Neuropsychology and Cognitive Science
Student number – 19010309
Word count – 3,418
, Within psychological research it has been suggested that an interactive view of the human brain and
mind is the most successful and efficient in perceiving various theories and behaviours. This is an
area of current research because as technologies develop, we are building the argument for an
interactive view through new methods such as fMRI and EEG imaging. This review will consider both
the modular and interactive view by focussing on the theoretical, behavioural, and neuroanatomical
concepts within each topic. The review will first discuss this debate by fixating on modularity and
embodied cognition, number cognition and sentence processing, and hemisphere lateralisation and
emotions. The goal of this essay is to collect relevant theories of modularity and disprove these to
provide an argument in support of the interactive view. As well as discussing interactive theories and
the evidence which supports them. Throughout history and early research there has been the
controversial debate that the modular view was seen to be more accurate. However, through the
more recent brain imaging techniques, the interactive view has accomplished fulfilling the gaps in
which the modular view could not. Overall, this essay looks at what these gaps are and provides
substantial evidence to support the interactive view of the human brain and mind.
Firstly, to look at the whole argument of the interactive view it is important to consider the
contrasting theoretical perspectives to achieve a complete outlook. Chomsky first developed the
idea of modularity from the basis of universal grammar, which suggests there are dedicated organs
or processes for all specific tasks that humans carry out. This is further supported by Fodor’s
modularity thesis (Fodor, 1983), he states that modules have four properties: domain-specific,
innate, fast and automatic, and encapsulated. Evidence which can support this theory is found by
considering domain-specific systems, this suggests if a system is truly domain specific then an
impairment should only affect the domain in which it operates (Zerilli, 2019). Therefore, this theory
predicts that the brain consists of specialised circuits of which can be damaged without impacting
the performance of other circuits (Kiverstein, 2020). However, there are various studies which
disprove this theory by suggesting that brain areas which served one sensorimotor function can be
rewired for language if it has been in an environment rich with language.
Therefore, to look at a contrasting theory, it is implicit we look at the concept of embodied
cognition. This consists of the contemporary view that there is an inseparable link between body,
mind, and environment, in which they all interact together. The beginnings of embodied cognition
in the 1980s was determined by work conducted in phenomenology, theoretical biology, cognitive
psychology, and cognitive linguistics (Kosmas & Zaphiris, 2018). These early concepts suggested that
the psychical actions we preform, and the actions being performed around us, shape our mental
experience (Niedenthal, 2007). Within the literature, embodied cognition is supported by numerous
