Visual agnosia and imagery after Lissauer

The year 2021 marks the 130th anniversary of the untimely death of Heinrich Lissauer (1861-91). In his 30 years of life, Lissauer managed to put together an impressive number of contributions to neurology and neuroanatomy. Most influential is his famous distinction between apperceptive and associative forms of visual agnosia. It is perhaps less well known that in the same article, Lissauer outlined a model of possible dissociations between visual perception and visual mental imagery. Drawing on Hermann Munk's animal experiments, Lissauer proposed that complete destruction of occpital visual cortex would provoke both perception and imagery deficits, whereas its deafferentation resulting from subcortical white matter damage would only affect visual perception, and leave visual memories unimpaired. This proposal resonates with the present debate on the neural bases of visual mental imagery.

Automated summary

Heinrich Lissauer made significant contributions to neurology and neuroanatomy in his short life, particularly in the study of visual agnosia and the dissociation model between visual perception and visual mental imagery. His research provides insights into the current debate on the neural bases of visual mental imagery.