Question

What is anosognosia? How does it affect the outcome of neuropsychological treatment? In what forms (discuss only two) of amnesia is there evidence of anosognosia?

Answer 1

Anosognosia is a neurological disorder in which the person is not aware of the disease or the impairment. The individual is unaware of the existence of the disability. It is caused due to the damage in brain structures of the parietal lobe or due to a diffused lesion on the fronto-temporal parietal area in the right hemisphere.

The individuals suffering from this neurological disorder denies the existence of any disease or lacks the cognitive ablity to understand the existence of any disease and hence do not seek any treatment. This makes it difficult to provide appropriate neuropsychological treatments to the individual suffering from anosognosia.

Anosognosia is seen Alzheimer's disease and Korsakoff's disease, the Sufferers of these diseases deny the presence of any disease in them or lack insight to recognize any disorder in them and seek interventions for them.