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6 ., '-.'. ,", SKOLEPSYKOLOGI ARGANG 8 - NR. 6 - 1971 --~ META-PRINCIPLES IN LURIA'S NEURO- PSYCHOLOGY THE FUNCTIONAL SYSTEM: KEYSTONE TO LURIA'S NEUROPSYCHOLOGY DET FUNKTIONELLE SYSTEM: N"GLEBEGREBET I LURIA'. NEUROPSYKOLOGI ITPA OG DENS ROLLE SOM DIFFERENTIAL- DIAGNOSTISK INSTRUMENT OG SOM HJ~LPEMIDDEL VED DIAGNOSTISK UNDERVISNING EN UNDERS"GELSE AF STJERKT LIESE- RETARDEREDES SOCIALE BAGGRUND EN UNDERS"GELSE AF HJJELPEKLASSEELEVERS OG HJ~LPEHOLDSELEVERS SOCIALE BAGGRUND EN UNDERS"GELSE AF STOFFORBRUGET BLANDT SKOLEELEVER I HERSTEDERNES KOMMUNE INTERVIEW·METODIK TALENT, OPPORTUNITY AND CAREER OMTALE AF NY LITTERATUR 31. FAGLIGE M"DE pA "NYBORG STRAND« SKOLEPSYKOLOGERNES LANDSFORENING • DANMARK

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Page 1: SKOLEPSYKOLOGI - Marxists Internet Archive · PDF fileskolepsykologi argang 8 - nr. 6 - 1971--~ meta-principles in luria's neuro-psychology the functional system: keystone to luria's

6

., '-.'. ,",

SKOLEPSYKOLOGIARGANG 8 - NR. 6 - 1971

--~ META-PRINCIPLES IN LURIA'S NEURO-PSYCHOLOGYTHE FUNCTIONAL SYSTEM: KEYSTONETO LURIA'S NEUROPSYCHOLOGYDET FUNKTIONELLE SYSTEM: N"GLEBEGREBETI LURIA'. NEUROPSYKOLOGIITPA OG DENS ROLLE SOM DIFFERENTIAL-DIAGNOSTISK INSTRUMENT OG SOMHJ~LPEMIDDEL VED DIAGNOSTISKUNDERVISNINGEN UNDERS"GELSE AF STJERKT LIESE-RETARDEREDES SOCIALE BAGGRUNDEN UNDERS"GELSE AF HJJELPEKLASSEELEVERSOG HJ~LPEHOLDSELEVERS SOCIALE BAGGRUNDEN UNDERS"GELSE AF STOFFORBRUGETBLANDT SKOLEELEVERI HERSTEDERNES KOMMUNEINTERVIEW·METODIKTALENT, OPPORTUNITY AND CAREEROMTALE AF NY LITTERATUR31. FAGLIGE M"DE pA "NYBORG STRAND«

SKOLEPSYKOLOGERNES LANDSFORENING • DANMARK

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Redaktlon:

SKOLEPSYKOLOGI

SkolepsykologlTidsskrift udgivet at Skolepsykologernes Landstorening . Danmark

ICRESMEDLEMMERSofie Rifbjerg - S. A. Tordrup

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Abonnement: Erik Petersen,pris: kr 35,-, studerende kr. 25,-, exel. moms.Argang 1972: kr. 40,-, studerende kr. 30,-, exel. moms.

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INDHOLD

A. R. Luria: Meta-principles in Luria's neuropsychology

Douglas M. Bowden: The Functional System: Keystone to Luria'sNeuropsychology 409

Douglas M. Bowden: Det funktionelle system: Neglebegrebet iLuria's neuropsykologi ((oversat af Otto Sloth) 418

John Rasmussen: ITPA og dens rolle som differentialdiagnostiskinstrument og som hjrelpemiddel ved diagnostisk undervis-ning. Beskrivelse og forsog pa vurdering .

Emil Kruuse: En undersegelse af stzerkt lreseretarderedes socialebaggrund .

Emil Kruuse: En undersegelse af hjrelpeklasseelevers og hjrelpe-holdselevers sociale baggrund ' .

Emil Kruuse: En undersegelse af stofforbruget blandt skole-elever i Herstedernes kommune .

Ulla Kaad: Interview-metodik .................. , .Doris E. Nason: Talent, Opportunity and Career by Torsten

Husen. An analysis and review .

Omtale af ny litteratur:Svar til Svend Ellehammer Andersen (Kurt Kristensen) ....

Referat af det 31. faglige made pa »Nyborg Strand« 7. september- 9. september 1971:

Paneloplasg med emnet: Forebygge - kan og skal vi det? ..Vagn Christensen & A. P. Serensen; Forebyggende perspek-tiver i det predagogiske, medicinske og sociale samarbejde "Niels Lerqen. Bisgaard: FOl'ebyggende aspekter i opdragelsenmed relation til de psedagogtske og socialpredagogiskeuddannelser .Finn Rasborg: Samarbejde mellem lserer og elev i 70'erne "

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424

Meta-principles in Luria'sneuropsychology

The following is a tight summary of A. R. Luria'sapproach to the basic fields of psychology in whichhe has been involved for decades.

