portrait artist who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March 2020 and suffered a symptom relapse two months later. Shortly after the relapse, Annie noticed difficulty with face recognition and navigation. Annie recounted the time when she was at a restaurant meeting her family for the first time after having COVID-19. She didn’t recognize them, and when she walked past them again, her father called out to her. “It was as if my dad’s voice came out of a stranger’s face,” says Annie, who now relies on voices to recognize people that she knows.

Annie also experienced navigational deficits after having COVID-19. She has had difficulty remembering where particular sections in her grocery store are and relies on Google maps and its pin function to remember where she parks her car.