Knowing without knowing: what tune deafness and face blindness have in common

I have a new post over on the Scientific American Mind Matters website. It describes new research which suggests that tune deafness and face blindness – two examples of conditions known as agnosias, both of which can be genetic – are caused not by a failure of the brain to recognise previously seen faces or detect incongruous musical notes, but a failure to communicate these events to frontal brain regions where conscious awareness is triggered. In essence, your brain knows something but can’t tell you. Read more…