Franz Joseph Gall on faculties in the anterior part of the brain

Abstract

Introduction We present Gall's views on the faculties in the anterior lobes. Method We discuss the faculties that Gall localized in the anterior lobes. The faculties XI–XIX are common to animals and humans. Among these are faculties for color and music processing, spatial or topographical orientation, language, and facial recognition . Faculties that are unique to humans (XX–XXVII) are those associated with, for instance, comparison, wit, and poetry. The highest faculties he depicted at the top of the anterior region, two being the faculties for God and religion and perseverance. We also discuss the absence of a faculty for cognitive control or a central executive, and his view on collaboration of faculties in everyday behavior. Conclusion Gall described faculties for basic cognitive processes and reasoning, localizing the organs for these faculties in the anterior lobes. He wrote about the faculties interacting, but other than bringing up proximity, he was at a loss to explain the underlying physiology, having no central coordinating faculty and shunning metaphysics.