Inability to Recognize Famous People Could be Associated with Early Dementia

The inability to recognize and name famous people such as Albert Einstein, Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey could be a sign of dementia, a new study reported. Researchers suggested that simple tests that assess the ability to recognize famous people can help identify signs of dementia in middle-age people.

Dementia is not a specific disease but is a cluster of conditions that affect the brain. People with dementia may not be able to perform daily chores like eating or dressing. These people may also experience behavioral changes, agitation, cognitive impairment and lose ability to control emotions. Memory loss is also one of the symptoms of dementia, however, it is not the only symptom.

"These tests also differentiate between recognizing a face and actually naming it, which can help identify the specific type of cognitive impairment a person has," said Tamar Gefen, MS, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and one of the study authors.

The study included 30 people who had primary symptoms of the condition. They were shown photographs of 20 famous people including Einstein, Princess Diana and Elvis Presley.

The participants were even given clues to help them identify the people. Participants who could give additional details of the person obtained extra scores on the test.

Later, researchers conducted brain scans on all the participants. They found that people with dementia scored lower on the tests; they scored an average of 79 percent in recognition of famous faces and 46 percent in naming them compared to 97 percent in recognition and 93 percent on naming scored by people without the condition.

"In addition to its practical value in helping us identify people with early dementia, this test also may help us understand how the brain works to remember and retrieve its knowledge of words and objects," Gefen said in a news release.

The study is published in the journal Neurology.