NBCE Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners

Tactile agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize objects by touch, despite having intact sensory capabilities. The key area of the brain responsible for processing tactile information is the somatosensory cortex, which interprets sensory input from the dorsal column pathway.

A lesion in the dorsal column, which refers to the posterior columns of the spinal cord pathways that carry fine touch, vibration, and proprioceptive information, can lead to sensory deficits that may contribute to tactile agnosia. When this pathway is damaged, the integration of tactile perceptions can become disrupted, leading individuals to struggle with recognizing objects through touch due to the lack of proper processing of sensory information in the brain.

While peripheral nerve injuries, somatosensory cortex lesions, and spinal cord injuries can affect sensation, they would typically present with different types of sensory deficits or impairments rather than specifically causing tactile agnosia as a prominent symptom. The integrity of the dorsal column pathway is essential for the function of tactile recognition, making its lesion the most plausible cause of tactile agnosia.