Assumptions, conceptualizations, and the search for the functions of the brain

The conditions under which methods of direct neurological manipulation may be of utility in the study of brain-behavior relations and of cerebral localization of function are discussed, with attention being directed in particular to the conflict of positions represented by R. L. Gregory and L. Weiskrantz. The argument is made that such methods are potentially useful only if the nervous system or particular portions of the nervous system can be conceptualized in terms of being a parallel, rather than a serial information processing system. It is further argued that inferences made on the basis of results generated with such methods (and indeed any method) are dependent upon the assumptions and conceptualizations concerning brain function held by the E.