Dynamic and Functional Approach to Human Memory in the Brain: A Clinical Neuropsychological Perspective

Yannick Gounden (1) , Mathieu Hainselin (1) , Fabien Cerrotti (1) , Véronique Quaglino (1)

1 CRP-CPO - Centre de Recherche en Psychologie : Cognition, Psychisme et Organisations - UR UPJV 7273

The way how cognition is conceived and represented in brain functioning will directly impact clinical investigations of people with cognitive difficulties. This is particularly evident in the field of clinical neuropsychology where methodologies and tools are justified on a fundamental level by the theoretical foundations adopted. The present article outlined how the dominant influences of structural and anatomo-clinical theories of memory have led to a particular conception of clinical investigations. We propose to reconsider these dominant methods in favor of a more dynamic and functional representation of memory that would be clinically more appropriate. More precisely, we argued that relying exclusively on a particular memory conception (i.e., structural) may not be sufficient considering the range of real-life variables affecting a patient's memory. By extracting clinically meaningful information in more functional and dynamic memory conceptions, we also aim at underlining the potentials advantages of such theories in facilitating personalized assessments and follow up of patients in clinical neuropsychology. We suggest that a dynamic, functional, and integrative conception of memory would be more coherent with the trend in clinical neuropsychology to promote a more collaborative interaction between the clinician and the patient. Finally, considering the absence of empirical studies on the possible benefits of implementing such recent memory concepts in clinical practice, we encourage researchers and clinicians to test in the field of clinical neuropsychology, the usefulness and explanatory power of more dynamic and functional representation of memory in order to objectively demonstrate its validity outside the research loop. Neuropsychology is a discipline at the interface of neurosciences, cognitive and clinical psychology and it studies the mind–brain relationship. Different conceptions have contributed in understanding how memory works by identifying the processes and their underlying anatomical structures. While cognitive psychology addresses cognitive processes by decomposing them into modular subsystems (Fodor, 1986), research in neuroscience has identified dynamic brain changes as functional supports of memory traces (Nader, 2003). The question of whether cognition

Mots clés: memory; neuropsychology; assessment; model; structural; Representations

Domaines: Psychologie et comportements; Psychologie; Psychiatrie et santé mentale; Sciences cognitives

Yannick Gounden, Mathieu Hainselin, Fabien Cerrotti, Véronique Quaglino. Dynamic and Functional Approach to Human Memory in the Brain: A Clinical Neuropsychological Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 2017, 8, pp.688. ⟨10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00688⟩. ⟨hal-01518300⟩