1. There are higher cortical (or psychological) functionsspecific to human being and not existing in animals. Thesespecifically human psychologically processes (or functions)derive from social sources, i. e. tool-using social behaviorof man.

2. The most specific feature of these higher processes is thatthey are tool- or means-using processes, Animals do notuse means, their behavior is not mediated by means, tools orsigns, it is all immidiate, natural behavior, whereas humanbehavior is always mediated (tool- or means-using) orindirect by structure, social by origin and voluntary (orconscious) by the modes of work.

3. This indirect, means-using behavior is mediated via speech- this most important system of tools or signs in humanhistory. Language (or speech) has not only its semanticfunction: function of categorization of impressions, but itspragmatic or regulatory (or controlling) functions as well.By using language man overcomes the direct influences ofenvironment, and his behavior becomes no more field-linked,but is goal- or plan-linked.

4. The indirect, tool (sign) using behavior starts a new formof cortical work: human cortex is no more a complex of work

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of different zones, organized by influences of the »cen-trencephalic system« (or natural drives): it becomes ahistorically organized, plastic functional system wherelanguage plays a decisive organizing role. That is why»higher cortical functions of man« have to be evaluated asfunctional systems of cortical zones, linked by the leadingrole of language as a decisive means of behavior.

5. The disorganization of the brain functions following localbrain lesions is in no way a partial deficit (destruction of aspheral local function) and no more a total lowering of thegeneral brain activity. It results in a disorganisation offunctional brain systems, each time resulting from a defectof a basic [actor (according the locus of the lesion) _bringing a series of primary symptoms and resulting in aseries of secondary symptoms or functional (vsystemic«)results.

6. The basic goal of neuropsychology is neither a puredescription, nor a direct reduction to a physiological issue,but a careful psychological qualification of the symptom(i. e. singling out the underlying factor, and then - adescription of systemic results of the destruction or elimina-tion of this factor); that is the real way to the neuro-psychological diagnostics of brain injury.

That is very shortly my credo.

(Formulated in a letter to prof. Douglas Bowden, dated[ebr. 20. 1971, Souhanovo, near Moscow, sign. A. R. Luria).

408

Terminology:Centrencephalic system Penfields term for a hypothesized central

structure of neurones in the brain stem which is conceived of as theanatomical basis for the coherent unity of mental processes. In manyrespects, the centrencephalic system would appear to be identical withthe reticular activating system.

(from Hinsie & Campbell: Psychiatric Dictionary, N. Y. 1970).

The Functional System:Keystone to Luria'sNeuropsychology*

By Douglas M. Bowden, M. D.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington,

Seattle, Washington U. S. A.

A. R. Luria, Professor of Psychology of Moscow StateUniversity and chief of the diagnostic research section at theBurdenko Institute of neurosurgery is, to the West, un-doubtedly the best known figure in contemporary Sovietpsychology. The present paper is intended to point out certainthemes which have run through his' work over the past 45years, to outline the theoretical framework from which hisresearch has envolved, and to describe a few typical experi-ments which will give an impression of the kind of evidencehe has accumulated to support his theories.

Professor Luria has always been primarily interested infunctions peculiar to man. From the 1920's to the present hehas defended again and again the legitimacy of experimentsdesigned to objectify »higher mental processes«. Also, fromthe beginning of his career his work has reflected a concernfor the major significance of social forces in the determinationof human personality and thought processes.

*This paper was originally presented at the Convention of theAmerican Psychological Association, New York, 1966. It is not necess-arily an overview af Professor Luria's research and theory as hewould present it. It is, rather, a synopsis by one who has felt his ownthinking very much influenced by contact with Professor Luria andhis writings. The author expresses his thanks to Professor Luria forhis very generous consultation and assistance in gathering the lite-rature on which the paper is based and sincerely hopes that inemphasizing those themes which appear most essential to himself, hehas not distored the original concepts or experimental intentions ofProfessor Luria. 409

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The word »function« is ubiquitous to Luria's writings. Heuses the term with variable degrees of specificity. Functionsin the most general sense include such phenomena as speech,reading, and calculation; in a somewhat less general sense,functions include abstraction, selective attention, memori-zation, etc. In individual experiments, function usually refersto the fulfillment of a specific task, such as pressing a rubberbulb to an auditory signal, building a house from blocks, ornarrating a story from memory.

Different functions are performed by different »functionalsystems«, In the 1920's, Luria used functional system as apsychophysiological term which referred to interactionsbetween affect, motor activity, and thought processes.Characteristics of a functional system were inferred fromvegetative, somatic, and speech reactions which wererecorded as the subject performed a task. Hypotheses werestated regarding the psychological interaction of, for instance,massive affect and regulatory speech processes. At that timehe was little inclined to speculation about the brain structuresinvolved in such interactions.

