An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology
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An MRI-based analysis of 5,724 UK Biobank participants found no statistically meaningful support for the tested phrenological associations between scalp shape and behavioral/lifestyle proxies.
Challenges
The same study found that local brain gyrification explained very little local scalp curvature, weakening the mechanical premise that local brain development can be read from external cranial shape.
Modern empirical testing rejects phrenological skull-trait mapping, showing that historical contribution to localization must not be confused with validation of cranioscopy.