Luria, Alexander Romanovich (July 16, 1902, Kazan — August 14, 1977) — a well-known Soviet psychologist, founder of Russian neuropsychology, student of L. S. Vygotsky.
Professor (1944), doctor of pedagogical sciences (1937), doctor of medical sciences (1943), full member of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the RSFSR (1947), full member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1967), belongs to the number of outstanding domestic psychologists who have received wide recognition for their scientific, pedagogical and social activities. Graduated from Kazan University (1921) and the 1st Moscow Medical Institute (1937). In 1921-1934. — on scientific and pedagogical work in Kazan, Moscow, Kharkov. From 1934 he worked in research institutions in Moscow. Since 1945 — professor at Moscow State University. Head of the Department of Neuro- and Pathopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov (1966-1977). During more than 50 years of scientific work, A. R. Luria made an important contribution to the development of various areas of psychology such as psycholinguistics, psychophysiology, child psychology, ethnopsychology, etc.
Luria is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Reports of the APN of the RSFSR, a publication in which a representative of a number of both psychological and humanitarian areas (Moscow Logic Circle) of post-war thought in Russia and the USSR began their publications.
Following the ideas of L. S. Vygotsky, he developed a cultural and historical concept of the development of the psyche, participated in the creation of the theory of activity. On this basis, he developed the idea of the systemic structure of higher mental functions, their variability, plasticity, emphasizing the life-time nature of their formation, their implementation in various types of activity. Investigated the relationship of heredity and education in mental development. Using the twin method traditionally used for this purpose, he made significant changes to it by conducting an experimental genetic study of the development of children under the conditions of the purposeful formation of mental functions in one of the twins. He showed that somatic signs are largely genetically determined, elementary mental functions (for example, visual memory) — to a lesser extent. And for the formation of higher mental processes (conceptual thinking, meaningful perception, etc.), the conditions of education are of decisive importance.
In the field of defectology, he developed objective methods for studying abnormal children. The results of a comprehensive clinical and physiological study of children with various forms of mental retardation served as the basis for their classification, which is important for pedagogical and medical practice.
He created a new direction — neuropsychology, which has now become a special branch of psychological science and has received international recognition. The beginning of the development of neuropsychology was laid by studies of brain mechanisms in patients with local brain lesions, in particular as a result of injury. He developed a theory of localization of higher mental functions, formulated the basic principles of dynamic localization of mental processes, created a classification of aphasic disorders (see Aphasia) and described previously unknown forms of speech disorders, studied the role of the frontal lobes of the brain in the regulation of mental processes, brain mechanisms of memory.
Luria had high international prestige, he was a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Sciences and Arts, the American Academy of Pedagogy, as well as an honorary member of a number of foreign psychological societies (British, French, Swiss, Spanish and etc.). He was an honorary doctor of a number of universities: Leicester (England), Lublin (Poland), Brussels (Belgium), Tampere (Finland) and others. Many of his works have been translated and published for US dollars.
Main publications
- Luria A. R. Speech and intelligence in child development. — M., 1927.
- Luria A. R. Etudes on the History of Behavior: Monkey. Primitive. Child. — M., 1930 (co-authored with L. S. Vygotsky).
- Luria A. R. The doctrine of aphasia in the light of brain pathology. — M., 1940.
- Luria A. R. Traumatic aphasia. — M., 1947.
- Luria A. R. Recovery of functions after a war injury. — M., 1948.
- Luria A. R. mentally retarded child. — M., 1960.
- Luria A. R. Frontal lobes and regulation of mental processes. — M., 1966.
- Luria A. R. The brain and mental processes. — M., 1963, Vol.1; M., 1970. Vol.2.
- Luria A. R. Higher cortical functions and their impairment in local brain lesions. — M., 1962, 2nd ed. 1969
- Luria A. R. Psychology as a historical science. — 1971.
- Luria A. R. Fundamentals of Neuropsychology. — M., 1973.
- Luria A.R. On the historical development of cognitive processes. — M., 1974.
- Luria A. R. Neuropsychology of memory. — M., 1974. Vol.1; M., 1976. Vol.2.
- Luria A. R. The main problems of neurolinguistics. — M., 1976.
- Luria A. R. Language and consciousness (Idem). — M., 1979.
- Luria A. R. Little book of great memories.