The Handbook of Cognitive Neuropsychology

The study of cognitive deficits provides some of the most compelling data concerning the structure and function of the human mind. This admirable book explains why. Its chapters, by top researchers in cognitive neuropsychology, summarize the state of the art in all of the major domains in the field. 'The Handbook of Cognitive Neuropsychology' is invaluable to researchers inside and outside of this area and to those who are interested in the latest word on research on mind and brain. This handbook fills a niche in the neuropscyhology literature. The book is invaluable to researchers inside and outside of this area and to those who are interested in the latest word on research on mind and brain |o Steven Pinker, Peter de Florez Professor, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, MIT, and author of How the Mind Works. The abilities and disabilities of individuals who have suffered neurological damage have long provided a wealth of fascinating and useful insights into the nature and structure of human cognition and its neural bases. Indeed, data from impaired performance have often played a central role in our understanding of the skills and abilities of the human mind/brain. This volume reviews the full range of cognitive domains that have benefited from the study of deficits. Chapters cover not only the better-known domains such as language and memory, but also object recognition, action, attention, and consciousness as well as musical, numerical, spatial, and temporal cognition. The authors consist of an international collection of researchers who, in each chapter, present the central issues of cognitive processing in their domain of expertise and highlight the contributions that studies of impaired performance have made to our understanding of these issues. In addition to the survey of cognitive domains, this volume also includes chapters that address foundational and historical topics as well as questions regarding future directions for the enterprise of cognitive neuropsychology.