That Explains It

I've always been much better at remembering faces than names. It's particularly disheartening when I meet someone new and then I realize moments later that their name has slipped my mind. I'm sure it's partly because I'm looking intently, rather than listening intently, when the introductions are made. My mantra always has been, "I may forget your name but I will never forget your face."

Well, now there's scientific evidence that there is a place (two actually) in the brain that appears to be devoted specifically to identifying and reacting to faces. Neuroscientists located the "fusiform face area" by using MRI technology. It seems that these pea-sized and oddly named twin locations near the bottom of our visual cortex are dedicated to face recognition help us to determine friend or foe.

So not only do I feel a whole lot better about my inability to remember names, but I now understand my highly honed ability to recognize dissatisfaction on my husband's face if I do or say something that is highly annoying to him. That's a good tool to have in a marriage survival toolbox!