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Visual Form Agnosia

This name has been given to an unusual and highly selective visual perceptual deficit, characterized by loss of the ability to identify shape and form, although color and surface detail can be appreciated, but with striking preservation of visuomotor control (i.e., a pattern of deficits inverse to those seen in optic ataxia). This reflects selective damage to the ventral ("what") stream of visual processing in the lateral occipital area, while the dorsal ("where") stream remains intact, yet its workings are not available to consciousness.