User:DeniseMCostanzo/sandbox

  Cognitive Neuropsychology is a subject in psychology. It is a combination of biology and cognitive psychology. These psychologists study human behavior and knowledge. This is a growing subject that is used more and more everyday. Unlike Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuropsychology pays attention to the mind rather than the brain.   Many scientists have worked to make Cognitive Neuropsychology. Their findings have built a good understanding of the brain and how humans learn and do things. Most of these scientists were not psychologists, but are now known for their contributions to psychology. The technology today also helps advance what is known. With brain imaging and other methods the brain can now be visualized. Cognitive Neuroscience can also be broken into different topics such as memory, attention, language, and emotion.

18th Century
During the 18th Century science began to be big in the history of Cognitive Neuropsychology. The first big advance was in human reflexes. These bodily reactions to stimuli or outside forces are observed and measured. This was found by studying axons and learning how signals travel in the human body. Before this, science and technology were not advanced enough, but the 17th Century changed this. In fact, the development of the microscope helped as well. The brain's nerve fibers could now be seen and described. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was also found in the ventricles of the brain. With that, the physiology of psychology began to take control of cognition. These findings are all still true today.

Another advance occurred with electroconvulsion therapy (ECT). This was a method used to treat mental disorders. ECT causes electricity to shock a person's brain. This stimulates all of it causing mental disorders to go away. This was used to treat blindness, hysteria, depression, and many other disorders. It was thought to be the way of the future in treating disabilities.

19th Century
The 19th century started the argument of localism vs. holism in cognitive neuropsychology. People were starting to question holism and explore the idea of localism. Localism means that the brain has individual areas that are responsible for certain actions in the body. The study of Phrenology started these localization theories. Phrenology is looking at the human skull and finding strange bumps to be measured. Any strange bumps or shapes in the skull were then paired with intelligence or self traits in a person. These traits could include language, logic, and even love. If a part of the skull was pushed out it would mean that trait was better. This started localization theories The next big thing in Cognitive Neuroscience has to do with ablation studies. This is when parts of the brain were removed so function could be measured without this brain area. For example, a neuropsychologist can remove the cerebellum. After it is removed, the animal's balance was not good. This links the cerebellum to balance. As for brain damage, the most famous case is with Phineas Gage. This patient was working on the railroad when a piece of metal went through the front of his head. He did not die from this brain injury. However, his normal personality changed. This brought the idea that the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that was stabbed, controlled how a person acted. Another study found the localization of language in the brain. Two separate scientists studied patients with language problems. They found that their patients all had lesions or damage in two certain areas of their brain. One area known as Broca's area controlled talking. The other area Wernicke's area was found to control understanding of language. This way of looking at problems in the brain lead to studies of epileptic patients. An epileptic patient is a person that frequently suffers from seizures. These seizures were studied to learn more about how the brain sends electrical signals. These electrical signals were then measured. It was found that each neuron can send a signal at certain speeds. These neurons were then dyed with a stain in order to be seen. At first it was thought that all nerves were connected like a web called a nerve net. However, with more complex stain it was found that each nerve is seperate and can fire on their own.

People of Cognitive Neuropsychology

 * Andreas Vesalius
 * Rene Descartes
 * Jean Astruc
 * Albrecht von Haller
 * Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
 * Joseph Gall
 * Johann Spurzheim
 * Karl Lashley
 * Pierre Paul Broca
 * Carl Wernicke
 * Hermann von Helmholtz
 * Camillo Golgi
 * Santiago Ramón y Cajal
 * Korbinian Brodmann

Research Areas in Cognitive Neuropsychology
Perception Attention Learning Memory Processing Languages Thinking Reasoning formation Belief Formation