Synonyms
Definition
Anosognosia is a disorder characterized by denial of illness or lack of awareness of disability.
Historical Background
In the clinic, it is very common to see patients who suffer with a neurological disease, such as stroke, but who appear to deny illness or be unaware of their disabilities. Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, noted this about 2000 years ago, but the first modern description of a patient with unawareness-denial was by von Monakow (1885). Although there were other investigators who wrote about this striking disorder, it was Babinski (1914), who coined the term anosognosia. This word comes from three roots: a = without, noso = disease, and gnosis = knowledge. In addition to describing patients who were unaware of their illness or disability, Babinski described other patients who appeared to be aware but remained unconcerned. He called this disorder, anosodiaphoria.
There are many forms of anosognosia and these forms are related to the nature...
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References and Readings
Anton, G. (1898). Blindheit nach beiderseitiger Gehirnerkrankung mit Verlust der Orienterung in Raume. Mitt. Ver. Arzte Steirmark, 33, 41–46.
Babinski, J. (1914). Contribution à l’etude des troubles mentaux dans l’hémiplégie organique cérébrale (anosognosie). Revue Neurologique, 27, 845–847.
Clare, L., & Halligan, P. (Eds.). (2006). Pathologies of awareness: Bridging the gap between theory and practice. New York: Psychology Press.
Geschwind, N. (1965). Disconnexion syndromes in animals and man. Brain, 88(237–294), 585–644.
Gilmore, R. L., Heilman, K. M., Schmidt, R. P., Fennell, E. M., & Quisling, R. (1992). Anosognosia during Wada testing. Neurology, 42, 925–927.
Prigatano, G. P., & Schacter, D. L. (1991). Awareness of deficit after brain injury: Clinical and theoretical issues. New York: Oxford University Press.
von Monakow, C. (1885). Experimentelle und pathologisch-anatomische Untersuchungen über die Beziehungen der sogenannten Sehphäre zu den infrakorticalen Opticuscentren und zum N. opticus. Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, 16, 151–199.
Weinstein, E. A., & Kahn, R. L. (1955). Denial of illness: Symbolic and physiological aspects. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas.
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Heilman, K.M. (2016). Anosognosia. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1264-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_1264-3
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