Question

A researcher is investigating the case study of H.M., a patient who seems unable to form new memories (e.g., every time he sees his doctor of 10 years, it's as if they're meeting for the first time).
What would a cognitive psychologist do to examine this issue, and how would that differ from a neuroscientist? What kinds of questions might each scientist be interested in given their approach to the issue?

Answer 1

Neuropsychology has its roots embedded in phrenology, which was actually a pseudo-science having its focus on how different mental faculties were located in the various bran centres/regions. The works of Broca and Wernicke, who discovered two brain areas responsible for the production and the comprehension of language, were very important for the development of neuropsychology and are still considered one of the pioneer works. These are neuropsychological findings. On the other hand, cognitive psychologists are concerned with certain functions of the brain such as attention, memory, perception and language. fMRT, EEG, spinal taps, blood tests are some of the ways in which neuropsychologists tend to conduct their work. However, cognitive psychologists use experimental methods to understand the various cognitive functioning.

A patient with a memory issue such as the one described in HM, a neuropsychologist would be concerned with which brain area has been damaged or impacted, due to which the memory is lost, whereas a cognitive psychologist would be concerned with the treatment options and the cognitive therapy which can be used to cater to the patient’s issues. The work of a cognitive psychologists spans from exploring treatment for brain trauma, treating psychological illnesses with the help of cognitive therapies and re-structuring the thinking patterns. It also comprises of treating perceptual, sensory language based issues.