Perception, memory, and agnosia

Abstract This chapter outlines the evidence on perception, memory, and agnosia. It proposes a rapprochement among the different positions that have been taken on the issue. It concentrates on a form of agnosia called, by most authors, associative visual agnosia. The empirical evidence on memory and perception in associative agnosia is provided. At the early stages, the nature of the representations is influenced only minimally by learning and experience. At progressively later stages, learning plays a more significant role in identifying what is explicitly represented. The experience of having seen particular objects will shape what the later representations are most useful for representing.