BALINT'S SYNDROME

is the name for a disorder, resulting from lesions in the parieto-occipital portion of the brain, which causes optic ataxia, visual attention disorders, and psychogenic paralysis of visual fixation (inability to change visual gaze). Individuals with this disorder have difficulty attending to more than one object at a time, although they can correctly identify each object in a display. For example, when shown a scene, the individual may focus on one object at a time within the scene and not be able to process the entire scene or its meaning - so part instead of holistic processing. See also psychic paralysis of visual ideation. [first described in 1909 by Rudolf Balint (1874-1929), Hungarian physician]