Anosognosia

From Psy3241

Anosognosia is a neuropsychological condition where a person denies that they are suffering from a disability caused by brain injury, such as blindness or paralysis. The word anosognosia comes from the Greek words "nosos", meaning disease, and "gnosis", meaning knowledge. The term was first used by the neurologist Joseph Babinski in 1914.

Anosognosia for Hemiplegia

Anosognosia is a fairly common condition, arising from some form of brain injury, such as a stroke. Anosognosia occurs, at least temporarily, in over 50% of stroke victims who suffer from hemiplegia (paralysis on the side of the body opposite the stroke). Patients with anosognosia for hemiplegia insist that they can do things like lift both legs, touch their doctor's nose with a finger on their paralyzed side, and walk normally. These patients are much less likely to regain independence after their stroke than patients without anosognosia, primarily because they overestimate their own abilities in unsafe situations.

Treatment

There are currently no long-term treatments for patients with anosognosia. Squirting ice cold water into the left ear, however, has been known to temporarily alleviate the unawareness of disability. Most cases of anosognosia seem to disappear over time, while other cases can last indefinitely. Normally, long-term cases are treated with cognitive therapy to train the patient to adjust for their inoperable limbs (though it is believed that these patients still are not "aware" of their disability).