ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses several aspects of neuropsychological research in man. It argues that there is no strict boundary separating neuropsychology from related fields of the physiological sciences. The experimental investigations reported as examples for modern neuropsychological research have one characteristic trait in common: they are all based on the classical syndromes described in the old neurological literature. Neuropsychology is a relatively young science. Its objective was limited to the study of the psychological disturbances observed after circumscribed or diffuse brain lesions in man. In man, the situation for examining the functions of the two independent hemispheres is particularly favorable because of a distinct functional asymmetry between the two halves of the brain. A very important step toward a precise anatomical basis for certain neuropsychological symptoms is the concept of disconnection syndromes, developed by Norman Geschwind. The interpretation of the findings was centered on the recognition of Grundstorungen, that is, of basic disturbances which of necessity cause certain symptoms.
