This chapter focuses on a visual anomaly that arises after unilateral damage, in which patients claim to see a complete visual shape even though a substantial portion of the stimulus falls within an objectively blind region of their contralesional visual field. This phenomenon, known as pathological visual completion, was first described by Poppelreuter in 1917, and has been the subject of numerous investigations by psychologists and neuroscientists. Recently, the phenomenon has received renewed attention due to advances in understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying perceptual...

This chapter focuses on a visual anomaly that arises after unilateral damage, in which patients claim to see a complete visual shape even though a substantial portion of the stimulus falls within an objectively blind region of their contralesional visual field. This phenomenon, known as pathological visual completion, was first described by Poppelreuter in 1917, and has been the subject of numerous investigations by psychologists and neuroscientists. Recently, the phenomenon has received renewed attention due to advances in understanding the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying perceptual completion in the normal visual system. The chapter provides a historical account of Poppelreuter's pioneering work and then critically reviews previous studies of pathological visual completion, highlighting some of their methodological and theoretical shortcomings. Finally, it proposes a framework for understanding pathological visual completion and suggests possible avenues for future research.