Zasetsky
Encyclopedia
Zasetsky is the pseudonym of a patient who was treated by Russia
n neuropsychologist Alexander Luria. Zasetsky suffered a severe brain injury
, losing his ability to read, write, and speak (retrieving desired words was particularly difficult), and suffering impaired vision, memory, and other functions.
He was notable for the tenacity (and to some extent, success) with which he fought to regain a normal life, and for what the pattern of his deficits helped cognitive scientists to learn about brain function. He also wrote a journal of his experience, which itself was extraordinarily difficult for him.
He was 23 years old when injured in the Battle of Smolensk
on March 2, 1943. A bullet entered his left parieto
-occipital
area, and resulted in a long coma
. Following this he developed a form of agnosia
and became unable to perceive the right side of things. Objects he did see often appeared as fragmented pieces rather than whole objects. Even the right side of his own body was invisible to him, an experience that remained terrifying even years later.
Luria, who treated Zasetsky over the course of 26 years, published Zasetsky's journal and a detailed case history in The Man with a Shattered World: The History of a Brain Wound, translated by Lynn Solotaroff (Cambridge: Harvard University Press (reprint), 2004). ISBN 0674546253
ISBN 978-0674546257.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n neuropsychologist Alexander Luria. Zasetsky suffered a severe brain injury
Acquired brain injury
An acquired brain injury is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioural impairments that lead to permanent...
, losing his ability to read, write, and speak (retrieving desired words was particularly difficult), and suffering impaired vision, memory, and other functions.
He was notable for the tenacity (and to some extent, success) with which he fought to regain a normal life, and for what the pattern of his deficits helped cognitive scientists to learn about brain function. He also wrote a journal of his experience, which itself was extraordinarily difficult for him.
He was 23 years old when injured in the Battle of Smolensk
Battle of Smolensk (1943)
The second Battle of Smolensk was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943...
on March 2, 1943. A bullet entered his left parieto
Parietal lobe
The parietal lobe is a part of the Brain positioned above the occipital lobe and behind the frontal lobe.The parietal lobe integrates sensory information from different modalities, particularly determining spatial sense and navigation. For example, it comprises somatosensory cortex and the...
-occipital
Occipital lobe
The occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the mammalian brain containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. The primary visual cortex is Brodmann area 17, commonly called V1...
area, and resulted in a long coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Following this he developed a form of agnosia
Agnosia
Agnosia is a loss of ability to recognize objects, persons, sounds, shapes, or smells while the specific sense is not defective nor is there any significant memory loss...
and became unable to perceive the right side of things. Objects he did see often appeared as fragmented pieces rather than whole objects. Even the right side of his own body was invisible to him, an experience that remained terrifying even years later.
Luria, who treated Zasetsky over the course of 26 years, published Zasetsky's journal and a detailed case history in The Man with a Shattered World: The History of a Brain Wound, translated by Lynn Solotaroff (Cambridge: Harvard University Press (reprint), 2004). ISBN 0674546253
ISBN 978-0674546257.
See also
- Solomon ShereshevskiiSolomon ShereshevskiiSolomon Veniaminovich Shereshevsky , also known simply as 'Ш' or 'S.', was a Russian journalist and mnemonist active in the 1920s.-Studies:...