In the mid-1930's his interests broadened to include theorganization of functional systems within the brain.Through his study of thousands of patients with focal brainlesions, the term »functional system« has come to have adefinite neuroanatomical connotation. It would be incorrect,however, to consider this the entire essence of the concept.

In its present form, the concept of a functional systeminvolves two components: a cerebral component and anenvironmental component. The function »reading« forinstance, cannot occur where either a book or a human brainis lacking. Thus, the concept of a functional system forreading is incomprehensible unless reading material, i. e.,the environmental component, is included in the definition.The book is as essential a part of the functional system for

410 reading as the occipital cortex.

With this conception of human functions in mind, one candefine four major postulates to which Luria has adheredthroughout most of his career. The first is that the cerebralcomponent of any functional system results from the inter-action of a constellation of cerebral areas. Thus, a functionis localizable in the sense that damage to any one of theareas involved destroys the functional system responsible forit. Secondly, a given function may be performed in differentways, i. e., by different functional systems depending uponthe individual and the circumstances in which he finds him-self. Thus a function is not localizable in the sense that ifdamage to a structure destroys the functional system onwhich it is based another system can be developed to carryout the same function. Thirdly, the most powerful adaptivefunctions which man possesses, such as abstraction, com-putation, and speech itself, depend upon functional systemswhich are acquired rather than innate. The fourth majorpostulate is that the most important determinat of functionalsystems in man is the organization of the social environment.

Challenges to these postulates have given rise to hundredsof experiments over the past 45 years. It would be impossibleto summarize all of Luria's ,work in a few pages. The in-tention here is rather to give some impression of the varietyof his attempts to test his theory by citing several types ofexperiment and indicating how they relate to his majortheses.

The following is an example of how the cortical con-stellations .hypothesis has been studied. Luria found thatword blocking was characteristic of aphasias associated withlesions in several different areas. He did not conclude fromthis, however, that the areas were »equipotential for wordfinding.« He analyzed the syndromes further and found thatwith lesions of the »superior premotor area« the blockingwas associated with a general inability to perform repetitivemotor patterns smoothly. For instance, patients with superior 411

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premotor lesions were incapable of reproducing a rythm(II III II III .... ) tapped out by the examiner.

With lesions af the temporo-parieto-occipita] region, onthe other hand, motor patterns were intact, but the patientshad difficulty comprehending certain simple grammaticalconstructions. For instance, instructed to »draw a circleunder a square,« they might draw a circle and, under it,a square; they tended to follow the sequence of operationsconveyed by the sequence of words in the instruction ratherthan the sequence of operations defined by its grammaticalstructure. The associated deficit suggested that word blockingin this syndrome might be due to a loss of semantic andgrammatic associations through which words would or-dinarily be retrieved.

Finally, patients with lesions in the left inferotemporalarea often showed a very severe form of word blocking. Inthis syndrome non-verbal motor patterns were unaffectedand comprehension of grammatical statements was intact.The lesion also.prevented the patient from reading or writingunfamiliar words which had to be sounded-out, althoughcommon words which would be recognized directly fromvisual memory, or familiar words such as a signature, whichhe could write »in one motion« presented no problem. Againthe combination of symptoms with the inferotemporal lesiondiffered markedly from that seen with either of the previoustwo lesions. This Luria interpreted as evidence that a dif-ferent link in the functional system for word finding hadbeen disrupted.

From a practical point of view, this approach has yieldeddiagnostic tools which Luria has used clinically since theearly 1940's. In a theoretical sense, the evidence it yields hasbeen taken to support the concept that functional systemsinvolve constellations of cortical areas, damage to anyoneof which can disrupt the corresponding function.

The thesis that the same function can be performed in412 different ways implies that the different areas of the brain

can be connected in a variety of ways to perform the samefunction. Indeed, a major tenet of Luria's theory is that oneprincipal difference between the human and lower animalsis the plasticity of brain function, the ease with whichtemporary connections are made and broken by means ofthe second signal system.

The idea that speech might be restored by reorganizingthe speech system to comprise a different constellation ofcortical areas was the theoretical basis of a large scale re-habilitation program for aphasics undertaken by Luria dur-ing and after World War II (1). It was found, for instance,that patients with oral apraxias could regain control of theoral apparatus required for speech by observing the move-ments of the tongue and lips in a mirror as they attemptedto talk. In such cases, the mirror besame an environmentalcomponent of the reorganized functional system,

Other observations from an entirely different area havealso been adduced as evidence that the same function maybe accomplished by different functional systems, viz., fromstudies of cognitive development in the child. In a very earlystudy of counting, Luria noted that children of different agescounted in different ways. If they were instructed to countblocks arranged in a !lOW, no difference was detected. If theblocks were arranged to form a:cross, however, the youngerchildren counted the block at the junction of the horizontaland vertical columns twice. On the basis of this and numer-ous similar experiments, Luria concluded that, at the earlierage, the culturally determined functional system for countinghad not yet developed; counting was done by a more primi-tive form-bound functional system, so that the outcome washighly dependent upon environmental circumstances. At alater age a more complex functional system developed, whichallowed counting of a more abstract nature.

