Focal damage to selective regions of the human association cortices can impair the ability to recognize the identity of previously familiar faces, even when visual perception and intellect remain unaltered. In general, the impairment is accompanied by an inability to learn the identity of new faces. The phenomenon has been noted since the turn of the century (Wilbrand 1892), and is known as prosopagnosia, or face agnosia. Its bizarre and unseeming nature lent itself to doubts that it could be caused by specific neural dysfunction, and psychodynamic interpretations were even offered. Recently, however, face agnosia has become the focus of serious study (eg Lhermitte et al 1972, Meadows 1974, Newcombe 1979, Benton 1980, Damasio et al 1982). Face agnosia, along with the varied neuropsychological disturbances that may accompany it, can now be analyzed with experimental paradigms and correlated with neuroanatomical loci of damage identified by neuroimaging methods. This affords a rare opportunity to elucidate cognitive and neural mechanisms of perception, learning, and memory in humans.