Directions of research in cross-cultural neuropsychology

Abstract

Comparable cognitive disturbances associated with brain pathology have similar manifestations across members of the human species. However, cognitive abilities measured by neuropsychological tests represent, at least in their contents, culturally learned abilities. Performance is under the influence of a vast array of moderating variables, including: culture, ecological demands, primary language, and educational level. Test scores are associated therefore, not only with the subject's learning opportunities, but also with those variables which a culture dictates are worthy of cognitive amplification. Different cultural environmental contexts will result in the development of different patterns of abilities. The evaluation of an alien cultural group using our current neuropsychological instruments, procedures and norms, results in conceptual errors in assessment. Cross-cultural neuropsychology is in need of addressing several key focal points of neglected research: (1) the normalization of current basic neuropsychological instruments, in different cultural contexts, (2) the development of new neuropsychological instruments, appropriate for different cultural contexts, (3) the analysis of educational factors and subcultural variations in relation to test performance, (4) the analysis of cognitive disturbances in cases of brain pathology in different cultural and educational contexts, (5) the search for commonality in neuropsychological performance among existing human groups, and (6) the analysis of the origins of cognitive activity.