A third experiment showed not only that different func-tional systems can fulfill the same function, but also demon-strated how such differences developed during learning and 413

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the kinds of influence they could have on subsequentperformance (2).Five sets of identical twins participated in aseries of sessions with building blocks. One twin from eachpair learned to reproduce model houses in which the buildingblocks were exposed to view. The other learned to reproducethe same houses, but the models he had to work from werecovered with paper, so that the ways in which blocks werestacked to obtain the overall form of the house were notexposed to view. After 10 weeks of training with differentmodels, the two groups showed equal facility at reproducinghouses. There were marked differences, however, in theircomprehension of grammatical statements regarding spatialrelationships, and 18 months later, they showed great diffe-rences in their ability to reconstruct from memory the modelswhich they had produced during tre training sessions. Forinstance, the twins who had worked from models in whichthe individual blocks were hidden had less difficultyresponding appropriately to the instruction, »draw a circleunder a square« and were considerably better at reconstruct-ing old models from memory.

In order to reproduce a model in which the relationshipsbetween individual bricks were hidden from view, they hadfirst to analyze the general form of the structure and thenconstruct the form from blocks at hand. In the process afunctional system developed which had a different environ-mental component than that evolved by the children whohad been shown the relationships between individual blocks.The functional system they developed was more abstractand more powerful in that it rendered comprehension ofrelated verbal statements and memory for spatial relationsmore effective.

Some of Luria's most fascinating studies have beendesigned to test the thesis that man's most effective functionsfor dealing with his environment are acquired rather thaninnate. In the experiment just described, he sought to

414 eliminate the genetic factor by elaborating the different

functional systems he wished to study in identical twins. Inother twin studies he has attempted to distinguish betweenfunctional systems which are closely related to genotypefrom ones which are not.

One such study involved over 140 sets of twins who weresubjected to a number of different tasks (3). He found thatin a simple visual recognition task, the variation in per-formance was considerably less between identical twins thanbetween fraternal twins. For a complex memorization task,on the other hand, the variation between identical twinswas as great as between fraternal twins. From this heconcluded that the functional system responsible for per-formance in the recognition task was highly related togenotype, whereas that responsible for memorization wasrelated to past experience. Since past experience, was asheterogeneous between identical twins as between fraternaltwins, variation in performance scores for the latter wastaken to reflect a predominance of experiential over geneticinfluences.

Luria's fourth major postulate, that the most importantdeterminant of functional systems in man is the organizationof his social environment follows directly from the postulatethat such systems are acquired rather than innate. One ofthe studies which illustrates this principle most strikinglyinvolved a pair of identical twins, who, at age 5, showedmarked retardation in speech development (4). At the be-ginning of the study, the children shared a vocabulary ofless than 80 real words, and their speech reflected almostno grammatical structure. They were enrolled in separatekindergartens and trained by adults who maximallyencouraged their use of speech in practical situations; oneof the twins received formal instruction in grammar as well.

For both twins, grammatical speech developed rapidly.They came to perform equally as well in most situations.They both developed narrative speech and verbal controlover their behavior. In addition they developed constructive 415

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play and the ability to draw from memory. These functionshad been all but absent 11 months earlier.

In summary, the major finding was that identical twinsliving in a close symbiotic relationship and in an atmosphereof adult indifference did not develop grammatical speech,the most basic of human functions. When they wereseparated and exposed to. adults who encouraged ordemanded verbalization of perceptions, desires, intentions,etc., they rapidly developed speech. Luria concluded thatgrammatical language and constructive thought processes,even of a rudimentary nature do not develop in the absenceof social necessity or interaction with other humans whohave already acquired language.

Anyone familiar with the vast range of Prof. Luria'sresearch interests will readily recognize that a number oflarge areas have been omitted from this discussion. His well-informed interest in psychoanalysis during the 1920's (5,6),and his own attempts at that time to analyze the influence ofhidden affect on speech and thought processes:(7); his cross-cultural studies of speech in children from rural and urbanenvironments (8); and his studies of speech and thought inchildren with severe motor and mental handicaps (9)represent decades of research which we can only mentionhere in passing.

The major aim of this paper has been to point out severalthemes which are basic to virtually all of Prof. Luria's work.Each passing year sees an increasing number of translationsof this man's important scientific contributions from Russianinto languages more accessible to his western colleagues.It is a unique and fascinating body of theory and researchwhich well merits the rapidly growing attention it isreceiving from scholars in a broad spectrum of fields, includ-ing, not least of all, educational psychology.

