> disabling neurons sounds a little crude and may not help much in gaining a finer understanding Yes it's crude, but artificially creating 'lesions' and invest

> disabling neurons sounds a little crude and may not help much in gaining a finer understanding Yes it's crude, but artificially creating 'lesions' and investigating brain disfunction is a time-honored tradition in neuroscience. It's usually done with rats/cats/monkeys, but humans with brain damage due to strokes or surgeries also serve as useful 'natural experiments.' HM is a classic example [0]. When working with something as complicated with the brain, taking out pieces and seeing what changes is a reasonable way to investigate its operation...depending on how you feel about utilizing animals in this way. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Molaison https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Molaison