Sahba Besharati I am currently in the 3rd year of my PhD undergoing a split-site collaboration project with the University of Cape Town and University College London. This post will focus on a recent publication featured in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation with my supervisor, Katerina Fotopoulou , and our collaborator in Italy, Valentina Moro , on a prototypical form of unawareness called anosognosia for hemiplegia (AHP). Neurological disturbances in awareness can offer an important avenue to explore the construction of the bodily self. AHP is one such example of a disorder of self-awareness, where patients have a lack of recognition or awareness of their motor paralysis following a stroke. AHP can have various clinical presentations, ranging from blatant denial of limb paralysis and associated delusional beliefs to emotional indifference of one’s motor disabilities. Although AHP is often transient (sometimes recovering within days or weeks), motor unawareness can significant...
A blog at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, and mental health