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Karl Spencer Lashley (June 7, 1890 – August 7, 1958) was a
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the pre ...
and
behaviorist Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual ...
remembered for his contributions to the study of learning and memory. A ''
Review of General Psychology ''Review of General Psychology'' is the quarterly scientific journal of the American Psychological Association Division 1: The Society for General Psychology. The journal publishes cross-disciplinary psychological articles that are conceptual, the ...
'' survey, published in 2002, ranked Lashley as the 61st most cited psychologist of the 20th century.


Early life and education

Lashley was born on June 7, 1890 in the town of
Davis, West Virginia Davis is a town in Tucker County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Blackwater River. The population was 595 at the 2020 census. History Davis was named either for Senator Henry Gassaway Davis, or for his family generally. The ...
. He was the only child of Charles and Maggie Lashley. He grew up in a middle-class family with a reasonably comfortable life. Lashley's father held various local political positions. His mother was a stay-at-home parent, and had a vast collection of books in the home. She brought in women from the community, whom she would teach various subjects. This is no doubt what gave Lashley his love of learning. Lashley has always held his family in high regard. He has said that his father was a kind man. Lashley's mother was a strong advocate of schooling, and she encouraged Lashley intellectually from an early age. Lashley was a very active boy, both physically and mentally. He was able to read by the age of four. His favorite thing to do as a child was to wander through the woods and collect animals, like butterflies and mice. He spent most of his childhood alone. Lashley did not have many friends. The reasons for his lack of friendships is unclear. Lashley graduated high school at age 14. Lashley enrolled at
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
, where he had originally intended to become an English major. He took a course in
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...
, however, and switched his major to zoology due to his interactions with the professor John Black Johnston. Lashley wrote, "Within a few weeks in his class I knew that I had found my life's work". After obtaining his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
at West Virginia University, Lashley was awarded a teaching fellowship at the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
, where he taught
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...
along with biological laboratories. While there he also carried out
research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...
which he used for his master's thesis.http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/lashley-karl.pdf Once Lashley completed his master's degree, he studied at
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
, where he received his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
in
genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar work ...
in June 1911. He became a
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
at
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
,
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, and
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. At Hopkins, Lashley minored in psychology under John B. Watson, whom he continued to work closely with him after receiving his PhD. It was during this time that Lashley worked with Shepherd Ivory Franz and was introduced to his training/ablation method. Watson had a great deal of influence on Lashley. Together the two conducted field experiments and studied the effects of different drugs on maze learning of rats. Watson helped Lashley to focus on specific problems in learning and experimental investigation, followed by locating the area of the
cerebrum The cerebrum, telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres), as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb. ...
involved in learning and discrimination.


Career

Lashley's career began with research concerning
brain A brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as Visual perception, vision. I ...
mechanisms and how they were related to sense receptors. He also conducted work on instinct as well as color vision. He studied many animals and primates, which had been an interest since his freshman year at college. Lashley worked at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
from 1917 to 1926 and then at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago before becoming a professor at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. After this he went to
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, but was dissatisfied and from there became the director of the Yerkes Laboratory of Primate Biology in Orange Park, Florida. Lashley's most influential research centered around the cortical basis of learning and discrimination. He researched this by looking at the measurement of behavior before and after specific, carefully quantified, induced brain damage in rats. Lashley trained rats to perform specific tasks (seeking a food reward), then lesioned specific areas of the rats' cortex, either before or after the animals received the training. The cortical lesions had specific effects on acquisition and retention of knowledge, but the location of the removed cortex had no effect on the rats' performance in the maze. This led Lashley to conclude that memories are not localized, but that they are widely distributed across the cortex. Today we know that distribution of engrams does in fact exist, but that the distribution is not equal across all cortical areas, as Lashley assumed. His study of V1 (primary visual cortex) led him to believe that it was a site of learning and memory storage (i.e. an engram) in the brain. He reached this erroneous conclusion due to imperfect lesioning methods. By the 1950s, two separate principles had grown out of Lashley's research: mass action and
equipotentiality Equipotentiality refers to a psychological theory in both neuropsychology and behaviorism. Karl Spencer Lashley defined equipotentiality as "The apparent capacity of any intact part of a functional brain to carry out… the emoryfunctions which are ...
. "Mass action" refers to the idea that the rate, efficacy and accuracy of learning depend on the amount of cortex available. If cortical tissue is destroyed following the learning of a complex task, deterioration of performance on the task is determined more by the amount of tissue destroyed than by its location. "Equipotentiality" refers to the idea that one part of the cortex can take over the function of another part; within a functional area of the brain, any tissue within that area can perform its associated function. Therefore, to destroy a function, all the tissue within a functional area must be destroyed. If the area is not destroyed then the cortex can take over another part. These two principles grew out of Lashley's research on the cortical basis of learning and discrimination.


