Ch 1: How has clinical neuropsychology evolved?

Question 1

Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

Answer 1

The soul is an independently functioning intangible unit
I think, so I am

Two substances:

• the body (res extensa)
• the mind (res cogitans)

Question 2

Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828)

Answer 2

Many mental organs in our brain

The cognitive loss of function as a result of brain damage

Question 3

What is cell theory?

Answer 3

Ancient Greeks:
higher-order soul that knows the difference between good and bad –> located in the empty cavities of the brain (brain ventricles) that were called cells at the time

First cell: collects all sensory info and forms an image
Second cell: the image would be interpreted
Third cell: storing of the image

Question 4

Physiognomy

Answer 4

Someone’s appearance says something about his or her personality and is attributed to Aristotle.

Question 5

Phrenology

Answer 5

Gall: all psychological functions (including knowledge and affect) are innate
Gall: brain had independent functions, which at the time was a revolutionary idea

Question 6

Clinic-anatomical method

Answer 6

Gall: localisation ideas by mapping the specific loss of function and later relating them to the site of the lesion

Question 7

Associationism

Answer 7

Locke: stated that everything is learned

Question 8

Holism

Answer 8

The Gestalt movement: the whole is greater than the parts

many counterparts warned of a great simplification, but they did not have a good alternative –> even holists accepted a certain degree of specialisation

Question 9

Luria

Answer 9

He described the brain as a single complex functional system in which multiple subsystems make their own contribution to joint activity

He was a localizationist: an accurate analysis can show a specific disruptive factor

Question 10

Luria: 3 hierarchically organised levels of processing

Answer 10

1. primary areas: well known centers for modality-specific sensory information
2. secondary zones: process the info and give it meaning
3. tertiary zones: multimodal integration, formation of intentions, evaluation of one’s own behavior

Question 11

Test battery

Answer 11

Screening tool: cognitive functioning is systematically described in a relatively short time

Question 12

Which two developments contributed to the independence of neuropsychology

Answer 12

1. Looking for specific areas and connections to better map the functioning of the brain
2. split-brain surgery

Question 13

What are neural networks?

Answer 13

1. A model is economical because a neural network also learn through trial and error
2. Graceful degradation: if certain models are damaged, the entire function will not be lost but part of the information will be lost
3. content addressability: a small amount of the information (a few letters) can activate the entire memory trace (the whole world)