VE-based spatial training is effective for children with complex disabilities, particularly when combined with training that remediates cognitive weaknesses.

The concept of "extra-cortical organization of higher mental functions" proposed by Lev Vygotsky and expanded by Alexander Luria extends cultural-historical psychology regarding the interplay of natural and cultural factors in the development of the human mind. Using the example of self-regulation, the authors explore the evolution of this idea from its origins to recent findings on the neuropsychological trajectories of the development of executive functions. Empirical data derived from the Tools of the Mind project are used to discuss the idea of using classroom intervention to study the development of self-regulation in early childhood.

Background: Every qualified neuropsychologist knows about Luria's contribution to neuropsychology and aphasiology in general, but many of them believe his ideas to be out of date. Aims: The purpose of this article is to investigate Alexander Luria's methodology of classification of aphasias and to describe the forms of aphasias that he distinguished.Main contribution: The article shows that the classification of aphasias was based on a profound theoretical research performed by Luria together with the founder of cultural-historical psychology, Lev Vygotsky. Their theoretical views including systemic, dynamic, evolutionary, and socio-cultural approaches to the analysis of functioning and disintegration of higher mental functions are congenial to the contemporary cognitive neuroscience. The descriptions of Luria's classic forms of aphasia are updated using more recent data from Russian aphasiologists. The article provides the comparison of Russian and Western classifications of aphasias. Conclusions: Understanding the main ideas of the Vygotskian-Lurian neuropsychology, and particularly of Luria's classification of aphasias, may be useful for the contemporary cognitive neuroscience and for the rehabilitation of patients with aphasia.

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