416

References(1) Luria, A. R. (1963): Restoration of Function after Brain Injury,

trans. Haigh, B., (Macmillan, New York) (Eng),(2) Luria, A. R. & Mirenova, A. N. (1936): Eksperimental'noe razvitie

vospriiatiia metodom diferentsirovannogo obucheniia odnoiait-sevykh bliznetsov, sbornik Nevrologiia i Genetika (Developmentof perception in identical twins with different training methods,Neurology and Genetics (ed? pub?) (Russ).

(3) Luria, A. R. (1936): K voprosu 0 geneticheskom amalize psikholo-gicheskikh funktsii v svyazi sikh razvitiem, Problemy NervooiFiziologii i Povedeniia, sbornik., posvyasbchonnyi Prof. 1. S.Beritashvili (Tblisi, Tekhnika da Shrorna) pp. 361-367.(Genetic analysis of the development of psychological functions,in Problems in Neural Physiology and Behavior, proceedings ofa symposium hold in honor of 1. S. Beritashvili, issued underauspices of Georgian branch of Academy of Sciences of the USSR(Tbilisi, Tekhnika da Shroma) pp 361-367) (Russ).

(4) Luria, A. R. & Yodovich, F. la. (1959): Speech and the Developmentof Mental processes in the Child (Staples Press, London) (Eng),(Sproget og barnets udvikling, Munksgaard 1971).

(5) Luria, A. R. (1923): Psikhoanaliz v Svete Osnovnykh TendentsiiSovremennoi Psikhologii, 50 pp (Krasnyi Pechatnik, Kazan).(Psychoanalysis in Light of Basic Tendencies of Modern Psycho-logy, 50 pp (Red Press, Kazan)) (Russ).

(6) Luria, A. R. (1926): Die moderne russische Physiologie und diePsychoanalyse, Internationale Zeitschrijt filr Psychoanalyse, Bd.XII, Heft 1, pp. 40-53 Ger).

(7) Luria, A. R. (1932): The Nature of Human Conflicts (Liveright,New York) trans. by W. Horsley Gantt from Russian editionwhich appeared in 1930) (Eng).

(8) Luria, A. R. (1930): Rechevye reaksii rebenka i sotsial'naia sreda,Rech' i InteHekt Derevenskogo, Gorodskogo, i BesprizornogoRebenka, T. II, red. Luria, A. R. (Gosudarstvennoe Isdatel'stvoRSFSR) pp 7-37.(Speech reactions of the child as a function of social environment,in Speech and Intellect in Children from Rural, Urban, andHomeless Backgrounds, vol. II, ed. by Luria, A. R. (Gos. Isd.,Moscow) pp, 7-37» (Russ).

(9) Luria, A. R. (ed) (1956 & 1958): Problemy Vysshai NervnoiBeiatel'neati Normal'nogo i Anomal'nogo Rebenka, T. I & II,(Izd. Akad. Ped. Mask., Moskva).(Problems of Higher Nervous Activity in the Normal andAbnormal Child, trans. (Pergamon, London) (Eng), 417

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Det funktionelle system:Nsglebegrebet i Luria'sneuropsykologi*

Af Douglas M. Bowden, M. D.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington,

Seattle, Washington U. S. A.

A. R. Luria, professor i psykologi ved Moskvas Statsuniversi~et ogchef for den diagnostiske forskningsafdeling ved Burdenko Instituttetfor Neurokirurgi er for den vestlige verden utvivlsomt den bedst

, . F °1 t ed dennekendte skikkelse i moderne Sovjet-psykologt. orma e martikel er at fremhseve visse temaer, som gennem 45 ar har prsegethans arbejde, at skitsere den teoretiske begrebsram:ne, ~vorfra ha~forskning har udviklet sig, samt at beskrive nogle fa typiske ekspen-menter, som kan give et indtryk af arten af den bevismsengde, hanhar samlet som stette for sine teorier. .

Professor Luria har altid ferst og fremmest interesseret .SI~ forde funktioner, der specielt vedrerer mennesker. Fra 19~O.og :11 1 daghar han atter og atter gjort sig til talsmand for det legitime 1 at =:fere eksperimenter med det formal at objektivere de sakaldte »hejerementale processer«. Ligeledes har hans arbejde fra farste ~cerd a~spejlet en steerk interesse for de sociale krcefters betydning sodeterminanter for den menneskelige personlighed og for tankepro-

cesserne. b artOrdet »funktion« optrseder overalt i Luria's vserker og ruges sn

i snsevrere snart i videre betydning, I sin mest generell~ for:n om-, . gnmg' 1 nogetfatter »funktioner« fcenomener som tale, Isesning og re , .

mindre generel betydning bruges ordet om abstrakti~n, selektivopmserksomhed, udenadsleeren etc. I individuelle ekspenmenter re-

*) Denne fremstilling blev oprindelig forelagt for The conventio~~fthe American Psychological Association, New.Y?rk 1966..Den er t ~nadvendigvis et overblik over Professor Luna s forskning og eori,saledes som han selv ville frem;stille dete=er: ::ce~~ ~~v~~~~r~foretaget af en, som har felt sin egen n dt kk rkontakten med Professor Luria og hans vserker, Fo~atteren '; ~y .e. tak mlighed til Professor Luria for hans rundhandede radgivning

