Neuropsychology

Neuropsychology 1. What is the major emphasis or what is the subject matter in this specialty area? Neuropsychologists look at cognition and behavior, typically after brain damage has occurred. They look at the abnormalities in functioning related to brain damage and how that brain damage can affect the patient’s life. Focuses mainly on the cerebral cortex and functions there in. 2. What topics does it usually include? For example, privacy issues and work space design. Abnormal cognitive/behavioral functioning, brain trauma, and degenerative diseases in the brain. More specifically this could include Alzheimer’s, dementia, attention disorders, to name a few. 3. Give examples of the typical types of questions studied. For example, what brain centers are responsible for memory? Does the patient have dementia? Is there a cognitive/behavioral defect resulting from brain damage? Can the patient return to normal functioning or independent functioning? 4. Write a brief history of the specialty. Include where it was founded, why did it seem necessary to have this specialty, and who or what group initiated the specialty. We have had written records of the nervous system for thousands of years, however research about the brain and its functions began in the 17th century, with Rene Descartes and Thomas Willis. Descartes was the first to really say that the brain influenced our behavior. In 1664 Thomas Willis published the first detailed anatomy of the brain. Willis felt that specific brain structures influenced behavior, whereas Descartes felt fluids in the spinal cord influenced behavior. The brain came under more specific study in the 1800s. In the past century more focus has been put into examining neural functioning. 5. List some psychologists and examples of their publications that support this specialty. a. Paul Broca – “Tan” study b. Egas Moniz – Lobotomy c. Wilder Penfield - //Epilepsy and the Functional Anatomy of the Human Brain// Type in the content of your page here.