Aggregate field

According to the aggregate field view, all areas of the brain participate in every mental function.

Pierre Flourens, a French experimental psychologist, challenged the localizationist view by using animal experiments. He discovered that removing the cerebellum in rabbits and pigeons affected their sense of muscular coordination, and that all cognitive functions were disrupted in pigeons when the cerebral hemispheres were removed. From this he concluded that the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and brainstem functioned together as a whole. His approach has been criticised on the basis that the tests were not sensitive enough to notice selective deficits had they been present.