Conceptual aspects of the formation of neuropsychology as a science

Abstract

Modern theories and concepts are increasingly developing at the intersection of sciences. Neuropsychology has also become such a «frontier» – a science that studies the brain mechanisms of mental functions based on local brain lesions. This frontier science arose on the basis of psychology, medicine (neurology and neurosurgery), psychopharmacology, anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system [4-6]. The first neuropsychological studies were carried out in the 1920s by the outstanding scientist and psychologist Lev Semenovych Vygotsky (1896-1934). Vygotsky concluded that if an element of animal behavior is a reflex or reaction, then a unit of human behavior is a mediated psychological act: the use of methods and means to achieve a goal. However, despite the achievements of Vygotsky, the founder of neuropsychology is considered to be his student Olexander Romanovych Luria (1902-1977), who in 1962 published his scientific work «Higher Cortical Functions of Human».