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Case Studies in the Neuropsychology of Vision

2003; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 23; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/00041327-200306000-00050

1536-5166

Mitchell B. Strominger,

Categorization, perception, and language

Case Studies in the Neuropsychology of Vision Glyn W. Humphreys, PhD. Psychology Press, Hove, East Sussex, England, 1999. ISBN 0-863-77895-X. Price: $52.00. Scope: In the vein of Oliver Sachs' The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, this book offers a series of cases relating to various aspects of higher cortical processing of vision. It includes discussion of the neuroanatomy involved, the neuropsychologic tests used to document and measure the cognitive loss, and relates relevant experimental data and similar reported cases. Contents: The text is divided into several sections, each authored separately. Section titles include “Motion Blindness,” “Cerebral Achromatopsia,” “Integrative Agnosia,” “Aperceptive Agnosia,” “Vision and Visual Mental Imagery,” “Optic Aphasia,” “Covert Recognition,” and “Anosognosia in Prosopagnosic Patients.” Each section typically includes an introduction of the topic, representative case presentations, analysis and description of appropriate neuropsychologic assessment, a review of the literature, and a unifying discussion. Strengths: Each section (and case) presents an interesting example that introduces a discussion of neuropsychologic aspects of visual processing. Each case is presented in exquisite detail, including the neuropsychological testing. Findings are then correlated with experimental findings in animal models. All sections are written by experts in their field, primarily from departments of psychology throughout the world. Topics are well organized, well written, and well referenced. Weaknesses: All the cases are interesting. At first glance the book might be thought easy reading; this turns out not to be so, as this is not an introductory text. Some basis of understanding of the more detailed aspects of visual neuropsychologic testing is presumed. This assumption is problematic for the ophthalmology-trained neuro-ophthalmologist. The last section, “Relations Among the Agnosias,” might have better been presented earlier, and a review of the basics of neuropsychologic testing would too have been useful. Recommended audience: This book is directed towards those neurologists, psychologists, and neuro-ophthalmologists who wish to gain additional knowledge about the neuropsychology of vision, and do so in a case based method. Critical appraisal: These cases present excellent examples of various aspects of the higher cortical functioning of vision. They stimulate the reader and present critical experimental information and discussion of visual processing. I would highly recommend this series of experiments of nature to all those who practice any aspect of neuroscience, from clinician to basic scientist.