Yves Joanette - Böcker

This book provides a critical review of the questions as well as the data pertaining to the contribution of the right "non-dominant" hemisphere to verbal communication. Three main sources of observation are reviewed: experiments with normal subjects, with split-brain subjects, and with brain-damaged subjects. The first three chapters present (1) a historical introduction, (2) a critical review of the advantages and limits of the different methodologies used, and (3) a discussion of the contribution of the aphasia literature. Then, each subsequent chapter addresses one particular component of the possible contribution of the right hemisphere to verbal communication: lexical-semantics, written language, prosody and pragmatics. This book is intended for professionals who would like to consult a critical contemporary review of the subject. It offers a unique synthesis of nearly all the behavioral literature on the topic coming from many different, but complementary, fields such as neuropsychology, linguistics, neurology and speech sciences; it also contains a helpful bibliography. The authors open many new doors to promising research avenues in terms of both theoretical and practical questions, and offer a rapidly accessible source of information and reference.

From a contemporary perspective, Classic Cases in Neuropsychology, Volume II reviews important and significant cases described in historical and modern literature where brain damage has been sustained. The single case study has always been of central importance to the discipline of neuropsychology. Cognitive neuropsychology and cognitive neurolinguistics search for universal structures in thought processes, and single patients are an important means to that end. The role of the single case study in the historical development of the field and its increasing contribution to contemporary work is therefore recognised as crucial.This follow-up to the successful Classic Cases in Neuropsychology (1996) brings together more of the important case investigations which have shaped the way we think about the relationships between brain, behaviour and cognition. The book includes cases from the rich history of neuropsychology as well as important contemporary case studies in the fields of memory, language and perception. Some of the cases described are rare, some are seminal in the field, many were the first of their type to be described and gave rise to new theories, and some are still controversial. As in the first volume, each chapter highlights the relevance of the case to the development of neuropsychology and discusses the theoretical implication of the findings.Classic Cases in Neuropsychology, Volume II will be essential reading for students and researchers alike in the fields of neuropsychology and neuroscience. It will also be of interest to speech and language pathologists, therapists and clinicians in this area.

The importance of detailed examination and theoretical interpretation of the single case has been increasingly recognized in neuropsychology. This book brings together in one volume discussion of the classic cases which have shaped the way we think about the relationships between brain, behaviour and cognition. The single cases covered may be ancient or modern, famous or less well-known. But the book is comprehensive in its coverage of contemporary neuropsychological issues. Represented are classic cases in language, memory, perception, attention and praxis. Some of the cases included are rare, or have acted as catalysts to the development of theory. Some have remained the definitive case; many were the first of their type to be described and gave rise to the development of new syndrome entities. Some are still controversial. In some instances, the cases resulted in major paradigm shifts. Some, while still highly influential, were misinterpreted. But most of them were read only by a few in their original form. Each chapter highlights the relevance of the case for the development of neuropsychology, describes the particular features of the case that are interesting and discusses the theoretical implications.

From a contemporary perspective, Classic Cases in Neuropsychology, Volume II reviews important and significant cases described in historical and modern literature where brain damage has been sustained. The single case study has always been of central importance to the discipline of neuropsychology. Cognitive neuropsychology and cognitive neurolinguistics search for universal structures in thought processes, and single patients are an important means to that end. The role of the single case study in the historical development of the field and its increasing contribution to contemporary work is therefore recognised as crucial.This follow-up to the successful Classic Cases in Neuropsychology (1996) brings together more of the important case investigations which have shaped the way we think about the relationships between brain, behaviour and cognition. The book includes cases from the rich history of neuropsychology as well as important contemporary case studies in the fields of memory, language and perception. Some of the cases described are rare, some are seminal in the field, many were the first of their type to be described and gave rise to new theories, and some are still controversial. As in the first volume, each chapter highlights the relevance of the case to the development of neuropsychology and discusses the theoretical implication of the findings.Classic Cases in Neuropsychology, Volume II will be essential reading for students and researchers alike in the fields of neuropsychology and neuroscience. It will also be of interest to speech and language pathologists, therapists and clinicians in this area.

Nonspecialists are often surprised by the issues studied and the perspectives assumed by basic scientific researchers. Nowhere has the surprise traditionally been greater than in the field of psychology. College students anticipate that their psychology courses will illuminate their personal problems and their friends' per­ sonalities; they are nonplussed to discover that the perception of geometric forms and the running ofT-mazes dominates the textbooks. The situation is comparable in the domain of linguistics. Nonprofessional observers assume that linguists study exotic languages, that when they choose to focus on their own language, they will examine the meanings of utterances and the uses to which language is put. Such onlookers are taken aback to learn that the learning of remote languages is a marginal activity for most linguists; they are equally amazed to discover that the lion's share of work in the discipline focuses on issues of syntax and phonol­ ogy, which are virtually invisible to the speaker of a language. Science moves in its own, often mysterious ways, and there are perfectly good reasons why experimental psychologists prefer to look at mazes rather than at madness, and why linguists study syntax rather than Sanskrit. Nonetheless, it is a happy event for all concerned when the interests of professionals and non­ specialists begin to move toward one another and a field of study comes to address the "big questions" as well as the experimentally most tractable ones. Discourse Ability and Brain Damage reflects this trend in scientific research.

This book provides a critical review of the questions as well as the data pertaining to the contribution of the right "non-dominant" hemisphere to verbal communication. Three main sources of observation are reviewed: experiments with normal subjects, with split-brain subjects, and with brain-damaged subjects. The first three chapters present (1) a historical introduction, (2) a critical review of the advantages and limits of the different methodologies used, and (3) a discussion of the contribution of the aphasia literature. Then, each subsequent chapter addresses one particular component of the possible contribution of the right hemisphere to verbal communication: lexical-semantics, written language, prosody and pragmatics. This book is intended for professionals who would like to consult a critical contemporary review of the subject. It offers a unique synthesis of nearly all the behavioral literature on the topic coming from many different, but complementary, fields such as neuropsychology, linguistics, neurology and speech sciences; it also contains a helpful bibliography. The authors open many new doors to promising research avenues in terms of both theoretical and practical questions, and offer a rapidly accessible source of information and reference.