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Brain Injury and Recovery pp 151–163Cite as

Arguments against Redundant Brain Structures

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Abstract

The term redundancy is sometimes used in papers that review the various effects of different lesions of the nervous system with regard to functional recovery (e.g., Rosner, 1970; Laurence and Stein, 1978; Freund and Bauer, 1982; Singer, 1982), although more rarely in the original reports. It is used for discussions of an unexpected lack of functional defects or surprisingly rapid recovery after some lesions. Its usage implies that the damaged structure was superfluous or contained an overabundance of the relevant elements. The idea is important if true but difficult to argue, since a lack of defect can only be ascertained if all of the possible functions are known and have been studied. Perhaps that is why the problem usually is avoided in research papers that are concerned with restricted themes. Nevertheless, the idea of overabundant neurons in the brain is an old one.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Physiology and Neurology, University of Göteborg, S-400 33, Göteborg, Sweden

    Ulf Norrsell

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  1. Ulf Norrsell
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department and Neural Sciences Program, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130, USA

    Stanley Finger

  2. The Brain Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695-7801, USA

    T. E. Levere

  3. Programs in Occupational Therapy and Neural Sciences, Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Preventive Medicine, and Psychology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA

    C. Robert Almli

  4. Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, 07102, USA

    Donald G. Stein (Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research) (Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research)

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© 1988 Plenum Press, New York

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Norrsell, U. (1988). Arguments against Redundant Brain Structures. In: Finger, S., Levere, T.E., Almli, C.R., Stein, D.G. (eds) Brain Injury and Recovery. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0941-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0941-3_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8256-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0941-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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