Neuropsychological Assessment Of Neuropsychiatric And Neuromedical Disorders

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.

A 1996 survey of the members of the American Board of Professional Psychology Diplomates, published by The Clinical Neuropsychologist journal, selected the first edition of this book as one of the "Essential Books and Journals in North American Clinical Neuropsychology"--a list which included only 10 other titles! The Second Edition has improved further on this high standard. While the authors have retained the same general structure--with the addition of a set of three chapters on psychosocial outcomes--virtually the entire book has been rewritten and thoroughly updated to reflect recent developments in this area of knowledge. Part I features new chapters on the Iowa-Benton approach, on cognitive screening methods, and on computers and memory. Part II has been expanded with new chapters on Tourette's syndrome, acute and chronic hypoxemia, HIV infection, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, and an expanded chapter on Parkinson's disease. Part III is entirely new, and it focuses on life quality outcome in head injury and pulmonary disease. Considerably enlarged in size, this book will remain the basic reference on the neuropsychological aspects of diseases affecting brain and behavior.

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What is neuropsychiatry? This remarkable volume answers that question -- and more. Neuropsychiatry, which focuses on assessment and diagnostic issues at the interface of psychiatry and neurology, is enjoying a renaissance, largely because of the technological innovations detailed in these five chapters. Here, 11 recognized experts have assembled an overview of the essential techniques, current research, and future trends in neuropsychiatric assessment, focusing on clinical applications for psychiatry patients. This eminently practical work begins with the cornerstone of any neuropsychiatric assessment, the physical examination and the medical and psychiatric history. Included here is a head-to-toe compendium of important signs and symptoms to elicit, along with the differential diagnoses of neuropsychiatric disorders to consider when faced with a particular constellation of signs and symptoms. Subsequent chapters discuss The critical importance of the neuropsychological examination, traditionally administered by neuropsychologists and thus often overlooked by psychiatrists in routine workups of their patients. Topics addressed include the clinical approach to the interview process, fixed- and flexible-battery approaches to assessment, interpretation pitfalls, and future trends. The authors illustrate how this essential tool can reveal the major cognitive domains that may be involved in neuropsychiatric disorders and show how specific patterns of deficits in certain domains may help determine a neuropsychiatric diagnosis. The relevance of electrophysiological testing, an underused but invaluable resource, to neuropsychiatric disorders. The authors discuss standard, topographic, and quantitative electroencephalography; cerebral evoked potentials, and polysomnography, providing recommendations for the application of these tools in certain clinical situations (e.g., cognitive decline, rapid-cycling bipolar disorder) and projections for broader uses of electrophysiological testing in the future. The key importance of laboratory testing, especially in view of the complex array of neurological and medical illnesses that may underlie the symptoms of neuropsychiatric patients. The lack of consensus guidelines for the use of conventional laboratory testing, chest X rays, and electrocardiograms in screening patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms continues to constrain our ability to help these patients. The potential of today's increasingly sophisticated neuroimaging approaches -- from structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to diffusion tensor imaging and positron emission tomography -- to reveal the brain and its pathways with unprecedented clarity. The authors provide a fascinating overview of the techniques involved and the current research findings in schizophrenia, major affective disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Intended to bring us closer to our goals of early detection of, more specific treatments for, and, ultimately, prevention of psychiatric illness, this in-depth yet concise volume on the research and practice of neuropsychiatry will find a wide audience among students, residents, and clinicians.

The author has written an easily accessible summary of neuropsychological tests, neuropsychiatric disorders, and the relationships of test performance to disorder and treatment strategy. This ready reference provides neuropsychologists with an understanding of the medical context within which neuropsychological evaluation and psychosocial therapy takes place.

In this volume of the series Human Brain Function: Assessment and Rehabilitation we cover the area of how brain function is assessed with behavioral or neuropsycholog ical instruments. These assessments are typically conducted by clinical neuropsy chologists or behavioral neurologists, and so we made an effort to present the somewhat differing approaches to these two related disciplines. Clinical neuropsy chologists are psychologists who typically utilize standardized tests, while behav ioral neurologists are physicians who generally assess brain function as part of the clinical neurological evaluation. Both approaches have much to offer. The basic assumption of neuropsychological assessment is that the brain is the organ of behavior, and therefore, the condition of the brain may be evaluated with behavioral measures. Neuropsychological tests are those measures found by re search to be particularly sensitive to alterations in brain function. An adequate neuropsychological test is a procedure that can be related to some objective mea sure of alteration in brain function. Over the years, these objective measures have changed, but generally involve documentation through direct observation of brain tissue, or through histological, pathological, neuroimaging, or other laboratory procedures. The methods described in the first two volumes of this series describe the neuroimaging procedures that are often used in the validation of neuropsycho logical tests.

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.

Since the late 1800s psychologists have been interested in discerning the strategies subjects employ to solve psychological tests (Piaget, 1928, Werner, 1940, Gesell, 1941). Much of this work, however, has relied on qualitative observations. In the 1970s, Edith Kaplan adopted this approach to the analysis of standardized neuropsychological measures. Unlike her predecessors, Dr. Kaplan and her colleagues emphasized the application of modern behavioral neurology to the analysis of the test data. Her approach was later termed the Boston Process Approach to neuropsychological assessment. While Edith Kaplan's work generates a great deal of enthusiasm, the qualitative nature of her analyses did not allow for its adoption by mainstream neuropsychologists. However, in recent years this limitation has begun to be addressed. Clinicians and researchers have developed new methodologies for quantifying the Boston Process Approach, leading to the emergence of a new field, which is collectively termed the Quantified Process Approach. Quantified Process Approach to Neuropsychological Assessment outlines the rationale for the emergence of this new approach and reviews the state of the art research literature and up to date clinical applications as they pertain to the evaluation of neuropsychiatric, head injured, and learning disabled patients. When available, norms and scoring forms are included in the appendices.