Anosognosia

Anosognosia /æˌnɒsɒgˈnəʊsɪə/ is viewed as a deficit of self-awareness, a condition in which a person who suffers certain disability seems unaware of the existence of his or her disability. The word comes from the Greek words nosos, "disease", and gnosis, "knowledge", with an- or a- as a negative prefix. It was first named by the neurologist, Joseph Babinski, in 1914. Unlike denial, which is a psychological defence mechanism, anosognosia results from physiological damage on brain structures, typically to the parietal lobe or a diffused lesion on the fronto-temporal-parietal area in the right hemisphere.