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Neuropsycholo~u~,ol.23, No. 6, pp. X13-814, 1985.Printed in Great Britain . 0028-3932/E $3.00+0.00XT; 1985 Pergam on Press Ltd .

NOTEON THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

DARRYL BRUCEDepartment of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, U.S.A.

(Acwpml 11 April 1985)Abstract-The term neuropsychology appears to have been first used formally by Sir WilliamOsler in 1913.

IN THEIR introductory neuropsychology textbook, KOLB and WHISHAW have stated thatThe term neuropsychology was apparently first alluded to by D. 0. Hebb, in a subtitle to his 1949book The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory The term was given widepublicity when it appeared in 1960, in the title of a collection of K. S. Lashleys writings--TheNeuropsychology of Lashley [3, p. 1111,

Kolb and Whishaws second claim is probably correct; the term neuropsychology gained currency when itappeared in the title of Lashleys collected articles. But their first suggestion is wide of the mark by about 35 years. Inthis note, I review some of the past history of the word neuropsychology.

The first occurrence of the term in Psychological Abstracts is in reference to a 1948 book chapter by LINDSLEY 6]entitled Studying Neuropsychology and Bodily Functions. Lindsley defines the term but gives no indication of itssource. According to COBB et al. 123, however, Lashley is responsible for it. A review of Lashleys career and articlesreveals that he adopted the word in the mid 1930s. In 1937, two years after coming to Harvard, he was appointedResearch Professor of Neuropsychology; and he first used neuropsychology formally in an address to the BostonSociety of Psychiatry and Neurology on March 19, 1936 [S]. We can be confident that this marks the beginning ofLashleys use of the term, for in earlier articles where it would have fitted perfectly, he failed to employ it. The bestexample of this is his 1933 paper [4] entitled Integrative Functions of the Cerebral Cortex, which was intended toformulate some of the significant problems on the border line between psychology and neurology . [4, p. 21.

On the other hand, one can doubt that neuropsychology is Lashleys invention because of the way it appears inhis 1936 address: he mentioned the term only in passing (p. 386) and as though it already had some generalacceptance with his audience. If Lashley felt that way, it was justified. In 1937, Adolf Meyer, director of the HenryPhipps Psychiatric Clinic of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, noted that Sir William Osler had spoken ofneuropsychology in his remarks at the opening of the Clinic 24 years earlier and that the term had reappeared invarious places since that time [7]. Although 1 have been unable to find any such reappearances, I have been able toverify Oslers priority. In an address on April 16, 1913, entitled Specialism in the General Hospital, OSLER hopedthat as one benefit of the Phipps Clinic, time may be found for general instruction of the senior class in the elementsof neuro-psychology . 18,p. 1701.

There are a couple of interesting sidelights to this story. First, neuropsychology seems to have rubbed Meyer thewrong way. Consider what he said 24 years later in recalling Oslers remarks:Dr. Osler, in his address at our opening, thought that the Clinic was to be a research station for mental

disorders and perhaps an opportunity for fourth year students to get a little glimpse into what hecalled rzeuropsychology. .: that was the label for what he deigned to accept in his conception ofmedical training [7, p. 2261.

What rankled Meyer about Oslers use of neuropsychology, I suspect, was the implication that all mental illness isdisease of the central nervous system, a view that Meyer stoutly opposed.

The second matter concerns Lashleys introduction to the term. It is quite possible that he heard Oslers speech. Asa graduate and postdoctoral student at Hopkins from 1911 to 1917, Lashley had developed an interest inpsychopathology and psychiatry and had taken a minor with Meyer in these subjects. Moreover, he appears to havebeen in residence at Hopkins when Oslergave his address. So there is reason to believe that he may have been presentat the ceremonies inaugurating the Phipps Clinic. But if he was, Oslers mention of neuropsychology evidently

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made no impression on him. This should not be surprising, however; it was not until 1916 that Lashley began hisneuropsychological research. If not from Osler then, where did Lashley get the term? Perhaps in discussions withMeyer, despite the latters apparent dislike of the word. It is known that the two men remained in touch afterLashleys departure from Hopkins, mainly during annual meetings of the National Academy of Sciences-NationalResearch Councils Committee for Research on Problems of Sex [l]. But regardless of how Lashley came to theterm, his publications are rightly credited for its wider acceptance. Nevertheless, the word itself appears to have beencoined by Sir William Osler.Acknowledgments-I am grateful to the following individuals for their helpful comments on the topic of this essay:Frank Beach, Mark Berkley, Robert Doty, Donald Hebb, and Donald Lindsley. Professor Hebb pointed out to meLashleys first formal use of neuropsychology. Some of the material for this note was provided by The Alan MasonChesney Medical Archives of The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, The Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives ofThe Johns Hopkins University, and the American Philosophical Library. I thank the staffs of these institutions fortheir assistance. Financial support was provided by grants from the History of Psychology Foundation, theSouthern Regional Education Board, and the Florida State University Foundation.

REFERENCES1. BEACH, F. Karl Spencer Lashley: June 7, 1890-August 7, 1958. Biogr. Mem. na/n. Acad. Sci . 35, 162-204, 1961.2. COBB, S.. HISAW, F. L., STEVENS.S. S. and BORING,E. G. Karl Spencer Lashley. Ham. CInir . Gaz. 21 February.115--l 16, 1959.3. KOLB, B. and WHISHAW, I. Q. Fur~damrn~als ofHuman Neuropsycholog~. Freeman, San Francisco, 1980.4. LASHLEY, K. S. Integrative functions of the cerebral cortex. Phqsiol. Rw . 13, l-42, 1933.5. LASHLEY, K. S. Functional determinants of cerebral localization. A&IS Neural. Psychi at . 38, 371L387, 1937.6. LINDSLEY. D. B. Studying neuropsychology and bodily functions. In Methods qfPsyc/~oloq~~,T. G. ANDREWS

(Editor). Wiley, New York, 1948.7. MEYER, A. Twenty-fourth anniversary of the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic. In The Coll ected Papers ofA dorf

M eyer, Vol. II, E. E. WINTERS (Editor). Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1951.8. OSLER, W. Specialism in the general hospital. Bul l. Johns Hopk i ns Hosp. 24, 167- 171, 1913.