The influence of sex on face recognition
memory was studied in 49 patients with
temporal lobe epilepsy, 20 patients with
generalized epilepsy, and 32 healthy controls. After learning 20 faces, serially presented for 5 seconds each, subjects had to recognize the 20 among 40 faces (including 20 new faces) immediately and 24 hours later. Women had better face recognition than men, with no significant differences between groups. Women's advantage was due mainly to superior delayed recognition. Taken together, the results suggest that sex has a similar impact on face recognition in patients with
epilepsy and healthy controls, and that testing delayed face recognition raises sensitivity for
sex differences. The influence of sex on face recognition in patients with
epilepsy should be acknowledged when evaluating individuals or comparing groups.
