Synonyms
Object agnosia; Tactile agnosia
Short Description or Definition
Astereognosis is defined as the inability to identify objects through touch without visual input.
Categorization
Astereognosis has been subdivided into primary and secondary recognition deficits. Primary recognition deficits, also called morphognosia, reflect impairments in recognizing the physical features of the object (e.g., weight or texture). Secondary recognition deficits reflect a specific impairment in object recognition with spared primary recognition (for review, see De Renzi 1982).
Epidemiology
Astereognosis can be common after stroke with one report indicating that up to 90% of patients demonstrate astereognosis (Connell et al. 2008). Damage to the cortical regions important for haptic input integration can cause astereognosis. This disorder, therefore, is common and can occur in the presence of many neurological disorders including brain (e.g., Knecht et al. 1996) or spinal cord tumors (Lesoin et al. 1986...
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References and Readings
Benton, A. L. (1969). Stereognosis test; Manual of instructions. Victoria: Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria.
Connell, L. A., Lincoln, N. B., & Radford, K. A. (2008). Somatosensory impairment after stroke: Frequency of different deficits and their recovery. Clinical Rehabilitation, 22, 758–767.
De Renzi, E. (1982). Disorders of space exploration and cognition. New York: Wiley.
Gaubert, C. S., & Mockett, S. P. (2000). Inter-rater reliability of the Nottingham method of stereognosis assessment. Clinical Rehabilitation, 14(2), 153–159.
Hom, J., & Reitan, R. M. (1982). Effect of lateralized cerebral damage upon contralateral and ipsilateral sensorimotor performances. Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology, 4(3), 249–268.
Knecht, S., Kunesch, E., & Schnitzler, A. (1996). Parallel and serial processing of haptic information in man: Effects of parietal lesions on sensorimotor hand function. Neuropsychologia, 34, 669–687.
Lesoin, F., Rousseaux, M., Martin, H. J., Petit, H., & Jomin, M. J. (1986). Astereognosis and amyotrophy of the hand with neurinoma of the second cervical nerve root. Neurology, 233, 57–58.
Lincoln, N. B., Crow, J. L., Jackson, J. M., Waters, G. R., Adams, S. A., & Hodgson, P. (1991). The unreliability of sensory assessment. Clinical Rehabilitation, 5, 273–282.
Reitan, R. M., & Wolfson, D. (1993). The Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological test battery: Theory and clinical interpretation. Tucson: Neuropsychology Press.
Yekutiel, M., & Guttman, E. J. (1993). A controlled trial of the retraining of the sensory function of the hand in stroke patients. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 56, 241–244.
Zaidel, E. (1998). Stereognosis in the chronic split brain: Hemispheric differences, ipsilateral control and sensory integration across the midline. Neuropsychologia, 36, 1033–1047.
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Amick, M. (2018). Astereognosis. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1343
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1343
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