Alexander Crichton
1763-1856
In 1798, Alexander Crichton, a Scottish physician, published a two-volume text on mental derangements. Among other things, he discussed various disorders of fluent speech, citing his own cases and those of others. These disorders ranged from simple word-finding difficulties to Wernicke's aphasia. Crichton interpreted these disorders using principles of association developed by Aristotle and developed by Hume, Locke, Condillac, and others of his time. Crichton, like Johann Gesner, helped to provide a foundation for the development of later associationistic models of higher brain function.
Writings about Alexander Crichton
Charland, Louis (2008). Alexander Crichton on the psychopathology of the passions. History of Psychiatry, 19, 3, 275-296.
Finger, S. & Buckingham, H. (1994). Alexander Crichton (1763-1856) Disorders of fluent speech and associationist theory. Archives of Neurology, 51, 5, 498-503.