History of the field
Physiological psychology (original psychology) – conquer the mind using tools of experimental science ~ mind-body problem is one of the
fundamental philosophical questions
The brain in antiquity
Trephination/ trepanning
- Surgical operation that involves, cutting, scraping, chiselling or a drilling plug-like piece of bone from the skull to relieve pressure
related to brain swelling
- Earliest evidence from French caves – 6500BC
- Evidence in Ancient Egypt, China, MesoAmerican regions
- Increase in use in pre-modern Europe – used frequently during wartime
- Used on humans and animals
- Evidence of survival (indicated by inflammation) and death
- Used for medical emergencies (combat trauma) & it was a treatment for aberrant behaviour – release of spirits
- Similar to the procedure used to relieve intracranial pressure
Ancient Greek Perspectives
- Brain hypothesis = brain is the source of all behaviour
- Hippocrates (460 – 347 BCE)
~ Recognition of contralateral effects – injury to one side of the brain will affect the opposite sides of the body
~ Neural origin of emotions
~ Demystifying epilepsy – medical cause
- Plato (420 – 347 BCE)
~ Recognition of the concept of mental health
- Aristotle (384 – 322 BCE)
~ Cardiac hypothesis – heart to be the source of mental processes
The cell doctrine
- Distinguished between motor and sensory nerves
- Demonstrated that all nerves connect to the CNS (Central Nervous System)
Ventricular localization hypothesis
- Mental and spiritual processes reside in the ventricular chambers of the brain
- Became known as the cell doctrine
Galen (130 – 201 CE)
- Identified many of the brain structures and described behavioural changes as a function of brain trauma
- Physical function depended on humor balance – blood, mucus, yellow and black bile
- Noted that sensory nerves were at the front of the brain and motor nerves at the back
- Proposed the presence of CSF (Cerebrospinal-Fluid)
Anatomical discoveries and the spiritual soul
Andreas Versalius (1514-1564)
- Demonstrated that Galens theory was incorrect through continual dissections and observations
- Pioneered the anatomical theatre
- Performed the first anatomical dissection of humans in Europe
Rene Descartes (1596 – 1650)
- Mind-body dualism – mind and body were separate but interacted with one another
- Role of the pineal gland – mental processes reside
- Vitalism vs materialism – Materialism = views brain as a machine. Vitalism = behaviour is only partly controlled by mechanical and
logical forces
Localization theory
Phrenology
- Developed from Franz Galls (1758 – 1828) basic localization theory of brain function – brain consists of many separate organs each
responsible for a psychological trait – his work was limited by faculty psychology – predominant theory of the time = held ability such as
reading, writing or intelligence – specific brain functions were performed in isolation from functional systems in other parts of the brain
~ formulated the basics of the localization theory of brain functions
~ help shape how we currently perceive brain-behaviour relationships
~ most important parts of the brain are the frontal lobes
~played an important role in developing deterministic thought about the functions of the brain and mind
- If a given brain area is enlarged then the corresponding area of the skull with also be enlarged
Johann Spurzheim (1776 – 1832) – Galls student
Faculty Psychology
- Three major contributions: Killed the ‘seat of mind’ idea – would not accept a single component of the brain as responsible for all
behaviour, increased emphasis on cortical functioning, concentrated the study of behaviour on the brain
The era of cortical localization
Paul Broca (1824 – 1880)
- Location of motor speech was in the posterior, inferior region of the left frontal lobe
- Localization of expressive speech
, - Contributed to the understanding of Aphasia - inability to talk because the musculature of speech organs do not receive appropriate
brain signals
Carl Wernicke (1848 – 1905)
- Localization of receptive speech
- Demonstrated that strict localization of language was not plausible
Critics of cortical localization
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
- Subcortical lesions could lead to varieties in aphasia
- Challenged primacy of broca and wernickes areas
- Described the distinction between the ability to recognize and object and the inability to name it = agnosia
Pierre Flourens (1794 – 1867)
- Developed the ablation experiment – removing any part of the brain in birds led to generalized disorders of behaviour
- Concluded that sensory input at an elementary level is localized but the process of perception involves the whole brain. Loss of function
depends on the extent of the damage not on the location – All cerebral material is equipotential – if sufficient cortical material is intact
the remaining material will take over the functions of any missing brain tissue – size of injury determines the effect of brain injury
Localization vs Equipotentiality
Karl Lashley (1890 – 1958)
- Founder of experimental neuropsychology
- One of the first to combine behavioural sophistication in experiments with neurologic sophistication
- Principle of mass action – extent of behavioural impairments is directly proportional to the mass of removed tissue
- Emphasized the multipotentiality of brain tissue – each part of the brain participates in more than one function
Integrated theories
Luria’s Functional Model
- Hierarchical model
~ Divided the CNS into three functional units: brainstem and associated areas – regulates the arousal level of the brain and the
maintenance of proper muscle tone, posterior areas of the cortex – plays a key role in perception, integration and analysis of sensory
information from the internal and external environments, frontal and prefrontal lobes – involved planning, executing and verifying
(executive functions)
~Concept of functional systems for each behaviour – represents the pattern of interaction among the various areas of the brain necessary
to complete a behaviour – each area in the brain may play a role in many behaviours
~ Concept of pluripotentiality – any area of the brain can be involved in relatively few or many behaviours
~ Concept of plasticity – Can change spontaneously or through restraining
- Theories were attractive to clinical neuropsychologists because they account for most observations of patients with brain injuries
Post-war growth of contemporary neuropsychology
Ward Halstead (1908 – 1968)
-
Founded the first neuropsychology lab in the US
-
Developed assessment devices that differentiated between patients with and without brain damage
-
Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery – empirical approach to assessing brain damage
-
Lab-basd study of brain injured patients in their natural environments
Henry Hecan (1912 – 1983)
- Demonstrated the functional properties of the right hemisphere
Oliver Zangwill (1913 – 1987)
- described neuropsychological deficits associated with unilateral lesions
- demonstrated right hemisphere dominance
Interdisciplinary pioneers in the field
Donald O. Hebb (1904 – 1985)
-
Published his classic The Organisation of Behaviour
-
Developed theories of neural networks
Arthur Benton (1909 – 2007)
- Developed neuropsychological measures of right hemisphere function
Norman Geschwind (1926 – 1984)
- Behavioural disturbances were based on the destruction of specific brain pathways that he called disconnections
Muriel Lezak (1927 – 2021)
- Pioneer of the flexible assessment approach in clinical neuropsychology
Brenda Milner (1918 - )
- Investigated temporal lobe contributions to memory
- Worked with patient Henry Molaison
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