Exploring the History of Neuropsychology: Selected Papers

365 Pages·2000·19.34 MB·English

by  Arthur Benton

Exploring the History
of Neuropsychology
This page intentionally left blank
EXPLORING
THE
HISTORY
OF
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
Selected Papers
ARTHUR BENTON
Emeritus Professor of Neurology and Psychology
University of Iowa
With an Introduction by
KENNETH M. ADAMS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
2000
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York
Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Calcutta
Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul
Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai
Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw
and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 2000 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016
http://www.oup-usa.org
1-800-334-4249
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Benton, Arthur Lester, 1909-
Exploring the history of neuropsychology : selected papers /
Arthur Benton ; with an introduction by Kenneth M. Adams.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-513808-2
1. Neuropsychology—History
2. Clinical neuropsychology—History.
3. Aphasia—History. I. Title.
QP360 .B487 2000 616.8—dc21 99-088047 Rev.
2 4 6 8 9 7 5 31
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To
Robert James Joynt
This page intentionally left blank
Preface
The impetus that led eventually to the writing of historical and quasihistorical
papers, some of which form the collection in this book, arose several decades
ago. At the time I was struck by the extreme divergence in the acceptance and
usage of concepts and terms such as "agnosia," "amnesic aphasia," "apraxia,"
and the like by the leading figures in the then very young field of neuro-
psychology/behavioral neurology. It seemed to me that this state of affairs could
not be the product of objective observation. More likely it represented a heritage
of the past. I therefore explored the relevant literature of nineteenth-century
neurology to trace the evolution of thought and practice with respect to these
concepts and terms. The exploration was rewarding. I began to see how current
concepts and practice were more often than not the outgrowth of diverse earlier
formulations. I also began to appreciate the place that my own research efforts
occupied in the continuum from the past to the present (including the realization
that some insights on my part, which I thought were original, had been expressed
in vaguer form by earlier writers). This outcome whetted my appetite to continue
to explore the past, and in due course I became a part-time amateur historian.
There is no unifying theme in this collection of essays. They are explorations
of diverse aspects of the field, the choices reflecting my own special interests.
They were written at different times and in different contexts. Consequently,
there is much repetition in making points and in citing the literature. Some
essays are systematic accounts of developments in thinking in a particular area
(e.g., the prefrontal region, spatial thinking), some consider the contributions of
a single individual (e.g., J. A. P. Gesner, Albert Pitres), and others deal with
methodological issues. Many other aspects of the history of clinical neuropsy-
chology/behavioral neurology remain to be explored. I am convinced that the
effort would pay rich dividends in the form of increased sophistication and
enhanced judgment by clinicians and researchers.
I am too close to these papers to have a fair idea of what significance or
value they may hold for neuropsychologists and behavioral neurologists. Hence
vii
viii PREFACE
I was very pleased that so knowledgeable and astute a judge as Kenneth Adams
accepted the invitation of the publisher to write a brief analysis of the collection
and discuss its implications. I am grateful to him.
My heartfelt thanks go to Jeffrey House and Fiona Stevens of Oxford Uni-
versity Press for their constant encouragement and help during the course of the
project.
It is a great pleasure to dedicate this book to my longtime friend and col-
league, Robert Joynt, who is himself a distinguished historian of neurology.
Iowa City, Iowa A. B.
January 2000
Contents
Introduction
KENNETH M. ADAMS, xi
Part I Evolution of the Discipline
1. Neuropsychology: Past, Present, and Future (1988), 3
2. Four Neuropsychologists (1994), 41
3. The Fate of Some Neuropsychological Concepts:
An Historical Inquiry (1990), 57
4. The Prefrontal Region: Its Early History (1991), 67
5. Cerebrovascular Disease in the History of
Clinical Neuropsychology (1991), 99
6. Spatial Thinking in Neurological Patients: Historical Aspects (1982), 111
Part II The Aphasic Disorders
7. Early Descriptions of Aphasia (1960), 135
8. Aphasia (1800-1860) (1963), 161
9. The Memoir of Marc Dax on Aphasia (1964), 167
10. Johann A. P. Gesner on Aphasia (1965), 175
11. Bergson and Freud on Aphasia: A Comparison (1987), 183
12. Pitres and Amnesic Aphasia (1988), 193
ix