Is there localization in the brain or not? A 150-year-long scientific debate
Ayşen Süzen Ekinci1
, Cumhur Ertekin2
1Department of Neurology, İzmir Atatürk Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Türkiye
2Department of Neurology, Ege University Medical School Hospital, İzmir, Türkiye
Keywords: Aphasia, cortical localization, history of neuroscience, neuron doctrine, reticular theory.
Abstract
This historical review addresses the development of debates on the cellular unit of the nervous system and functional localization in the brain from the 19th century to the present. The first section summarizes the disagreements between the reticular theory and the neuron doctrine, based on the contributions of Remak, Gerlach, Deiters, Golgi, His, Forel, Nansen, Cajal, Waldeyer, and Sherrington. The second section evaluates discussions on phrenology, holistic cortical approaches, and cortical localization through the work of Gall, Flourens, Broca, Wernicke, Jackson, Hitzig, Fritsch, Ferrier, and Goltz. The final section emphasizes the transition of modern neuroscience from a strictly centralized localization concept to distributed, connectional network models. Historical evidence suggests that brain functions cannot be reduced to single centers nor fully explained within a homogeneous cortical area. The current approach accepts that specific functions emerge through anatomically distinguishable but strongly interconnected networks.
Cite this article as: Süzen Ekinci A, Ertekin C. Is there localization in the brain or not? A 150-year-long scientific debate. Turk J Neurol 2026;32(2):113-124. https://doi. org/10.55697/tnd.2026.753.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
A.S.E., C.E.: Concept and design, literature review, final approval of the manuscript; A.S.E.: Drafting of the manuscript; C.E.: Critical revision for intellectual content.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/ or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.