Congenital amusia is as a neurodevelopment disorder primarily defined by impairment in pitch discrimination and pitch memory. Interestingly, it has been reported that individuals with congenital amusia also exhibit deficits in face recognition (prosopagnosia). One explanation of such comorbidity is that the neural substrates of pitch recognition and face recognition may be similar. To test this hypothesis, face recognition ability was assessed using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) and gray matter volume was determined through voxel-based morphometry (VBM) among participants with and without congenital amusia. As expected, participants with amusia performed worse on the CFMT test and showed reduced gray matter volume (GMV) in the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), the superior temporal gyrus (STG), and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in the right hemisphere, when compared with matched controls. Furthermore, correlation analyses demonstrated that the CFMT score was positively related to MTG, STG, and PCC GMV in all participants, while separate analyses of each group found a positive correlation of CFMT score and PCC GMV in amusics. These findings suggest that face recognition is associated with a widely distributed microstructural network in the human brain and the PCC plays an important role in both pitch recognition and face recognition in amusics. In addition, neurodevelopmental disorders such as congenital amusia and prosopagnosia may share a common neural substrate.

先天性失语是一种神经发育障碍，主要由音调识别和音调记忆障碍定义。有趣的是，据报道，先天性失语症患者的面部识别能力也存在缺陷（prosopagnosia）。这种合并症的一种解释是，音高识别和面部识别的神经底物可能相似。为了检验这一假设，使用剑桥人脸记忆测试（CFMT）评估了人脸识别能力，并通过基于体素的形态计量学（VBM）确定了有或没有先天性失语症的参与者的灰质量。正如预期的那样，患有失语症的参与者在CFMT测试中表现较差，并且在颞中回（MTG），颞上回（STG）中灰质体积（GMV）降低，与匹配的对照相比，右半球的后扣带回皮质（PCC）。此外，相关性分析表明，所有参与者的CFMT得分与MTG，STG和PCC GMV呈正相关，而每组的单独分析发现CFMT得分与音乐性中的CFMT得分与PCC GMV呈正相关。这些发现表明，人脸识别与人脑中广泛分布的微结构网络有关，PCC在音高识别和音乐界中的人脸识别中均起着重要作用。此外，诸如先天性失语和闭经等神经发育障碍可能共享一个共同的神经基质。所有参与者的PCC GMV和PCC GMV，而各组分别进行的分析发现，音乐方面CFMT得分与PCC GMV呈正相关。这些发现表明，人脸识别与人脑中广泛分布的微结构网络有关，PCC在音高识别和音乐界中的人脸识别中均起着重要作用。此外，诸如先天性失语和闭经等神经发育障碍可能共享一个共同的神经基质。所有参与者的PCC GMV和PCC GMV，而各组分别进行的分析发现，音乐方面CFMT得分与PCC GMV呈正相关。这些发现表明，人脸识别与人脑中广泛分布的微结构网络有关，PCC在音高识别和音乐界中的人脸识别中均起着重要作用。此外，诸如先天性失语和闭经等神经发育障碍可能共享一个共同的神经基质。