Three months ago, Sheldon's 7-year-old daughter was killed when a car swerved out of control and hit her as she waited to cross the street. As the police told Sheldon about the accident he felt everything start to go black, and then he found he couldn't see at all. Since then he has been to a number of specialists, but none of the specialists can find anything wrong with his visual system. Sheldon's pupils respond normally to light, and there is activity in the visual cortex when images are presented. Still, Sheldon claims that he cannot see anything. In this case, Sheldon's symptoms are most consistent with

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Sheldon's symptoms are most consistent with conversion disorder, which involves the manifestation of physical symptoms that cannot be explained by a medical condition but are related to underlying psychological distress or conflict. In this case, Sheldon's blindness seems to be a response to the traumatic loss of his daughter. The fact that there is no detectable impairment in his visual system indicates that his blindness is not the result of a physical problem, and suggests that it is instead caused by psychological factors.

Three Months Ago, Sheldon's 7-Year-Old Daughter Was Killed When a Car