Originally published in 1987, this book, attempted to bring together work by researchers concerned with the functional and neurological mechanisms underlying visual object processing, and the ways in which such mechanisms can be neurologically impaired. The editors termed it a 'Cognitive Neuropsychological' approach, because they believed it tried to relate evidence from neurological impairments of visual object processing to models of normal performance in a new and important way. Two broad aims are apparent. One is to test models of normal performance by evaluating how well the models account for the patterns of impairment and preservation of abilities that can occur following brain damage. The other is to use models of normal performance to further their understanding of acquired disorders of visual object processing. These aims distinguish the approach from neuropsychological work whose primary aim is to relate acquired deficits to the sites of damage, and from work in the field of cognitive psychology which attempts only to develop models of normal performance.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor and Francis, an informa company.

Originally published in 1987, this book, attempted to bring together work by researchers concerned with the functional and neurological mechanisms underlying visual object processing, and the ways in which such mechanisms can be neurologically impaired. The editors termed it a 'Cognitive Neuropsychological' approach, because they believed it tried to relate evidence from neurological impairments of visual object processing to models of normal performance in a new and important way. Two broad aims are apparent. One is to test models of normal performance by evaluating how well the models account for the patterns of impairment and preservation of abilities that can occur following brain damage. The other is to use models of normal performance to further their understanding of acquired disorders of visual object processing. These aims distinguish the approach from neuropsychological work whose primary aim is to relate acquired deficits to the sites of damage, and from work in the field of cognitive psychology which attempts only to develop models of normal performance.

Brain damage may sometimes cause remarkably specific impairments in human behaviour. One very rare and specific impairment is the failure to recognize everyday objects by sight, a problem which is termed "visual agnosia". In this book, the authors discuss the case of a patient, John, who suffered from visual agnosia after having a stroke. John also had difficulty recognizing faces or his immediate environment. The book considers John's case from the point of view of current psychological theories of visual recognition, and from a review of other documented cases. It goes on to consider the implications of John's problems for understanding how we might normally recognize objects, drawing on investigations of his impairments. The book also includes chapters contributed by John and his wife.