Overview

Neuropsychology bridges the gap between the physical brain and the abstract mind. It studies how brain damage affects behavior and cognition.

Core Idea

The core idea is localization of function. Different parts of the brain do different things.

  • Broca’s Area: Speech production.
  • Hippocampus: Memory.
  • Amygdala: Fear.

Formal Definition

The study of the relationship between brain function and behavior. Often involves studying patients with brain lesions (damage).

Intuition

It’s reverse engineering. If you break a specific wire in a radio and the volume stops working, you know that wire controls volume. If you have a stroke in the left hemisphere and can’t speak, we know language is on the left.

Examples

  • Phineas Gage: A railroad worker who had a metal rod blown through his frontal lobe. He survived but his personality changed from nice to rude/impulsive. Proved the frontal lobe controls personality/inhibition.
  • H.M.: A patient who had his hippocampus removed to stop seizures. He lost the ability to form new memories (Anterograde Amnesia).
  • Split Brain: Patients with a severed corpus callosum have two independent consciousnesses in one head.

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: Left Brain = Logic, Right Brain = Creative.
    • Correction: It’s a massive oversimplification. Both sides work together for almost everything.
  • Misconception: Brain damage is permanent.
    • Correction: Neuroplasticity allows the brain to rewire itself and recover function.

Applications

  • Rehabilitation: Helping stroke victims relearn skills.
  • Dementia: Diagnosing Alzheimer’s.

Criticism and Limitations

  • Modularity: The brain is highly interconnected. “Blobology” (pointing to a lit-up spot on an fMRI) doesn’t explain how it works.

Further Reading

  • Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran
  • The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons by Sam Kean