This article presents a discussion of the principle of extracortical organization of higher mental functions and its significance for the development of contemporary neuropsychology. The role of external factors (stimulus-mediator, symbol) in establishing functional connections between various brain systems is, in principle, universal. However, inasmuch as differing mediators and means, or significantly different details within them (direction of writing, orientation by maps or by the behavior of sea birds, etc.) may and in fact do develop in different cultures, neuropsychological analysis must take into account cross-cultural differences. Diagnostic tools must also be adapted to differing cultural contexts. The efficacy of this principle for the analysis of bilingual aphasia and of mental organization of speech, including the effect of acquisition of literacy in native language, is demonstrated. The importance of this principle for the development of new directions in applied neuropsychology is also discussed.
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Notes
In personal communication with colleagues responsible for education of school psychologists in Russia the author tried to persuade them to include a neuropsychological course in the curriculum of school psychologists. They resisted, arguing against this kind of reductionism.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a stipend from the Israeli Ministry of Absorption. The author expresses deepest appreciation to friends and colleagues Alfredo Ardila, Dorothy Robbins and Yvette Huss, for valuable comments and to Ted Friedgut for correcting my English.
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Kotik-Friedgut, B. Development of the Lurian Approach: A Cultural Neurolinguistic Perspective. Neuropsychol Rev 16, 43–52 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-006-9003-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-006-9003-9