HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bowsher, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bowsher, D.

Association, Agnosia, and Intellect

ABSTRACT

Summary and Conclusions: "Association" occurs in two phases. The first is cognitive; it takes place in the "sensory association" areas of the cortex, and is anatomically dependent on a thalamo-thalamo-cortical circuit. The second phase is interpretative, and occurs in the non-auditory temporal neocortex; it depends, anatomically, on the integrity of cortico-cortical connections from other areas, and not (in itself) on thalamo-cortical projections. Isolated cortical lesions impair only those functions which are localized in the affected areas. Tests designed to obviate the defective functions therefore fail to demonstrate intellectual deficit. "Intelligence" represents the sum of a number of anatomically and psychologically discrete cortical functions. The ability of the cortex to perform intellectual work, and to retain data, is dependent on sub-cortical mechanisms.