Developments In Clinical And Experimental Neuropsychology

The chapters published in this volume developed from presentations, and their associated discussions at a conference organised by the Scottish Branch of the British Psychological Society, held at Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland in September 1987. The goal of the conference was to bring together workers across a wide area of neuropsychological research to discuss recent technological advances, developments in assessment and rehabilitation, and to address theoretical issues of current interest. Thus, the chapters in this book include contributions on the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography in neuropsychological research, studies of hemi spheric specialisation and cooperation, alcoholic and Alzheimer type dementia, prosopagnosia and facial processing, the assessment, management and rehabilitation of memory problems, the assessment of premorbid intellectual status and issues in developmental neuropsychology. Many of those engaged in research and clinical practice in neuropsychology encounter a range of topic at least as wide as this in their professional lives. The opportunity for researchers and clinicians to discuss some of the key issues in the field was invaluable and we hope that readers gain as much from the material presented here as the participants did from the meeting itself.

The domain of neuroscience has had one of the most explosive growths in recent decades: within this development there has been a remarkable and renewed interest in the study of the relations between behaviour and the central nervous system. Part of this new attention is connected with the contribution of new technologies (PET, fMRI) permitting more precise mapping of neural structures responsible for cognitive functions and the development of new theoretical models of mental activities. The diffusion of new pathologies (for example the pattern of cognitive impairment associated with AIDS) has further enlarged the field of clinical neuropsychology. Finally there has been an expanding clinical interest in the understanding and management of age-related cognitive changes. This volume is the translated and updated version of the second edition of Manuale di Neuropsicologia (Zanichelli, 1996), by the same authors, and it reflects the current status of the art. It is intended to blend clinical and theoretical aspects of neuropsychology. The first part discusses the instrumental and clinical methods of investigation in neuropsychology, together with their development. A long section is dedicated to the language and memory disorders. The impairment of non-verbal cognitve functions, such as the disorders of space orientation, of of visuo-perceptive abilities, and of the emotions and attention, are extensively discussed. The pattern of degenerative dementias is thorougly described, as e is thoroughly described, as well as a number of new topics, such as a neuropsychological approach to consciousness. Finally, perspectives for treatment of some cognitive disorders are outlined.

The present volume aims at presenting a selection of new methods and techniques that may have value for clinical neuropsychology. There is an increasing interest among clinical neuropsychologists regarding new developments in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology. This book presents an updated view of recent methodological developments in experimental psychology and clinical neuroscience.

The goal of the second edition is to introduce the advance undergraduate or graduate student and more seasoned research scientists in any of the allied health sciences to a wide array of methodological and biostatistical issues, as they occur in the context of both published and ongoing research. Some sixty-four articles published between 1992 and 2002 have been selected from the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, The Clinical Neuropsychologist, and Child Neuropsychology and reproduced in this volume. While building upon a working knowledge and understanding of the basic univariate data analytic techniques and the research designs to which they apply, the approach to the more complex multivariate techniques is presented primarily at a conceptual and essentially non-mathematical level. While the issue of the complexity of some of the more recent and standard approaches to data analytic strategies, and their important role to specific research designs is important to convey, there remains an even more fundamental issue of whether the results of correctly applied data analytic strategies make any practical or clinical sense, above and beyond their having reached levels of "statistical significance". These critical issues are addressed throughout various commentaries that the editors make at appropriate points in the text. The volume will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as clinical neuropsychologists and research scientists in any of the allied health disciplines.

This is a major revision of a standard reference work for neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists. About one-half of the book contains entirely new work by new contributors. New topics not covered in the previous editions include consideration of common sources of neurocognitive morbidity, such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and exposure to heavy metals; psychiatric and behavioral disorders associated wtih traumatic brain injury; neuropsychology in relation to everyday functioning; the effects of cognitive impairment on driving skills, and adherence to medical treatments. The Third Edition aims to reflect the enormous developments in neuropsychology in terms of research, clinical applications, and growth of the discipline during the past decade. At one time focused on mapping the cognitive and related consequences of brain injuries, research in neuropsychology has now expanded to much broader considerations of the effects of systemic disease, infection, medications, and inflammatory processes on neurocognition and emotion. The Third Edition attemtps to capture these developments while continuing to adhere to the objective of presenting them in a concise manner in a single volume.

Practicing neuropsychologists and students in clinical neuropsychology must increas ingly cross disciplinary boundaries to understand and appreciate the neuroanatomical, neurophysiological, and neuropharmacological bases of cognition and behavior, cur rent cognitive theory in many different domains of functioning, and the nature and tools of clinical assessment. Although the cognitive functions and abilities of interest are often the same, each of these fields has grappled with them from sometimes very different perspectives. Terminology is often specific to a particular discipline or ap proach, methods are diverse, and the goals or outcomes of study or investigation are usually very different. This book poises itself to provide a largely missing link between traditional approaches to assessment and the growing area of cognitive neuropsy chology. Historically, neuropsychology had as its central core the consideration of evidence from clinical cases. It was the early work of neurologists such as Broca, Wernicke, Hughlings-Jackson, and Liepmann, who evaluated and described the behavioral cor relates of prescribed lesions in individual patients and focused investigation on the lateralization and localization of cognitive abilities in humans. An outgrowth of those approaches was the systematic development of experimental tasks that could be used to elucidate the nature of cognitive changes in individuals with well-described brain lesions.

Neuropsychological assessment is a difficult and complicated process. Often, experienced clinicians as well as trainees and students gloss over fundamental problems or fail to consider potential sources of error. Since formal test data on the surface appear unambiguous and objective, they may fall into the habit of overemphasizing tests and their scores and underemphasizing all the factors that affect the validity, reliability, and interpretability of test data. But interpretation is far from straightforward, and a pragmatic application of assessment results requires attention to a multitude of issues. This long-awaited, updated, and greatly expanded second edition of the Clinician's Guide to Neuropsychological Assessment, like the first, focuses on the clinical practice of neuropsychology. Orienting readers to the entire multitude of issues, it guides them step by step through evaluation and helps them avoid common misconceptions, mistakes, and methodological pitfalls. It is divided into three sections: fundamental elements of the assessment process; special issues, settings, and populations; and new approaches and methodologies. The authors, all of whom are actively engaged in the clinical practice of neuropsychological assessment, as well as in teaching and research, do an outstanding job of integrating the academic and the practical. The Clinician's Guide to Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition will be welcomed as a text for graduate courses but also as an invaluable hands-on handbook for interns, postdoctoral fellows, and experienced neuropsychologists alike. No other book offers its combination of breadth across batteries and approaches, depth, and practicality.