Attention Deficit

Has brain scanning become the new phrenology? It’s an interesting prospect that may be clarified by an historical perspective.

In the early 1600’s, Rene Descartes’ quest to find truth caused him to explore his consciousness and question reality. He became aware that his perception of his environment could be deceptive and depended on his sobriety, fatigue, etc. Therefore, all external things could be doubted but the consciousness that perceived those external things could not be doubted. Thus, he concluded, cogito, ergo, sum; I think, therefore I am. Consciousness was self-evidently different from and more important than the external world. This was perhaps the historical beginning of mind/brain separation or mind as separate from matter which later became known as Cartesian dualism.

Descartes wrote in The Passions of the Soul, "Let us then conceive here that the soul has its principal seat in the little gland which exists in the middle of the brain, from whence it radiates forth through all the remainder of the body…" Most likely, Descartes was referring to the pineal gland as location of the mind in the brain. Again, mind is definitively separate from the brain and thus could ostensibly exist without the brain. Cartesian dualism has persisted in the medical profession, as well as others, to this day. If one suffers from depression, social anxiety, or insomnia, we’ll seek out the guidance of a psychiatrist – one who specializes in the mind. However, if we suffer a stroke, have a palsy or migraine, then we seek out the guidance of a neurologist. It has been only recently that this schism seems to be constringing as psychiatrists embrace neurophysiology and neurologists embrace the fact that unacceptable behaviors are not solely the product of nervous system dysfunction. Cartesian dualism has been embedded in our consciousness for over 300 years and will only slowly die away.

While hot debate ensued regarding consciousness and God – and still does in some circles – another interesting figure appeared in the early 1800s who would directly influence brain research. Anatomist Franz Joseph Gall published Anatomie et Physiologie du Systeme Nerveux. Gall was convinced that the brain was the epicenter of all mental functioning. He classified twenty-seven distinct functions associating each with a specific area of the brain. All this was surmised on a predilection for observation Gall experienced since childhood. Gall meticulously studied the skulls of the famous, infamous, mentally handicapped, scholarly, gifted musician, and artist. He made hundreds of casts. By looking at the similarities of all of these skulls, their bumps, contours, and general shapes, he convinced himself and much of the general public that he could determine brain function by observation of the superficial.

Gall’s phrenological approach has since become a laughable topic. However, it did influence brain research in creating the notion of locality – the notion that certain functions in the brain occur in specific areas. This notion seemed to be reinforced by medical doctors treating injured soldiers. Certain areas of the brain that were damaged by concussion or shrapnel caused blindness, memory loss, or loss of function in a specific region of the body.

While the connection between phrenology and brain scanning may not be readily apparent, certain similarities will be explored in upcoming blogs.