The Neuropsychology Casebook

Formal training in clinical neuropsychology introduces trainees to diverse patient populations with a variety of conditions and disorders. Learning to competently apply a structured, fact-finding approach to case conceptualization, differential diagnosis, and treatment planning is an essential goal at all levels of training. This approach provides a valuable exercise and method of examining practitioner competence. The structured approach to case analysis promotes good clinical decision making, and exercises based on such an approach can help prepare clinicians for the oral exams that are a part of board certification. The Neuropsychology Fact-Finding Casebook is a resource for both supervisors and trainees in clinical neuropsychology, as well as for clinicians preparing for board certification. The volume provides 24 compelling and diverse fact-finding cases, one for each month of a two-year residency. Each case is presented in a stepwise fashion: presenting problem and referral question, background information and patient report, behavioral observations, and test findings. At the end of each case, a summary, diagnostic impression, recommendations, and questions are provided to assess, reinforce, and teach core competencies; an outcome section describes what occurred after the full case evaluation is completed; and critical teaching points are discussed. This Casebook is a standardized approach to fact-finding that training programs at various levels can use to help trainees develop such evaluation skills.

Casebook of Clinical Neuropsychology features actual clinical neuropsychological cases drawn from leading experts' files. Each chapter represents a different case completed by a different expert. Cases cover the lifespan from child, to adult, to geriatric, and the types of cases will represent a broad spectrum of prototypical cases of well-known and well-documented disorders as well as some rarer disorders. Chapter authors were specifically chosen for their expertise with particular disorders. When a practitioner is going to see a child or an adult with "X" problem, they can turn to the "case" and find up to date critical information to help them understand the issues related to the diagnosis, a brief synopsis of the literature, the patient's symptom presentation, the evaluation including neuropsychological test results and other results from consultants, along with treatments and recommendations. Clinical cases represent a long-established tradition as a teaching vehicle in the clinical sciences, most prominently in medicine and psychology. Case studies provide the student with actual clinical material - data in the form of observations of the patient, examination/test data, relevant history, and related test results - all of which must be integrated into a diagnostic conclusion and ultimately provide the patient with appropriate recommendations. Critical to this educational/heuristic process is the opportunity for the reader to view the thought processes of the clinician that resulted in the conclusions and recommendations offered. With the science of the disorder as the foundation of this process, readers learn how the integration of multiple sources of data furthers critical thinking skills.

The Neuropsychology Casebook was developed to fill the existing gap in the cur rent body of literature on clinical neuropsychology. Although texts are available that describe neuropsychological tests and others provide information on syn dromes, this volume provides descriptions of neuropsychological test perform ance for individuals with various syndromes. It was designed to illustrate the process of clinical interpretation of test findings and report writing for the individual case. Our aims are to provide both the student and practicing profes sional with a collection of actual neuropsychological case studies that typify many of the cardinal disorders or syndromes frequently seen by practicing clini cal neuropsychologists. We have not provided an exhaustive survey of case studies representing many of the disorders commonly seen in neuropsychology; rather, we have focused on a few select cases that illustrate some of the more common disorders. This book includes detailed case reports complete with referral questions, historical information, relevant neuroradiological findings, actual neuropsycho logical test data, and clinical interpretations that take into account all available information on the patient. The cases are discussed in the chapter commentaries with reference to how each compares and contrasts with the prototypic case for that disorder or syndrome. Such case studies help to highlight the various types of behavioral and cognitive sequelae associated with common clinical disorders. The case studies, which are examined through an hypothesis-testing approach, are also aimed at demonstrating how neuropsychological principles and methods are applied.

Clinical neuropsychologists frequently evaluate individuals within a forensic context, and therefore must address questions regarding the possible presence of reduced effort, response bias and/or malingering. This volume offers a wide range of instructive real-world case examples involving the complex differential diagnosis where symptom exaggeration and/or malingering cloud the picture. Written by expert forensic neuropsychologists, the scenarios described provide informed, empirically-based and scientifically-derived opinions on the topic. Issues related to malingering, such as response bias and insufficient effort, are discussed thoroughly with regard to a large number of clinical conditions and assessment instruments. Test data and non-test information are considered and integrated by the numerous experts. Expert guidance for clinicians who must address the issue of malingering is provided in a straightforward and well-organized format. To date, there has not been a comparable collection of rich case material relevant to forensic practice in clinical neuropsychology.