~~nhjcef; m~d at samle den Iitteratur, hvorpa artiklen er bygyet'hoghaber oprigtigt at han ved at fremhceve de temaer, han. ~e v . ~rfundet mest v~sentlige, ikke har fo~ansk.et Professor Luria s origi-

418 nale begreber eller eksperimentelle intentioner.

fererer det ssedvanligvts tiI udf0relsen af et bestemt arbejde, sornfx at trykke pa 'en gummibold som svar pa et auditivt signal, at byggeet hus af klodser eller at fortcelle en historie udenad.

Forskellige funktioner udfares af forskellige »funktionelle systerner«.I 1920'erne brugte Luria dette udtryk som en psykofysiologisk be-tegnelse, der refererede til interaktioner mellem affekt, motorisk ak-tivitet og tankieprocesser. Et funktionelt systems karakteristika blevudledt af de vegetative, somatiske og verbale reaktioner, som kunneregistreres under fors0gSperSonens udferelse af et arbejde. Der bleveksempelvis fremsat hypoteser vedr. den psykologiske interaktionmellem stserk affekt og regulerende talevirksomhed. Pa den tid varhan kun i ringe grad tilbajeltg til at gere overvejelsor vedr, de hjerne-strukturer, der var involveret i sadanne interaktioner.

I midten af 30'erne udvidedes Lurias interesser til ogsa at omfatteorganisationen af de funktionelle systemer i selve hjernen. Gennemhans studier af tusindvis af patienter med fokale hjernelcesioner harudtrykket »funktionelt system« efterhandsn faet et klart neuro-ana-tomisk indhold, men det vine dog ikke vsere korrekt at betragte dettesom dcekkende hele indholdet af begrebet.

I sin nuvcerende form indeholder begrebet »funktionelt system- tokomponenter: den cerebrale og den milj0mcessige. Fx kan funktionen»Isesning- ikke foreligge, medmindre der findes savel en bog som enmenneskelig hjerne. Begrebet: lsesning som et funktionelt system ersaledes uforstaeligt, hvis ikke lcesematerialet, dvs. miljafnktoren,medtages i definitionen. Bogen er en Iige sa vcesentlig del af detfunktionelle system som den occipitale del af cortex.

Pa baggrund af denne opfattelse af menneskets funktioner kan vinu fremscette de fire vigtigste postulater, som Luria har holdt sig tili st0rstedelen af sin karriere. Det f0rste er, at den cerebrale kompo-nent af et hvilket som heIst funktionelt system er et resultat af eninteraktion mellem visse cerebrale omrader Dvs. at en funktion kan10kaIiseres i den forstand, at beskadigelse af et af de involverede om-rader vil edelseggs det funktioneUe system i sin helhed. Det andeter, at en given funktion kan udfaros pa forskellige mader, dvs. afforskellige funktionelle systemer, afhsengtgj af individet og dets om-givelser. En funktion er saledes ikke lokaliserbar i den forstand, atet andet funktionelt system kan udvikles til at udfere funktionen,hvis det farste skulle blive adelagt. For det tredie: menneskets vigtig-ste tilpasningsfunktioner, som fx abstraktion, aritmetisk beregningog selve talen, afhsengar af funktioneUe systemer, som er erhvervede,snarere end medfadto, Det fjerde hovedpostulat er, at den vigtigstedeterminant i menneskets funktionelle systemer er organiseringenaf den socials omverden. 419

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Afprevningen af disse postulater har givet anledning ti1 hundredvisaf eksperimenter i de forlebne 45 ar. Det ville veere umuligt at op-summere Lurias arbejde pa nogle fa sider. Hensigten her er snarereat give et indtrykaf variationsbredden i hans forseg pa at teste sinteori, og dette vil blive gjort ved at omtale flere typer af eksperimen-ter og anfere, hvorledes de star i relation til hans hovedteser.

Ad 1) hypotesen om den corticale interaktion: Luria fandt, at ord-blokeringer var karakteristiske for afasier, del' hidrerte fra Isesioneri flere forskellige omrader, Men herudfra drog han imidlertid ikkeden slutning, at de pagseldende omrader i lige hej grad var afgerendefor funktionen at finde ord, Han analyserede-syndromerne yderligereog fandt, at ved Ieesioner af »det overordnede prse-motoriske omrade-var blokeringen forbundet med en generel mangel mht. glat forleben-de udfarelse af en motorisk aktivitet, 80m skulle gentages, Fx var pa-tienter med sadanne lsesioner ude af stand til at reproducere en rytme,som undersegeren bankede.

