Cognitive Neuropsychology - Essay Example

?Running Head: Cognitive Neuropsychology Cognitive Neuropsychology s How successful is Cognitive Neuropsychology Neural development is a crucial aspect of the human psyche and as an individual keeps on growing the structure of the brain becomes more and more complex. The structural complexity of the human brain is an indicator that the individual’s abilities and control over his bodily functioning has become more sophisticated, and the psychological functioning is more intricate. (Baars & Gage, 2010, p. 240) Before the substance of this prose delves deep into the subject of cognitive neuropsychology and how successful it has been over the years, it is always best to define exactly what is meant by ‘cognitive neuropsychology’. Cognitive neuropsychology is a branch of cognitive psychology that focuses on how the structure of the brain affects the functioning of the mind. (Baars & Gage, 2010, p. 240) This branch if psychology actually aims to define the relationship between neurophysiology and human behaviour. The study into this branch emerged after profound effects of neural injury or illness were found on an individual’s psychological functioning. This particularly refers to the mental disorders that have their etiological basis in the deficits shown in the various areas of their brain activity. (Baars & Gage, 2010, 305-307) Cognitive neuropsychology approach is quite a novel approach and as identified by Harley, that research in the subject started during the mid nineteenth century. In order to define the subject and exactly what it focuses on, Harley stated: “Cognitive neuropsychology involves patterns of impaired and intact performance seen in people with brain damage in terms of damage to one or more components of a model of normal cognitive functioning.” (Rapp, 2001, p. 52) The basic findings pertaining to cognitive neuropsychology emerged in the 1960’s when a strong correlation was found between the structural impairment of the brain and the psychological functioning of the client. Therefore, if there is any structural irregularity in the brain then it will have major repercussion on various areas of functioning of the individual. The brain acts as the central executive system of the body that is responsible for controlling and coordinating the body. It is a known fact that each part of the brain is specialized to help the individual. In other words, the brain or central nervous system triggers various neural mechanisms that tie in with cognitive processes. This is evident, given that most of the abilities that individuals acquire and develop overtime are all contingent upon the normal functioning of the brain. For instance semantic and syntactic development and ability to memorize are dependent upon how well the brain develops. (Wilshire, 2009) Despite the fact that cognitive neuropsychologists only focus on the damage inflicted upon the brain and it may appear that branch is largely related to the brain in actuality cognitive neuropsychology is about the “Mind”. Cognitive neuropsychology has also been further elaborated by the concept of modularity, according to which the entire process and dynamics of this branch of psychology can be broken down and represented in the form of smaller sub-processes. (Wilshire, 2009) This aspect of the subject was established by Fodor in 1983, but was further developed by David Marr, who considered this so important that they actually elevated this approach into a principle. Hence, this came to be known as the “Principle of Modular design”. The concept of modularity is typically applied in the field of engineering and computer programming; its application to cognitive sciences is a bit complex but an effective way to represent the process nevertheless. (Rapp, 2001, p. 52) Fodor clearly dictated the method in his book called ‘Modularity of the mind’, in which he clearly demonstrated the relationship between the entire cognitive systems and its various properties. In his book, Fodor states that for a process to be modular it has t possess the characteristics that is it has to be domain specific, innately specified, informationally encapsulated, fast, hardwired, autonomous and not assembled. The aforementioned features that were proposed by Fodor’s theory can be applied on a vast level, fundamentally because the human nervous system actually is believed to possess all these features. (Fodor, 2000) Cognitive Sciences are defined by a domain that is the central nervous system, and innately specified in human beings. All the information perceived, absorbed and understood by the brain, which means that the cognitions and mental processes are informationally encapsulated. It is fast, hardwired and autonomous. And last but not the least, human psyche is not assembled either and this was perhaps the most integral aspect that led to Fodor’s modular approach. (Fodor, 2000) However, the greatest criticism of the modular theory is that cognitions are subjective processes and the perception and reception of information varies from person to person. Therefore the biggest drawback of the modular approach is that it is vastly based on assumptions and as