Neurology Of Thinking

This book presents an innovative study of cognition from a clinical point of view. From observations of patients' behavior, it illustrates and analyzes the disorders of the thinking process caused by focal brain damage or more widespread cerebral dysfunction. The disorders are organized in functional categories and integrated in the effort to outline a neural basis for thought processing. The author takes a broad view of this subject, ranging from sensory input to executive control of cognition and motor output. He uses striking clinical vignettes throughout the book to illustrate the various disorders, and discusses the case histories with respect to relevant literature. This detailed work provides an illuminating account of the neurological basis for components of thinking such as language, memory, visual imagery, and emotion. It will interest all who are concerned with the relation between brain and behavior, including neurologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and cognitive scientists.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-305) and index.

D. Frank Benson, M.D., is The Augustus S. Rose Professor of Neurology at the School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his medical degree from Northwestern and is the author of several books on the behavioral aspects of neurologic disease.

I. Background Considerations

1. Toward a Neurology of Thinking

2. Two Approaches to Thinking

II. Neurological Disorders Affecting Thinking

3. The Neurology of Sensory Disorders

4. The Neurology of Motor Disorders

5. The Neurology of Basic Mental Control Disorders (Alertness, Attention, Mental Tone)

6. The Neurology of Emotional Disorders

7. The Neurology of Visual Imagery

8. The Neurology of Communication Disorders

9. The Neurology of Memory Disorders

10. The Neurology of Cognitive Disorders

11. The Neurology of Higher Mental Control Disorders

12. The Neurology of Thought Disorders

III. Theoretical Considerations

13. Neural Basis of Thought Processing