Finger recognition and gesture imitation in Gerstmann's syndrome

Abstract

We report the association between finger agnosia and gesture imitation deficits in a right-handed, right-hemisphere damaged patient with Gerstmann's syndrome (GS), a neuropsychological syndrome characterized by finger and toe agnosia, left–right disorientation and dyscalculia. No language deficits were found. The patient showed a gestural imitation deficit that specifically involved finger movements and postures. The association between finger recognition and imitation deficits suggests that both static and dynamic aspects of finger representations are impaired in GS. We suggest that GS is a disorder of body representation that involves hands and fingers, that is, the non-facial body parts most involved in social interactions.

Keywords:

• Gerstmann's syndrome
• Finger agnosia
• Body representation

This research was supported by grants from the Ministero Italiano dell'Università e della Ricerca (PRIN, to VM and SMA). Thanks are due to the subjects for their collaboration.