Men ved Ieesioner i temporal-parietal-occipital omradet var demotoriske manstre intakte, men patienterne havde besveer med atopfatte visse simple grammatiske konstruktioner. Hvis man fx baddem tegne »en cirkel under en firkant« ville de ofte tegne en cirkelfarst og derefter en firkant nedenunder; de havde tilbejelighed til atlade rsekkefelgen af handlinger falge rsekkefelgen af ord, snarere endden reekkefelge, som den grammatiske struktur angav. Dette forholdkunne tyde pa, at ordblokeringen i dette syndrom skyldtes et tab afde semantiske og grammatiske associationer, som under normale om-stsendigheder kunne fere til identifikation af ordene.

Endelig udviste patienter med lsesioner i det venstre inferotempo-rale omrade ofte en meget alvorlig form for ordblokering, Idettesyndrom var ikke-verbale motoriske manstre ubererte, og forstaelsenaf grammatiske forhold var intakt. Lsesionen forhindrede patienteni at lsese eller skrive useedvanlige ord, som derfor matte siges i sta-velser, mens del' ikke var problemer med almindelige ord, 80mkunne genkendes umiddelbart ved hjeelp af visuel hukommelse,ellermed velkendte ord som fx en underskrift, der kunne skrives »somi en beveegelse«. Vi ser her igen, at kombinationen af symptomer veddenne Iresion var afgjort forskellig fra de to tidligere omtalte tilfrelde.Dette fortolkede Luria 80m et bevis pii, at det var en anden forbin-delse i det funktionelle system for ordgenkendelse, der var blevet af-brudt.

Fra et praktisk synspunkt har denne forskning betydet, at Luriahar faet et diagnostisk middel, som han har brugt klinisk siden be-gyndelsen af 1940'erne. I teoretisk henseende kan disse synspunkter

420 tages til indtsegt for den opfattelse, at funktionelle systemer involverer

interaktioner af corticale omrader, og at en beskadigelse af et enkeltaf disse omrader kan nedbryde den tilsvarende funktion.

Ad 2). Pastanden om, at den samme funktion kan udferes pa for-skellige mader, implicerer, at de forskellige omrader i hjernen kanforbindes pa flere forskellige mader ved udforelsen af samme funk-tion. Det indgar som et hovedprincip i Lurias teori, at en af de vre-sentlige forskelle mellem mennesker og laverestaende dyr er plastici-teten i hjernens funktion, dvs. den Iethed, hvormed mere kortvarigeforbindelser kan dannes og afbrydes ved hjeelp af »det andet signal-system«.

Den opfattelse, at talefunktionen kan retableres ved en reorgani-sering af talesystemet, saledes at andre konstellationer af hjerne-omrader tages i brug, var det teoretiske grundlag for et storstiletrehabiliteringsprogram for afatikere, som Luria startede efter denanden verdenskrig. Man fandt fx, at patienter med oral apraxi kunnegenvinde kontrollen med taleapparatet ved at studere tunge- og leebe-bevregelserne i et spejl, mens de prevede at tale. Idette tilfzelde blevspejlet en miljafaktor i det reorganiserede funktionelle system.

Andre observationer fra et helt andet omrade viser ogsa, at densamme funktion kan udfares af forskellige funktionelle systemer; detdrejer sig her om studiet af den kognitive udvikling hos barnet. I ettidligt foretaget forseg vedr. trellefunktionen bernserkede Luria, atbarn pa forskellige alderstrin havde forskellige frerngangsmader. Hvisbernene fik som opgave at tselle blokke, del' var opstillet i en rsekke,viste der sig ingen forskel. Men hvis blokkene var ordnet iet korstalte de mindre barn blokken i skseringspunktet to gange. Pa basis afdette og mange lignende eksperimenter sluttede Luria, at pa dettidlige aldersniveau var det kulturelt bestemte funktionelle systemfor at teelle endnu ikke udviklet; trellefunktionen var bundet af enprimitiv formopfattelse, sa at resultatet var stzerkt afheengigt af ydreomstsendigheder. I en senere alder udvikledes et mere kompliceretfunktionelt system, som tillod en mere abstrakt form for tsellen.

Ad 3). Et tredie eksperiment viste ikke alene, at forskellige funk-tionelle systemer kan udfare samme funktion, men tillige, hvorledessadanne forskelle udvikledes ved indlsering, og hvorledes de kunneinfluere pa den senere adfserd, Fern par enreggede tvillmger deltogi en serie forsag med byggeklodser. Den ene tvilling i 'hvert par leerteat bygge efter modelhuse, i hvilke byggeklodserne var synlige, Denanden Iserte at bygge de samme huse, men her var modellerne over-trukket med papir, saledes at det ikke fremgik synligt, pa hvilkenmade klodserne var arrangeret, Efter 10 ugers trsening med forskelligemodeller var de to grupper Iige dygtige, Der viste sig imidlertid af-gerende forskelle i deres forstaelse af grammatiske fremstil linger 421

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vedr. rumlige forhold, og 18 marieder senere viste de store forskellemht. frerdighed i at rekonstruere de tidligere udfarte modeller efterhukommelsen. Fx havde de tvillinger, som havde arbejdet med mo-deller med skjulte blokke, mindre vanskelighed med at reagere kor-rekt pa instruktionen: »Tegn en cirkel under en firkant«, og de varlangj bedre ti1 at bygge de gamle modeller efter hukommelsen.

