Neurological Foundations of
Cognitive Neuroscience is a collection of eleven contributed chapters that
attempt to bridge the cognitive neuroscientist’s study of the neural mechanisms
that underpin normal cognition and the behavioral neurologist’s study of
clinical disorders. Each chapter is
written by a neurologist who also practices cognitive neuroscience, each
reviews a neurobehavioral syndrome, and each begins with at least one case
report. The study of brain damage, it
is maintained, will lead us to a better understanding of the functioning of a
normal brain. In other words, it is
hoped that we will come to better understand normal human cognitive functioning
through the study of the mechanisms responsible for the cognitive deficits
associated with each syndrome. A number
of chapters attempt to reconcile data derived from disparate methodologies, and
all approach these syndromes from both cognitive and neurological perspectives.

The first chapter, contributed by
Anjan Chatterjee, concerns unilateral spatial neglect, a syndrome “in which
patients are unaware of entire sectors of space on the side opposite of their
lesion” (1). For example, a patient may
neglect parts of their environment, parts of their own body, or even parts of
scenes in their imagination. Research
into neglect, Chatterjee argues, has important implications for our
understanding of how we represent space and for how attention is related to
perception and action. What’s more,
Chatterjee contends that “there is a remarkable convergence” of ideas about
spatial attention and representation “across different disciplines with highly
varied traditions and methods” (17). In
the second chapter, Robert Rafal considers Bálint’s syndrome. A disorder of visual cognition, Bálint’s
syndrome is characterized by a subject’s inability to grasp or locate objects
in their visual environment; although the subject may recognize the objects in
question, their appearance is fleeting, their features jumbled. “These patients are helpless in a visually
chaotic world” (27). The experience of
subjects with Bálint’s syndrome, Rafal contends, “provides critical insights
into the neural basis of visual attention and perception, and how they operate
together normally to provide coherent perceptual experience and efficient
goal-directed behavior” (38). The third
contributor, Michael S. Mega examines amnesia. 
Drawing on clinical, animal, and imaging studies, Mega identifies brain
regions responsible for the spontaneous retrieval and recognition of new
information concluding that “the growing body of data will benefit not only our
theories of normal memory function but also our diagnosis of subtle memory
defects, and perhaps their treatment” (56). 
Chapter four, contributed by John R. Hodges, considers semantic
dementia. Also a memory disorder,
semantic dementia involves an impairment of semantic memory, “our database of
knowledge about things in the world and their interrelationship” (67). Giving an overview of his and his
colleagues’ work over the last decade, Hodges emphasizes what can be gleaned
about normal semantic memory from the study of patients with semantic
dementia. Topographical disorientation
is the topic taken up by Geoffrey K. Aguirre in chapter five. Topographical disorientation is a selective
loss of “way-finding ability within the locomotor environment” (89). Distinguishing four categories of disorientation,
Aguirre concludes that the past decade has seen the development of important
insights into this disorder. “Driven by
the success of the cognitive neuroscience program,” Aguirre writes, “it is now
possible to attribute varieties of topographical disorientation to particular
impairments in cognitive function” (105). 
The sixth chapter, contributed by H. Branch Coslett, considers acquired
dyslexia. Giving a historical and
theoretical overview of acquired dyslexia, and utilizing information-processing
models as well as functional neuroimaging studies, Coslett challenges contemporary
accounts of the mechanisms that mediate reading. The performance of WT, Coslett’s case report patient, “argues for
an additional reading mechanism by which word-specific stored information
contacts speech production mechanisms directly” (109). Chapter seven is
contributed by Darren R. Gitelman and concerns the disorder of numerical
cognition acalculia which results in various calculation deficits. Gitelman reviews the behavioral neuroanatomy
and cognitive neuroscience that underpins various aspects of numerical
processing. “The range of processes
participating in calculations,” Gitelman writes, “suggests that this function
has few equals among cognitive operations in terms of integration across a
multiplicity of cognitive domains” (157). 
Gitelman closes with recommendations for bedside testing. In chapter eight Michael P. Alexander takes
up the disorder known as transcortical motor aphasia (TCMA) which is marked by
impoverished but grammatical utterances, preserved oral reading and recitation,
and auditory and written comprehension. 
Alexander reviews the clinical and cognitive neuroscience concerning
TCMA, focusing specifically on dynamic aphasia, “the cleanest exemplar of TCMA”
(169). Of special interest for
Alexander are the implications of these disorders for understanding action
planning. “Dynamic aphasia,” Alexander
writes, “appears to be an ideal substrate for analyzing the elements of action
planning. Mapping the conceptual
framework of action plans on to language production should be a path to a
clearer understanding of both” (172). Chapter nine, contributed Jeffrey R.
Binder, takes up Wernicke’s aphasia, the central characteristic of which “is a
disturbance of language comprehension, manifested by incorrect or unexpected
responses to spoken commands . . .” (177). 
Binder considers processing models, lesion correlation studies, and
functional neuroimaging studies to illuminate this multifaceted syndrome. The penultimate chapter, contributed by
Scott Grafton, concerns apraxia, “a disturbance of goal-directed motor behavior
characterized by an inability to perform previously learned movements in the
absence of weakness or sensory defects” (239). 
Grafton considers historically important developments in the study of
apraxia from a number of different perspectives including contemporary anatomy
and motor physiology, and lesion and neuroimaging studies. Grafton points to a number of remaining
questions about apraxia, emphasizing “the need to define the relationship
between apraxia and action-oriented perceptual processing” (253). The eleventh and final chapter is
contributed by Robert T. Knight and Mark D’Esposito and considers lateral
prefrontal syndrome, a disorder that affects the executive control of goal
directed-behavior. Beginning with an
overview of the range of cognitive functions that have been attributed to the
lateral prefrontal cortices, Knight and Esposito “present experimental evidence
derived from neuropsychological, electrophysiological, and functional
neuroimaging research that supports a critical role for lateral PFC in
executive control of goal directed behavior” (259).

Of interest to both the novice and
advanced reader, The Neurological Foundations of Cognitive Neuroscience
addresses many fascinating topics in cognitive neuroscience and related areas
and is of use for both those wishing to better understand neurobehavioral
syndromes, and those wishing to deepen their understanding of normal cognitive
processing. For although many recently
published texts provide descriptions of various neurobehavioral syndromes, this
book sets itself apart both by emphasizing the study of normal human cognition
in the context of patients with cognitive deficits and by the robust
interdisciplinary approach it advocates and employs.

© 2003 Liam Dempsey

Liam Dempsey is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in
the department of philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. His interests include philosophy of mind and
the metaphysics of qualia, philosophy of psychology, and cognitive science.

Categories: Psychology, Philosophical