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Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2026

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Imagery and spatial processes in blindness and visual impairment.

Zaira Cattaneo¹, Tomaso Vecchi, Cesare Cornoldi

¹Department of Psychology, University of Pavia, Italy.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

|June 24, 2008

Summary

Cognitive imagery in congenital visual impairments often matches sighted individuals, revealing compensatory mechanisms. Brain imaging highlights functional reorganization due to visual deprivation.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroscience of Visual Impairment

Background:

Congenital visual impairments encompass total blindness, low vision, and monocular vision.
Cognitive functioning, particularly imagery, is a key area of investigation in individuals with visual impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

To review and evaluate recent findings on cognitive functioning, specifically imagery processes, in individuals with congenital visual impairments.
To explore the compensatory mechanisms and neural correlates associated with visual deprivation.

Main Methods:

Literature review of recent studies on cognitive functioning in visually impaired individuals.
Analysis of neuroimaging studies examining neural correlates of sensory perception and mental imagery.

Main Results:

Performance in imagery tasks by blind individuals is often comparable to sighted individuals, contrary to expectations.
Evidence suggests the use of different cognitive mechanisms and compensatory strategies in the blind.
Neuroimaging studies reveal plastic functional reorganization in the brains of visually impaired individuals.

Conclusions:

The nature of perceptual input significantly influences the organization of mental processes.
Compensatory mechanisms can effectively overcome limitations imposed by sight loss.
Functional reorganization is a key mechanism in adapting to visual deprivation.