Clinical management of agnosia

Abstract

Agnosia is a neurological recognition deficit that affects a single modality. Visual agnosias include pure object agnosia, prosopagnosia, akinetopsia, and pure alexia. Auditory agnosias include pure word deafness, phonagnosia, and pure sound agnosia. New neuroimaging tools have permitted scientists to better understand the loci of lesions that cause various agnosias and from that knowledge to develop theories about the processing networks that contribute to perception and recognition in each modality. These research data, in turn, inform the rehabilitation process. By utilizing current knowledge about neuroprocessing networks, clinical professionals can differentially diagnose agnosias from aphasia and other cognitive deficits. Practical approaches to treatment of agnosia will follow once the diagnosis is established.