Abstract

The "method of deficit analysis" in functional localization research is a method for inferring localization of brain function on the basis of evidence of abnormal behavior plus evidence concerning brain damage location. Such inferences involve two steps: first, a functional deficit analysis of the neurologically impaired patient, and second, localization of function in the normal brain. It is argued that psychological theory is required for adequate functional deficit analysis, both for the identification of the relevant functional components of the system as well as for the explanation of the behavioral pathology in terms of a deficit in one of these components.