Luria's Theory of Brain Functioning: A Model for Research in Cognitive Psychophysiology

Luria's (1973) brain functioning theory is offered as a model for cognitive psychophysiological research. It may be used to predict brain processing patterns both for constructive tasks of various levels of complexity and for high and low performance on these tasks. Brain mapping research is reported that shows how brain processing patterns for tasks of varying cornp1exit:y are associated with Luria's theory. As a model for research, Luria's model offers several potential contributions to educational psychology. First, it may help bridge the current gap between mainstream educational psychology and cognitive psychophysiology. Second, it may be used to associate student performance on cognitive tasks with brain processing patterns. For example, differences have been demonstrated between high and low task performance and brain processing patterns. Finally, the model proposed is potentially very useful because it is empirically testable. The weight of the evidence to date clearly supports the proposition that brain processing patterns and performance in higher order, constructive cognitive tasks are related in a consistent and predictable manner to Luria's brain functioning theory.