For at kunne gengive en model, hvor relationerne mellem de enkelteklodser ikke var synlig, matte de ferst analysere dens struktur ogsa konstruere formen med de forhandenvrerende klodser. Under denneproces udvikledes et funktionelt system, der havde en miljekornpo-nent, der var forskellig fra den, der udvikledes hos barn som havdefaet relationen mellem de enkelte klodser at se. Dette system var mereabstrakt og havde den virkning, at det gjorde forstaelsen af tilsva-rende verbale udsagn og hukommelsen for rumligs relationer mereeffektiv.

Nogle af Lurias mest fascinerende forsag er lavet med henblik paat teste den tese, at menneskets mest effektive funktioner i forholdettil omverdenen er erhvervede, snarere end de er medfudte. Ved hjaslpaf forsag med tvillinger har han pravet at skelne mellem de funk-tionelle systemer, som er knyttet til genotypen, og dem, der ikke erdet.

I et af forsagene indgik over 140 tvillingepar, som blev udsat forforskellige opgaver. Han fandt, at nar det drejede sig om simpel visuelgenkendelse, var prrestationsvariationerne betydeligt mindre hos en-reggede tvillinger end hos toseggede. Men hvis det drejede sig om kom-plicerede hukommelsesopgaver, var der samme variation, hvadententvillingeparrene var enreggede eller toreggede Han sluttede heraf atdet funktionelle system, som vedrerts udf0~elsen af genkendel~es-funktionen, havde riser sammenhssng med genotypen, hvorimod hu-kommelsesfunktionen primsert var afhsengig af tidligere erfaringer.

Ad 4). Lurias fjerde hovedpostulat er direkte afledet af det fore-gaende og siger, at den vigtrgste determinant i menneskets funktio-nelle systemer er organiseringen af den sociale omverden. Et af de for-S0g, som mest slaeride illustrerer dette princip, omfattede et par en-reggede tvillinger, som ved femarsalderon udviste en alvorlig tale-retardering. Ved eksperimentets begyndelse var deres ordforrad min-dre end 80egentlige ord, og deres tale var nserrnest blottet for gram-matisk struktur, De blev anbragt i hver sin bernehave og trrenet afvoksne, som iseer lagde vsegt pa at udvikle deres tale i praktiske si-tuationer; den ene tvilling modtog desuden egentlig grammatisk un-dervisning,

Hos begge tvillinger udvikledes den grammatiske tale hurtigt, ogder var ikke vsesentlig forskel pa deres prrestationer. De forbedrede

begge talesproget og den verb ale adfzerdskontrcl og havde desudenfremgang mht. konstruktiv leg og frerdighed i at tegne efter hukom-melsen. Disse funktioner havde stort set ikke vseret til stede 11 ma-neder tidligere.

Hovedresultatet var, at enseggede tvillinger i neer symbiotisk rela-tion og i en atmosfrere af Iigegyldighed fra de voksnes side ikke ud-viklede grammatisk tale, den mest grundlreggende af mennesketsfunktioner, Adskilt og under passende stimulering fra de voksne ud-vikledes deres tale hurtigt. Luria konkluderede, at grammatisk sprogog konstruktiv tankevirksomhed ikke kan komme til udvikling, med-mindre der foreligger sociale krav og mulighed for interaktion medandre mennesker, som a11erede har erhvervet talens brug.

Enhver med kendskab til Professor Lurias omfattende forsknings-interesser vil vide, at mange omrader ikke er medtaget i denne diskus-sion. Vi ma her nejes med at nsevne nogle fa emner, som hver forsig reprresenterer artiers forskning: hans velfunderede psykoanalyti-ske interesse i 1920'erne, hans davrerende forsag pa at analysere deskjulte affekters indflydelse pa tale- og tankevirksomhed, hans tveer-kulturelle studier af tale hos by- og landbern, hans studier vedr. taleog trenkning hos barn med alvorlige motoriske og mentale handicaps.

Hovedformalet med denne artikel har vseret at pege pa nogletemaer, som ligger bag alt Professor Lurias arbejde. For hvert arbliver et stigende antal veerker af denne mands vigtige videnskabe-ltge produktion gennem overssettelser gjort tilgsengelige for hansvestlige kolleger, De udger en enestaende og fascinerende enhed afteori og forskning, som i he] grad fortjener den hurtigt voksende op-mzerksornhed, den har vakt hos videnskabsmrend fra en lang rrekkeomrader, herunder ikke mindst den peedagogiske psykologi.

(Oversat af Otto SLoth efter The Functional System:Keystone to Luria's Neuropsychology, der ogsa bringesi den engelske version i dette nummer af Skolepsykologi).

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