We review the significant cognitive neuro psychological contributions to our understanding of spoken word production that were made during the period of 1984 to 2004since the founding of the journal Cognitive Neuro psychology. We then go on to identify anddiscuss a set of outstanding questions and challenges that face future cognitive neuropsychological researchers in this domain. We conclude that the last twenty years have a testament to the vitality and productiveness of this approach in the domain of spoken word production and that it is essential that we continue to strive for the broader integration of cognitive neuropsychological evidence into cognitive. | Speaking Words: Contributions of cognitive neuropsychological research Brenda Rapp and Matthew Goldrick 1 Abstract We review the significant cognitive neuropsychological contributions to our understanding of spoken word production that were made during the period of 1984 to 2004- since the founding of the journal Cognitive Neuropsychology. We then go on to identify and discuss a set of outstanding questions and challenges that face future cognitive neuropsychological researchers in this domain. We conclude that the last twenty years have been a testament to the vitality and productiveness of this approach in the domain of spoken word production and that it is essential that we continue to strive for the broader integration of cognitive neuropsychological evidence into cognitive science, psychology, linguistics and neuroscience. 2 INTRODUCTION The founding of Cognitive Neuropsychology in 1984 marked the recognition and “institutionalization” of a set of ideas that had been crystallizing for a number of years. These ideas formed the basis of the cognitive neuropsychological approach and, thus, have largely defined the journal over the past twenty years (Caramazza, 1984, 1986; Ellis, 1985, 1987; Marin, Saffran, & Schwartz, 1976; Marshall, 1986; Saffran, 1982; Shallice, 1979; Schwartz, 1984). Chief among them was an understanding of the fundamental limitations of syndromes or clinical categories as the vehicle for characterizing patterns of impairment. This was complemented by the realization that the appropriate and productive unit of analysis was the performance of the individual neurologically injured individual. Critical also was the more explicit formulation of the relationship between neuropsychology and cognitive psychology (Caramazza, 1986). The increasing application of theories of normal psychological processing to the analysis of deficits allowed neuropsychological evidence to provide significant constraints on theory development within cognitive psychology.
