Study: Face recognition comes slowly

Most researchers think word skills, memory and other mental functions crest in the early 20s, but in a surprising study, scientists found face learning -- the ability to remember new, unfamiliar faces -- takes about a decade longer to fully develop, ScienceNews.org reported Friday.

"Specialized face-processing in the brain may require an extended period of visual tuning during early adulthood to help individuals learn and recognize lots of different faces," psychology graduate student Laura Germine of Harvard University says.

The findings fit with previous evidence that a brain structure critical for face recognition, the fusiform gyrus, undergoes ongoing reorganization at least through young adulthood, psychologist Isabel Gauthier of Vanderbilt University in Nashville says.

This brain area is involved in all sorts of visual expertise, with face recognition as its most prominent achievement, Gauthier hypothesizes.

"What is somewhat surprising is that there is still room for improvement after years of learning faces," Gauthier says.

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