Aleksandr Lúriya (1902 - 1977) was a famous Russian-born psychologist known for being one of the first exponents of neuropsychology, especially within the field of clinical diagnosis. Along with other researchers such as Lev Vygotsky, with whom he collaborated closely, he is one of the leading Russian theorists in this field.
Lúriya took advantage of the outbreak of the Second World War to study the effects of brain injuries on different psychological faculties. In fact, many of the tests this researcher developed are still in use today. His most important work, Superior cortical functions in man (1962), is a fundamental book in this discipline that has been translated into a large number of languages.
Aleksandr Lúriya. Source: Unknown (picture taken around 1940s)
Despite the fact that his studies on brain anatomy were the ones that led him to fame, Lúryia also became interested in other fields. For example, for a time he did research in the field of psychosemantics; that is, he tried to establish the way in which people attribute their meaning to words.
On the other hand, this Soviet researcher was also one of the founders of cultural-historical psychology, and one of the leaders of the Vygotsky Circle. He was part of the most important psychological institutions of the time within the Soviet Union, and published a series of works that fundamentally changed the way we understand the relationship between the mind and the brain.
Biography
Aleksandr Lúriya was born in Kazan, Russia, on July 16, 1902. He came from a middle-class family, his parents being the doctor Roman Lúriya and the dentist Eugenia Hasskin. Both were of Jewish origin, and they made an effort to offer their son a complete and quality education.
At the age of 16 he began to study at the university in his native city, from which he graduated in 1921. He specialized in both psychology and the study of society, initially showing a great interest in psychoanalysis. Furthermore, he was initially influenced by Russian authors such as Bechterev and Pavlov.
However, three years after his graduation he met one of his main influences and closest collaborators: Lev Vygotsky. The two decided to work together, and began to study the relationship between perception, culture and higher mental functions.
From this moment on, Lúriya became interested in the functions of the different brain areas, something about which hardly anything was known at the time.
His most important idea in this regard was that mental abilities depend on a network of connections between areas of the brain, instead of each being located in an area as was believed then.
Research in neuropsychology
The outbreak of the Second World War marked a before and after in Lúriya's investigations. From the moment the new regime had come to power in the Soviet Union it had been forced to focus more on medicine than psychology; But when conflict broke out, he had the opportunity to study first-hand the effects of different brain injuries on cognitive abilities.
His works both at this time and in later ones focused mainly on language, especially on problems such as aphasias. In addition, she also investigated thinking and its development, mainly using children with cognitive problems as study subjects.
In the 1960s, during the height of the Cold War, Lúriya's career was greatly expanded due to the fact that she published several important books. The best known of these, Higher Cortical Functions of Man (1962), has been translated into multiple languages, and is considered the work that gave neuropsychology the status of a science in its own right.
During the following years, until his death in 1972, Lúriya organized a large number of international conferences, collaborated with other psychologists and researchers, and managed to become one of the most famous people in the field of the study of the human mind.
His contributions are still valid today, and he is considered one of the leading exponents of Russian psychology.
Theory
Aleksandr Lúriya, despite having participated in research in very different fields within psychology, was especially interested in the study of language.
After working with people with brain injuries during World War II, he linked this interest with his knowledge of anatomy to create the field of neuropsychology.
His most prominent idea was that higher mental functions are not located in a single area of the brain, as was believed up to that time. On the contrary, it showed that all of them depend on a wide network of connections between different areas of this organ, although there are nuclei more related to each one.
Among other things, Lúriya was able to differentiate the different phases in which spoken language occurs, especially by observing patients with aphasia; although she was not able to determine exactly which areas influence each of these steps.
On the other hand, he categorized the different speech dysfunctions into five types: expressive speech, impressive speech, memory, intellectual activity, and personality.
In addition to this, Lúriya was one of the first to investigate the functions of the frontal lobe, the one most involved in higher brain functions. He identified five areas in which this zone influences: attention, memory, emotions, voluntary movements and intellectual activity.
Other contributions
Despite the fact that Aleksandr Lúriya carried out a large amount of his own research during his life, and published numerous works with the results thereof, possibly his most important contribution to the field of science was that he established the foundations of neuropsychology. In this way, during the subsequent decades the study of the relationship between the brain and the mind advanced very quickly.
Apart from this, Lúriya was also the creator of several tests that are still used today to measure various higher mental functions; and he also influenced the development of others in which he did not work directly.
References
- "AR Luria" in: Britannica. Retrieved on: July 22, 2019 from Britannica: britannica.com.
- "Aleksandr Luria: biography of the pioneer of neuropsychology" in: Psychology and Mind. Retrieved on: July 22, 2019 from Psychology and Mind: psicologiaymente.com.
- "Alexander Luria: life, research & contribution to neuroscience" in: The Science of Psychotherapy. Retrieved on: July 22, 2019 from The Science of Psychotherapy: thescienceofpsychotherapy.com.
- "Alexander Luria" in: Biographies and Lives. Retrieved on: July 22, 2019 from Biographies and Lives: biografiasyvidas.com.
- "Alexander Luria" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: July 22, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.