In Trouble in Mind, neuropsychologist Jenni Ogden, author of Fractured Minds, transports the reader into the world of some of her most memorable neurological patients as she explores with compassion, insight, and vivid description the human side of brain damage. These are tales of patients who, as the result of stroke, brain tumor, car crash, or neurological disease, begin thinking and behaving strangely, and with their loved ones' support embark on the long journey to recovery, acceptance of disability and sometimes, death. There is Luke, the gang member who loses his speech but finds he can still sing his favorite blues number "Trouble in Mind," and HM, who teaches the world about memory and becomes the most studied single case in medical history. You will meet Julian, who misplaces his internal map of the human body, and Melody, a singer who risks losing her song when she undergoes brain surgery to cure her epilepsy. Then there is Kim with a severe head injury, and Sophie who has just enough time to put her house in order before Alzheimer's dementia steals her insight. For these and the many other patients whose stories are told in this book, the struggle to understand their disordered minds and disobedient bodies takes extraordinary courage, determination, and patience. For health professionals and researchers working with these patients, the ethical and emotional challenges can be as demanding as the intellectual and treatment decisions they make daily. Trouble In Mind is written in an accessible narrative style that is both accurate and intimate. It will be enjoyed by readers -- whether students, researchers, or professionals in mental health and neuroscience, patients with neurological disorders and their families, or general readers -- who want to learn more about brain disorders and the doctors who care for those who suffer them.

This forward-looking reference defines and illustrates the process and themes of formulation in neuropsychology and places it in the vanguard of current practice. The book explains the types of information that go into formulations, how they are gathered, and how they are synthesized into a clinically useful presentation describing psychological conditions resulting from neurological illness or injury. Cases highlight the relevance and flexibility of narrative- and diagram-based formulation methods in approaching a diverse range of issues and conditions, from decisional capacity to cultural considerations, Huntington's disease to deep dyslexia. Throughout this volume, formulation is shown as integral to treatment and rehabilitation planning alongside clinical assessment, cognitive testing, and diagnosis. Included among the topics: The interface of neuroimaging with neuropsychological findings in traumatic brain injury. Neuropsychological aspects of temporal-lobe epilepsy: seeking evidence-based practice. An integrative approach to differential diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage and Korsakoff’s dementia. Educational disengagement following mild TBI in childhood. Themes in the formulation of repeat assessments. Cognitive neuropsychological formulation. Formulation is essential in good neuropsychological assessment as it provides the foundation for appropriate intervention by bringi ng together the results of different evaluations into a coherent whole. . . . Macniven’s compelling and constructive book has assembled internationally known experts from diverse backgrounds to provide illumination of their own views and approaches to formulation, which makes the book a pleasure to read and should establish it as essential reading on clinical psychology and neuropsychology training courses. – Professor Barbara A. Wilson OBE, Ph.D., D.Sc. Neuropsychologists, clinical psychologists, and rehabilitation specialists will find Neuropsychological Formulation of critical importance not only to the literature of the field, but also to the developing role of clinical neuropsychology within healthcare systems.

Fractured Minds introduces the reader to clinical neuropsychology through vivid case descriptions of adults who have suffered brain damage. At one level, this is a book about the courage, humor, and determination to triumph over illness and disability that many "ordinary people" demonstrate when coping with the extraordinary stress of a brain disorder. On another level, it is a well-referenced and up-to-date textbook that provides a holistic view of the practice of clinical neuropsychology. Included are reader-friendly descriptions and explanations of a wide range of neurological disorders and neuroscientific concepts. Two introductory chapters are followed by 17 chapters that each focus on a specific disorder and include research, clinical assessment, rehabilitation, and a detailed case study. Disorders range across the full spectrum from common ones such as traumatic brain injury and dementia, to rare disorders such as autotopagnosia. Each of the 16 chapters retained from the first edition has been revised to reflect current research and clinical advances. Three new chapters on multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease incorporate discussion of important current topics such as genetically-transmitted diseases, genetic counseling, gene transplantation, functional neurosurgery, and the complex ethical issues that go hand-in-hand with these new techniques. This informative and engaging book will be of interest to students of clinical psychology, neuropsychology, and neurology, health professionals who work with neurological patients, neurological patients and their families, and lay readers who are simply fascinated by the mind and brain.