PY 370 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Johann Spurzheim, Lumosity, Renaissance Humanism
Document Summary
Joseph gall faculties by examining shape of skull. Interest in the connection between faculties and brain structures. Crude theories, but ideas of localization of brain function inspired better research. Cranioscopy (phrenology): theory that one can determine intellectual and emotional. Fibers between brain hemispheres to opposite sides of spinal cord. Formal discipline: exercise can be used to strengthen faculties (like lumosity brain. Quickly discredited but still gained a lot of followers. Destroy parts of live animal brain to observe effects. Discovered functions of cerebellum, midbrain, medulla, ad cerebrum. Some evidence that cortex acted as a whole. Depended on amount of cortex removed- not where from it was removed. Diagnose disorders in living patients and do an autopsy after death. Stimulated dead frog leg which made it twitch. Fluid from brain nerves take fluid to muscles (wrong about fluid) Touching brain tissue induced movement in wounded soldiers. Evidence of significant localization of function in the cortex.