stated earlier the subjectivity also poses a major problem. Therefore, generalization of the module cannot be made. Fodor stated: “One interpretation might be this: given that a system has any of the properties in question, then the likelihood is considerable that it has all the rest. However, I doubt that a claim that strong could be empirically sustained, since it is reasonably easy to think of psychological processes that are fast but not encapsulated, or involuntary but not innate, and so forth. The present contention in any event, is relatively modest: it’s that if a psychological system has most of the modularity properties, then it is very likely to have all of them” (Fodor, 2000, p.137.) The absence of tangible evidence that can be used to support the module of these cognitive processes is yet another concern raised in this approach. However, in order to elucidate the process the modular approach has been very effective. Even though the modular approach can be used as plausible explanations for the cognitive processes but, neuropsychologists have conducted extensive researches in order to an alternative explanation to further understand cognitive neuropsychology. The alternative explanation of the processes was expanded using the example of neural damages. The hypothesis was based on the premise that if an individual suffered a neural damage to any part of the head that he or she would suffer significant amount of impairment to the adjacent areas of functioning. (Bernstein, 2007, p. 37) Furthermore, if an individual suffered a stroke in an area that controlled two modules in the body than there is high probability that both those areas are adversely affected as a result. This aspect of cognitive neuropsychology is also used to explain the etiology of dissociations in the human mind, which can either be single or double in their nature. Dissociation in general, is a state that is a protective mechanism adopted by the psyche to protect the body from physical and psychological stresses. (Moskowitz, 2008) It is experienced in general by people who have experienced a distressing and tiring situation. To cope with the stresses, the mind enters a dissociative state in order to recuperate and gather up energy for the next day. However, dissociations in this case are chronic and may cause severe impairments when it comes to everyday functioning. Dr. Oliver Sacks, a renowned neurologist has described countless instances involving cases of single dissociation, whereby an individual is unable to effectively identify or recognize objects. (Moskowitz, 2008) Dr. Sacks described whereby an individual who after suffering a head trauma mistook his wife for a hat. This incident occurred when the client’s wife came to visit him in the doctor’s office after the injury, the client automatically reached for his wife’s head when he was looking for his hat. The head injury had severely impaired his visual skills and rendered him incapable of differentiating between object. On another occasion, the client was presented with a rose, which the client described it as a ‘red convoluted object’ and only upon smelling it he was able to identify what it actually was. (Bernstein, 2007, p. 37) This case is in fact the perfect example of single dissociation that the individual suffers from; whereby the client develops a dysfunction only on one area and all other areas of the body function normally. On the other hand, the individual can also suffer from a double dissociation, which refers to two cognitive routes that are related in one way or the other and yet in case of an injury, one can suffer damages whereas, the other remains intact and vice versa. In other words, two deficits in an individual are referred to as ‘double dissociation’; both deficits are related. Deficit A is present but deficit B is absent; this is also applicable on people, who may experience this condition in reverse and this came to be known as being ‘double dissociation’. Memory exemplifies exactly how double dissociation may surface in an individual. For instance, it is a known fact that memory is dissected into Long-term Memory (LTM) and Short-term Memory (STM). Both of these cognitive faculties are related because, memories that become a part of Long-term Memory (LTM) are consciously processed in the Short-term memory (STM). Hence, they serve as perfect examples to illustrate the entire point. It was found that individuals, who have just suffered from a major head trauma, may damage their Long-term memory but short-term memory remains intact. However, recent studies have also found that head traumas can also render people with a damaged Short-term memory but the long-term memory remains intact. This kind of dissociation is found in people who suffer from “Anterograde Amnesia” whereby, individuals are unable to establish new memories as a result of damaged Short-term memory. (Rapp, 2001, 75-78) However, it must be carefully noted and is illustrated in many studies and researches conducted by cognitive neuropsychologists, that individuals suffering from a double dissociation does not mean that the cognitive faculty that remains intact is perfectly functional. Even the