Cognitive neuropsychology seeks to answer the same questions about cognition as cognitive psychology but with a focus on:

• A. Individuals with deficits in brain functioning (e.g., brain injuries or developmental disabilities)
• B. Non-human animals
• C. Normal aging without impairment
• D. Pharmacological modulation of cognition

Answer: (A)

Cognitive neuropsychology reveals how cognitive systems are organized by looking at how brain damage disrupts specific abilities. When a person with brain injury loses one function but preserves others, it suggests that those functions rely on separate neural processes. Observing patterns across individuals, including opposite impairments (double dissociations), strengthens claims about distinct cognitive modules and how they connect. This deficit-driven approach lets us map mental processes to brain regions and test theories about the architecture of cognition in a way that studying intact performance cannot. That focus on individuals with deficits in brain functioning, such as after brain injury or developmental disorders, is what sets cognitive neuropsychology apart. Exploring non-human animals, normal aging without impairment, or pharmacological modulation investigates related but different questions and does not capture the same lesion-based mapping of cognitive structure.