Consciousness: Disorders

As far as we know, a living being without a brain cannot have conscious experiences. But are certain parts of the brain more critical for conscious awareness than others? More specifically, how might disorders of perceptual consciousness after damage to the human brain inform the scientific world about relationships between neural systems and conscious perceptual awareness? In many cases, the loss of awareness is accompanied by indications that “invisible” information is nevertheless still being processed by the visual cortex. Studies of neuropsychological disorders of perceptual consciousness have shown that the primary visual cortex is neither necessary nor sufficient to account for perceptual awareness. This entry describes blindsight, unilateral visual neglect, Bálint's syndrome, visual agnosia, and further issues relating to consciousness disorders.

Blindsight

Blindsight refers to the ...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles