Covert face recognition without the fusiform-temporal pathways

► Brain lesions blocked conscious, but not unconscious, face recognition in FE. ► fMRI showed lack of FFA, but preserved occipital face-selective activity. ► Signs of face memories were found in cingulate and orbitofrontal cortex. ► Occipito-frontal, but not occipito-temporal, fibers had survived. ► These preserved cortices and their links could enable FE's unconscious recognition.