Equipotentiality is a term first coined by Flourens to describe the notion that mental abilities depend on the brain functioning as a whole.
Thus, the effects of brain injury are determined by the size of the injury rather than its location. It is the notion that the cortex functions as a whole and that all areas of the brain contribute equally to overall intellectual functioning. On the basis of this perspective, when one area of cortex is damaged, the functions of that area may be assumed by another area of cortex; concept that all parts of the cortex contribute equally to complex behaviors such as learning ; that any part of the cortex can substitute for any other Likewise, Equipotentiality refers to Lashley's observation that within a functional area of the brain, any tissue within that area can perform its associated function. Therefore, to destroy a function, all the tissue within a functional area must be destroyed.