The Mental Status Examination In Neurology

The ability to effectively assess cognitive and other behavioral functions is an essential skill for neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, nurses, and other clinicians who perform clinic and bedside examinations. Unique in the field, The Mental Status Examination Handbook is a user-friendly, comprehensive resource that provides practical guidance on cognitive assessment, clarifies mental status testing procedures, and assists with decision making for neuropsychological referrals. This detailed manual draws from the full history of behavioral neurology testing, making the complex and challenging area of cognitive assessment accessible for both students and practitioners. Offers guidance on how to choose and perform a large number of mental status tests, with information on selected test materials and normative values. Covers the bedside evaluation of arousal, attention, memory, language, perception, executive abilities, and other cognitive and behavioral areas. Provides an authoritative assessment and compendium of commonly used mental status scales, inventories and questionnaires. Describes relevant correlations with formal neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, and neuropsychiatric disease. Explains how to weigh, use, and understand mental status scales and neuropsychological instruments. Discusses the meaning of cognitive symptoms and signs, and their neuroanatomical and neuropathological correlations.

-- Simplified explanation of exam procedures such as assessment of level of consciousness, language acuity, memory, and attention-- Pocket card summarizes the main points to remember in assessing mental status in limited patient-contact time-- The latest DSM-IV diagnostic criteria are covered to ease filling out insurance forms-- Extraordinary number of new scientific findings about cognition that are involved with testing a patient's mental function-- Covers the refinement of testing procedures and late-1990s updating of the psychological test battery to speed up the exam-- Presents age-related norms, important when assessing the elderly for early dementia-- Reviews ways to use the exam as a screening procedure, particularly when diagnosing dementia and differentiating between organic and functional disorders-- The most important parts of the text are highlighted for easy review and reference

The Neuropsychiatric Mental Status Examination is a guidebook for clinical psychiatric diagnosis. The title introduces the language, technique and concepts of the phenomenology. The first part of the text covers the basic phenomenology principles; the major areas of concern in mental health diagnosis; methodology for effective diagnosis of mental pathology. Part II elaborates the topics in Part I; this part develops and reinforces the techniques, phenomenological principles of diagnosis, diagnostic criteria. The second part also presents data which aid in the delineation of metal disorders. The book will be of great interest to students of behavioral science related degrees. The text will also serve professional psychologists and psychiatrists as a reference.

A guide to the techniques and analysis of clinical data. Each of the seventeen sections begins with a drawing and biographical sketch of a seminal contributor to the discipline. After an introduction and historical survey of clinical methods, the next fifteen sections are organized by body system. Each contains clinical data items from the history, physical examination, and laboratory investigations that are generally included in a comprehensive patient evaluation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This first-of-its-kind book offers clinicians a unique and comprehensive system of cognitive and behavioral testing that is tiered and context-appropriate for the diagnosis of mental status. Because the challenge nowadays with neurologic syndrome presentations is no longer merely lesion localization, but the degree, extent and nature of a cognitive and/or behavioral impairment, this work proposes a more targeted system of mentation evaluation -- one that incorporates behavioral, neurological, neuropsychiatric, and neuropsychological components. Developed by synthesizing outcomes data from a range of stroke registries, this novel work offers a stepwise, hierarchical approach to mentation evaluation largely determined by level of consciousness and degree of cooperation. Organized across 14 chapters, the book begins with an introduction to the challenges of cognitive and behavioral assessment, as well as a discussion of various clinical presentations ranging from mild behavioral impairment to cognitive reserve and its implications. Subsequent chapters then address various approaches to mental status evaluation and explore how these tests affect brain physiology. The work closes with a unique discussion of the various lay populations that may benefit from cognitive and behavioral evaluation. Authored by a renowned expert in the field, Clinical Mentation Evaluation: A Connectomal Approach to Rapid and Comprehensive Assessment is an invaluable reference that seeks to revitalize neurological and psychiatric disease measurement within the clinical setting. The work will be of interest to all clinicians in training and clinical practice who regularly, or even periodically, conduct mental status examination.

This thorough revision of a well-established text presents essential information on the neurobiology of aging. There are new chapters on competency and ethics, problems of daily living, psychopharmacology, and stability and falls. Written in a accessible style, this book will be invaluable to clinicians and neurologists who treat elderly patients.

This volume represents a clear, jargon-free overview of diagnostic categories with helpful hints regarding a psychiatric interview. Completely revised and updated, detailing current innovations in theory and practice, including recent changes in the DSM-IV.

A clear and concise guide to help recognise the signs and symptoms of psychiatric illness in clinical care.