Prosopagnosia as a Type of Conversion Disorder

Conversion disorder is a common and debilitating condition that remains poorly understood. We present apreviously undescribed form of conversion disorder to highlight the complexity of the condition and consider the interplayof factors that produce conversion symptoms.Case. A 50-year-old male presented with acquired prosopagnosia and languageimpairment. Neuropsychological testing indicated right temporal lobe dysfunction. Extensive work-up outruled an organicaetiology. Reactivation of childhood trauma coincided with the onset of his symptoms. Childhood trauma is known to have adverseeffects on the developing brain which may affect an individual’s emotional behaviour and coping style. Functional neuroimagingtechniques suggest that conversion symptoms may be linked to the disruption of higher order neural circuitry involved inthe integration of emotional processing and cortical functioning.Conclusions. We propose that our patient’s adverse childhoodexperiences led to the development of a particular personality and coping style that “primed” him for a later abnormal emotional andbehavioural response when confronted with reminders of his traumatic background. Further interdisciplinary studies are requiredto further elucidate the neurobiological basis for this condition