Sociocultural factors in Brazilian neuropsycholinguistic studies.

Abstract

The history of Brazilian neuropsychology is traced at different neuropsycholinguistic stages with a focus on the importance of sociocultural factors. We first focus on language disorders, the sequelae of injuries in the left hemisphere, and neuropsychology restricted to the medical field in Europe, the United States, and Brazil. In the middle of the last century, attention to the interdisciplinary importance of studies on the right hemisphere began. Studies consequently emerged on the individual variability of brain function with both biological and cultural origins. Based on this approach, Brazilian studies on aphasic children and illiterate aphasic persons were disseminated internationally. In the 1970s, cognitive neuropsychology began in England, highlighting dysfunctions in reading and writing processes. The characteristics of writing systems within each language became relevant for the manifestations of acquired dyslexia. Brazilian studies showed deficits in Portuguese and Japanese writing caused by brain lesions. During this scientific journey, scientific societies and postgraduate programs in Brazil were created to facilitate exchanges and communication among young researchers. By the end of the last century and in the early 2000s, the growth of the neuropsychology of aging raised awareness of the complexity of sociocultural factors, not only on language research but also according to the level of education, frequency of reading and writing habits, school type, and interactions among these factors and biological factors, especially between the level of education and age. From this historical standpoint, we outline future directions and perspectives in the field of Brazilian neuropsychology.

Current perspectives on the anatomo-clinical method in neuropsychology.

“…Factors involved in brain plasticity include site of injury, extension and severity of neuropsychological impairment, age when damage was caused, duration of injury, and environmental and psychosocial conditions (Haase & Lacerda, 2004). Cases in which damage was inflicted on the same site but individuals present differences in age, educational level, and other sociodemographic conditions, may show different performances on neuropsychological tests because of the way the brain is organized during development (Parente, Carthery-Goulart, Zimmermann, & Fonseca, 2012). Therefore, once the brain is able to reorganize and compensate for deficient neuropsychological functions, any inference regarding brain regions being associated with certain cognitive functions is limited because other parts of the brain may also be involved.…”