Later life

In February 1954, while doing his teaching at Harvard, Lashley unexpectedly collapsed and was hospitalized. He was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia and put on a
cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enz ...
treatment. This eventually began to soften his vertebrae, and as a result a
splenectomy A splenectomy is the surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen. The spleen is an important organ in regard to immunological function due to its ability to efficiently destroy encapsulated bacteria. Therefore, removal of ...
was performed. Lashley was on the road to a full recovery until his trip to France with his wife Clair, where he once again unexpectedly collapsed, but this time to his death on August 7, 1958.


Honors

Lashley was elected to many scientific and philosophical societies, including the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
(Council member 1926–1928; President, 1929),
Eastern Psychological Association The Eastern Psychological Association (abbreviated EPA) is a professional organization for psychologists in the Eastern United States. It holds annual meetings where members present their research findings to colleagues. Established in 1896, it ...
(President, 1937), Society of Experimental Psychologists, British Psychological Association (Honorary Fellow), American Society of Zoologists, American Society of Naturalists (President, 1947), British Institute for the Study of Animal Behavior (Honorary Member), American Society of Human Genetics, American Physiological Society, Harvey Society (Honorary Member),
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
(elected in 1930). In 1938, Lashley was elected a Member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, the oldest learned society in the United States, dating to 1743. Since 1957, the Society has awarded the annual Karl Spencer Lashley Award in recognition of work on the integrative neuroscience of behavior. In 1943, Lashley was awarded the
Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three- to five-year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917. L ...
from the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...
. Lashley was awarded honorary Doctor of Science degrees from the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...
(1936), the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
(1941),
Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...
(1951), the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
; in 1953,
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
presented him with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.


Criticisms

Lashley had a reputation as an objective scientist, but Nadine Weidman has tried to expose him as a racist and a genetic determinist. But Donald Dewsbury and others, have disputed the claim that he was a genetic determinist, citing research of Lashley's in which he found evidence of both genetic and environmental influences on organisms. Dewsbury does admit however, that Lashley was quite racist. He cites a line from a letter that Lashley wrote to a German colleague which reads: "Too bad that the beautiful tropical countries are all populated by negros. Heil Hitler and Apartheit!" This line alone would leave little debate on this matter, but he cites others as well.


Notable publications

*1923 "The behavioristic interpretation of consciousness." ''Psychological Review'' *1929 "Brain mechanisms and intelligence." *1930 "Basic neural mechanisms in behavior." ''Psychological Review'' *1932 "Studies in the dynamics of behavior." University of Chicago Press. *1935 "The mechanism of vision", Part 12: Nervous structures concerned in the acquisition and retention of habits based on reactions to light. ''Comparative Psychology Monographs'' 11: 43–79. *1943 "Studies of Cerebral Function in Learning", ''Journal of Comparative Neurology'' vol. 79. *1950 "In search of the engram." ''Society of Experimental Biology'' Symposium 4: 454–482. *1951 "The problem of serial order in behavior." ''Cerebral Mechanisms in Behavior''.


See also

*
Sequence learning In cognitive psychology, sequence learning is inherent to human ability because it is an integrated part of conscious and nonconscious learning as well as activities. Sequences of information or sequences of actions are used in various everyday ta ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links

*
National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lashley, Karl 1890 births 1958 deaths Neuropsychologists American cognitive neuroscientists Memory researchers Animal testing Johns Hopkins University alumni University of Chicago faculty Harvard University faculty Foreign Members of the Royal Society Presidents of the American Psychological Association People from Tucker County, West Virginia 20th-century American psychologists