APA Dictionary of Psychology

blindness, with normal pupillary responses, that is due to complete destruction of the optic radiations or the striate cortex. Because the subcortical structures (white matter) of the visual system are involved, it is also called cerebral blindness. Typically caused by a stroke affecting the occipital lobe of the brain, cortical blindness can also result from traumatic injury or hypoxia. In children, it is often a consequence of hydrocephalus, meningitis, toxic or hypertensive encephalopathy, trauma, or diffuse demyelinating degenerative disease. Complete loss of vision in a portion of the visual field is called partial cortical blindness.