Karl Lashley

I sometimes think that the only function of the brain is to keep the body from being too stupid.

The problem of the localization of memory is not a problem of where the memory is stored, but how it is organized.

Mass action and equipotentiality are not properties of the brain itself, but of the organization of its functions.

No single area of the cerebral cortex is exclusively responsible for any particular function.

The learning process is not a matter of establishing new connections, but of modifying existing ones.

The brain is not a telephone switchboard; it is a dynamic, self-organizing system.

The search for the engram, the physical trace of memory, has been a long and frustrating one.

I believe that the fundamental problem of psychology is the problem of organization.

The brain is not a collection of independent reflexes, but a system of interacting processes.

The organization of behavior is not simply a matter of stimulus-response connections, but of hierarchical control.

The problem of serial order in behavior is one of the most fundamental problems in psychology.

The brain is a system that creates its own order, rather than simply responding to external stimuli.

The study of brain mechanisms is not merely a matter of anatomy and physiology, but of understanding the principles of organization.

The brain is not a static structure, but a dynamic system that is constantly changing and adapting.

The concept of localization of function in the brain is an oversimplification.

The brain acts as a whole in many of its functions.

The greater the extent of brain damage, the more severe the impairment of function, regardless of the location of the damage.

The brain has a remarkable capacity for plasticity and reorganization.

The search for discrete memory traces has been largely unsuccessful.

Memory is not stored in a single location, but is distributed throughout the brain.