Localization of function: The mind-body problem revisited

Abstract

The primary aim of neuropsychology is the understanding of brain-behavior relationships. This necessitates confronting the mind-body problem, and the neuropsychologist must frequently cross between physical and psychological conceptual systems. The localizationist-antilocalizationist controversy can be understood, in part, as a result of different attitudes toward this conceptual difficulty. The tendency to reify the name of complex psychological constructs demonstrated by some of the localizationists continues to muddle both the thinking and research of neuropsychologists. Our increased ability to localize brain lesions through neuroradiographic tests must be paralleled by increased sophistication in analyzing psychological functions. The methods from cognitive psychology offer great promise in the study of ability and disability in neuropsychology.