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Face perception
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== Genetic basis == While many cognitive abilities, such as general intelligence, have a clear genetic basis, evidence for the genetic basis of facial recognition is fairly recent. Current evidence suggests that facial recognition abilities are highly linked to genetic, rather than environmental, bases. Early research focused on genetic disorders which impair facial recognition abilities, such as [[Turner syndrome]], which results in impaired amygdala functioning. A 2003 study found significantly poorer facial recognition abilities in individuals with Turner syndrome, suggesting that the amygdala impacts face perception.<ref name=":6" /> Evidence for a genetic basis in the general population, however, comes from [[Twin study|twin studies]] in which the facial recognition scores on the [[Prosopagnosia|Cambridge Face Memory test]] were twice as similar for [[Twin|monozygotic]] twins in comparison to [[Twin|dizygotic]] twins.<ref name=":7">{{cite journal|last1=Wilmer|first1=J. B.|last2=Germine|first2=L.|last3=Chabris|first3=C. F.|last4=Chatterjee|first4=G.|last5=Williams|first5=M.|last6=Loken|first6=E.|last7=Nakayama|first7=K.|last8=Duchaine|first8=B.|date=16 March 2010|title=Human face recognition ability is specific and highly heritable|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=107|issue=11|pages=5238–41|bibcode=2010PNAS..107.5238W|doi=10.1073/pnas.0913053107|pmc=2841913|pmid=20176944|doi-access=free}}</ref> This finding was supported by studies which found a similar difference in facial recognition scores<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zhu|first1=Qi|last2=Song|first2=Yiying|last3=Hu|first3=Siyuan|last4=Li|first4=Xiaobai|last5=Tian|first5=Moqian|last6=Zhen|first6=Zonglei|last7=Dong|first7=Qi|last8=Kanwisher|first8=Nancy|last9=Liu|first9=Jia|title=Heritability of the Specific Cognitive Ability of Face Perception|journal=Current Biology|date=January 2010|volume=20|issue=2|pages=137–142|doi=10.1016/j.cub.2009.11.067|pmid=20060296|hdl=1721.1/72376|s2cid=8390495 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2010CBio...20..137Z |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{cite journal|last1=Shakeshaft|first1=Nicholas G.|last2=Plomin|first2=Robert|title=Genetic specificity of face recognition|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=13 October 2015|volume=112|issue=41|pages=12887–92|doi=10.1073/pnas.1421881112|pmid=26417086|pmc=4611634|bibcode=2015PNAS..11212887S |doi-access=free}}</ref> and those which determined the heritability of facial recognition to be approximately 61%.<ref name=":8" /> There was no significant relationship between facial recognition scores and other cognitive abilities,<ref name=":7" /> most notably general object recognition. This suggests that facial recognition abilities are heritable, and have a genetic basis independent from other cognitive abilities.<ref name=":7" /> Research suggests that more extreme examples of facial recognition abilities, specifically hereditary prosopagnosics, are highly genetically correlated.<ref name=":9">{{cite journal|last1=Cattaneo|first1=Zaira|last2=Daini|first2=Roberta|last3=Malaspina|first3=Manuela|last4=Manai|first4=Federico|last5=Lillo|first5=Mariarita|last6=Fermi|first6=Valentina|last7=Schiavi|first7=Susanna|last8=Suchan|first8=Boris|last9=Comincini|first9=Sergio|date=December 2016|title=Congenital prosopagnosia is associated with a genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene: An exploratory study|journal=Neuroscience|volume=339|pages=162–173|doi=10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.09.040|pmid=27693815|s2cid=37038809}}</ref> For hereditary prosopagnosics, an [[Dominance (genetics)|autosomal dominant]] model of inheritance has been proposed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kennerknecht|first1=Ingo|last2=Grueter|first2=Thomas|last3=Welling|first3=Brigitte|last4=Wentzek|first4=Sebastian|last5=Horst|first5=Jürgen|last6=Edwards|first6=Steve|last7=Grueter|first7=Martina|title=First report of prevalence of non-syndromic hereditary prosopagnosia (HPA)|journal=American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A|date=1 August 2006|volume=140A|issue=15|pages=1617–22|doi=10.1002/ajmg.a.31343|pmid=16817175|s2cid=2401 }}</ref> Research also correlated the probability of hereditary prosopagnosia with the [[Single-nucleotide polymorphism|single nucleotide polymorphisms]]<ref name=":9" /> along the [[Oxytocin receptor|oxytocin receptor gene]] (OXTR), suggesting that these [[allele]]s serve a critical role in normal face perception. Mutation from the [[wild type]] allele at these [[Locus (genetics)|loci]] has also been found to result in other disorders in which social and facial recognition deficits are common,<ref name=":9" /> such as [[Autism spectrum|autism spectrum disorder]], which may imply that the genetic bases for general facial recognition are complex and [[Polygene|polygenic]].<ref name=":9" /> This relationship between OXTR and facial recognition is also supported by studies of individuals who do not have hereditary prosopagnosia.<ref name=":10">{{cite journal|last1=Melchers|first1=Martin|last2=Montag|first2=Christian|last3=Markett|first3=Sebastian|last4=Reuter|first4=Martin|title=Relationship between oxytocin receptor genotype and recognition of facial emotion.|journal=Behavioral Neuroscience|date=2013|volume=127|issue=5|pages=780–7|doi=10.1037/a0033748|pmid=24128365 }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{cite journal|last1=Westberg|first1=Lars|last2=Henningsson|first2=Susanne|last3=Zettergren|first3=Anna|last4=Svärd|first4=Joakim|last5=Hovey|first5=Daniel|last6=Lin|first6=Tian|last7=Ebner|first7=Natalie C.|last8=Fischer|first8=Håkan|title=Variation in the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Is Associated with Face Recognition and its Neural Correlates|journal=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience|date=22 September 2016|volume=10|page=178|doi=10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00178|pmid=27713694|pmc=5031602 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
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