Aleksandr Romanovich Luria (1902–1977) was one of the eminent figures who contributed to the foundation of neuropsychology. Luria's neuropsychology is the comprehensive and creative synthesis of the neuroscientific and clinical knowledge of his time. His theoretical concepts and specific contributions to all fields of neuropsychology are recognized by the world's scientific community (Akhutina, Glozman, Moskovich, & Robbins, 2004; Cole, 1978; Mecacci, 2005; Peña-Casanova, 1989). One of the characteristics of Luria's neuropsychology is the unitary view of the human brain and mind (Mecacci, 2005).

A conceptual model of brain–behavior relationships constitutes one of the foundations of clinical neuropsychology, especially in the process of systematic and accurate interpretation of neuropsychological assessment data (Cimino, 2000). Concerning the organization of the brain, Luria (1973c) considered “the existence of solid anatomical and functional grounds for distinguishing three main functional units of the brain whose participation is necessary for any type of mental activity” (p. 43). He noted that “they can be described as a unit for regulating tone or waking, a unit for obtaining, processing, and storing information coming from the outside world, and a unit for programming, regulating, and verifying mental activity” (p. 43). Luria also recognized that “it would be a mistake to imagine that each of these units can carry out a certain form of activity completely independently” (p. 99).

In Luria's time, the approach to brain function was typically corticocentric. The so-called “corticocentric myopia” (Parvizi, 2009) was a kind of leitmotif in classical neuroscience and neuropsychology. The development, especially in the last decade, of new clinical, anatomical, and physiological knowledge implies a serious challenge to classic concepts and Luria's specific contributions (see Prigatano, 2003 [on dogma in neuropsychology]). Currently, the study of brain–behavior relationships must be improved by reviewing the classic basic assumptions (Westlin et al., 2023). In addition, the contributions of systems biology and systems physiology, neuroconnectivity (see Bigler, 2016; Bigler & Maxwell, 2011; Bullmore & Sporns, 2009; Catani & Thiebaut de Schotten, 2012; Hart, Ypma, Romero-Garcia, Price, & Suckling, 2016), and precision medicine in neurology and psychiatry (see Crary, 2023; Hampel et al., 2023; Hu, Xin, Hu, Zhang, & Wang, 2017; Pascoal et al., 2021) imply a radical change in the traditional paradigm of neuropsychology.

Therefore, the need to upgrade Luria's brain units is critical and necessary in the context of current knowledge. In this process, we have highlighted a series of criticisms that can help update Luria's model (see Peña-Casanova, 1989, 2007, 2018; Peña-Casanova & Sigg-Alonso, 2019, 2020).

The objectives of this paper are twofold: (1) to review two basic issues for the development of a functional brain model (functional systems and phylogenesis), (2) to propose and discuss a new advanced model of brain functional units.