The Handbook of Cognitive Neuropsychology: What Deficits Reveal About the Human Mind. Brenda Rapp (Ed.). 2001. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. 652 pp., $41.95 (PB).

Traditionally, research findings in cognitive neuropsychology have been used as theoretical bench marks for research in other areas of psychology attempting to explain brain-behavior relationships. Several branch disciplines in the behavioral sciences have used knowledge gained through studies in cognitive neuropsychology not only to help support theories developed in their respective areas, but also to advance more in-depth frameworks to better understand human behavior. However, within recent years there has tended to be greater emphasis placed on understanding what areas of the brain are involved in general cognitive functions, and researchers have tended to forget the intricacies of cognition. The explosion in the use of fMRI and other functional imaging techniques has helped to deemphasize the importance of understanding how cognitive processes can fractionate along important theoretical lines. As a result, we are often confronted with research that is devoid of theory and does little to advance our understanding of how the brain and mind work. In her edited book, The Handbook of Cognitive Neuropsychology: What Deficits Reveal About the Human Mind, Brenda Rapp has admirably assembled a collection of chapters that reminds us of the importance of how neurological patients can inform us about the mind, and, in my opinion, how such findings can and should be used to provide a theoretical road map to understanding brain-behavior relationships.