intact cognitive component in the mind is affected as a result of the injury and it is an extremely rare occurrence that one faculty in the mind remains perfectly intact whereas, the other is completely destroyed. Double dissociation data is given more weight when studying material concerning cognitive neuropsychology. However, the latter point does not mean that the data regarding single dissociations and associations are completely disregarded or have no worth. In fact for theoretical purposes, all these aspects of human cognitions and thought processes provide greater insight into the subject of cognitive neuropsychology. McCloskey (2001) further elaborated this argument and clearly defined that there is no difference between the worth and relevance of data pertaining to associations, single dissociations and double dissociations in cognitive neuropsychology. He explained that the argument is not about the worth or importance but it is largely about the number alternative interpretations provided by each of the aforementioned concepts. (McCloskey, 2001, 593-610) These alternative interpretations actually pave way for further research and development into the subject by conducting the right kind of studies. The advent of development of various methods to study the brain has made cognitive neuropsychology a key psychological paradigm that provides a plausible model for illustrating and defining dysfunctions. Tests such as Pet Scans, MRI and other neuroimaging methods have been really successful in providing neuropsychologists to observe the pattern of activity and assess the source of the problem that is experienced by the individual. (McCloskey, 2001, 593-610) Cognitive neuropsychology has been deemed extremely beneficial in providing a tangible evidence for the etiology of psychopathology. It has been further deemed useful for students because it not only provides information concerning the origin of the dysfunction and they can effectively conduct studies to define the nature and prognosis of the problem that in turn paves way for treatment. However, cognitive neuropsychology for all its benefits has its share of drawbacks and disadvantages as well. First and foremost, cognitive neuropsychology is often deemed as being very reductionist because it oversimplifies the concept of cognitions and thought processes that are highly complex. The explanation of this complex mechanism in the human mind is reduced to only the structure of the brain and dysfunctional cognitions are explained by structural anomalies. (Moskowitz, 2008) Apart from being overly simplistic, the paradigm itself provides explanation for only a certain number of dysfunctions experienced by the individual. There are certain disorders that are exhibited physically or in other words there is n tangible evidence that actually depicts any behavioural anomalies and test results may indicate that the individual is in perfect health, though this may not be so. (Rapp, 2001, 75-78) This is particularly so for dissociative disorders such as dissociative amnesia and dissociative fugue. Whereby, the individual suffers significant amount of memory loss, however the individual experiences the symptoms in the absence of a neural damage and test results may provide on tangible evidence to be deemed as the root of the problem. Therefore, in conclusion cognitive neuropsychology may have provided pros that outweigh the cons. However, the disadvantages overshadow its usefulness because it affects the entire subjects so deeply. Though, it provides a plausible explanation regarding psychological processes and dysfunction, however its successful application is further hindered by the fact that it is biased. It is biased in its theoretical application and orientation. As it is stated earlier, Human cognitive neuropsychology has done great contribution to the field of psychology and has opened a new perspective on the subject. However, due to the narrowness of the subject and other weaknesses that surface as a result of underdeveloped technological resources, the subject’s development was dwindled as a result. Therefore, it can be concluded that Human cognitive neuropsychology has not been considered that successful due to the aforementioned drawbacks in the entire psychological branch. References Baars, B & Gage, N 2010, Cognition, Brain, and Consciousness: Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience, Academic Press, Maryland, pp. 240, 305-307 Bernstein, D.A et.al 2007, Psychology. Cengage Learning, Kentucky, p. 36 Fodor, J. A 2000, The mind doesn't work that way, Cambridge: MIT Press, p. 137 McCloskey, M 2001, The future of cognitive neuropsychology. In B. Rapp (Ed.), Handbook of cognitive neuropsychology, Psychology Press, Sussex, pp. 593-610 Moskowitz, A et.al 2008, Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation: Emerging perspectives severe psychopathology, John Wiley and Sons, New Jersey Rapp, B, 2001, The Handbook of cognitive neuropsychology: What deficits reveal about the human mind, Psychology Press, Sussex, p. 52, 75-78 Wilshire, C 2009, Cognitive Neuropsychology: Exploring the mind through the brain, Taylor & Francis group, London Read More