Eleanor Saffran

Her interest in Neuropsychology began at the Baltimore City hospitals of Johns Hopkins University, where her research unit focused on neurological patients with language or cognitive impairments.

In papers published between 1976 and 1982, Dr. Saffran spelled out the methodological tenets of “cognitive neuropsychology” exemplified in her studies of aphasia,[1] alexia (acquired dyslexia), auditory verbal agnosia, and short-term memory impairment.

In 1980, Saffran joined the Neurology Department of Temple University and established the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience.

Under her leadership, this group extended the cognitive neuropsychological approach to the analysis of neurological disorders of perception, visual attention, and semantics[citation needed].

These years also marked the continuation of her longstanding collaboration with Myrna Schwartz of MossRehab (part of the Einstein Healthcare Network) which began in Baltimore in 1975.