Finger Agnosia: Fiction or Reality?

Abstract

Finger agnosia (FA) may be broadly defined as a finger recognition deficit.^1,2Bilateral FA has been described in association with right-left disorientation, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia as the core of Gerstmann's syndrome.³Although considerable skepticism has been expressed with regard to this association,^4,5it has recently received renewed attention in modern neurology textbooks⁶as well as in the literature.⁷ The existence of FA as an isolated phenomenon, not depending on other disorders such as sensory defects,⁸autotopagnosia,⁹aphasia,¹⁰general mental impairment,¹¹or spatial disorientation,¹²is worth reporting since the debate as to whether FA canbe a "primary" deficit^2,13,14is still open.¹⁵ The issue has been recently reappraised⁷following the demonstration that stimulation of specific cortical areas can elicit FA, unaccompanied by other defects.¹⁶ A 52-year-old right-handed housewife with 5 years of education suffered a sudden, isolated, complete