This practical volume covers all aspects of the neuropsychological assessment of children, adults, and the elderly. Three sections deal with-developmental considerations-the various neurobehavioral disorders-and specialized assessment of individual cognitive functions, including abstraction, memory, language, spatial perception, and motor skills. Two noteworthy chapters discuss neuropsychiatric disorders and assessment methods used in behavioral neurology. This interdisciplinary book addresses not only the needs of neuropsychologists but also those of other psychologists and rehabilitation specialists as well.
This third volume of the Advances in Clinical Neuropsychology series mirrors the format of the first, featuring a range of contributions across diverse areas. It includes chapters on specific neuropsychological conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, Huntington's disease, head trauma in children, and hepatic encephalopathy. Additionally, it addresses neurobehavioral assessment, with one chapter focusing on CT scans and another on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Test Battery. Several empirical reviews are also presented, discussing topics like sex differences in brain function, the neuropsychology of emotion, the correlation between neuropsychological test results and patient-reported disabilities, and mechanisms of amnesia. This volume upholds the tradition of blending basic science with clinical relevance, reflecting the ongoing commitment to advancing knowledge in neuropsychology. The editors acknowledge support from the Veterans Administration medical research program and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. They also express gratitude to the chapter authors and commend Kathy Lou Edwards for her exceptional editorial and administrative contributions. February 1986, Gerald Goldstein, Ph.D., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ralph E. Tarter, Ph.D.
Basic Issues in Rehabilitation of the Brain Damaged Definitions Because of the vagueness surrounding the term brain damage, it is nec- essary at the outset to define the population to which this book may have some application. Although it is usual to speak of the brain- damaged patient in a general way, the conditions referred to cover a variety of specific disorders. In this book we will be discussing only individuals who become brain-damaged as adults. We will be ad- dressing ourselves specifically to adults who have sustained demon- strable, structural brain damage. Those conditions in which brain dys- function is a possible etiological agent, such as a number of functional psychiatric disorders, will not be considered. Thus the entire topic of mental retardation and early life brain damage will not be treated here, nor the many problems associated with minimal brain damage syn- dromes in school age children. Modern psychiatric thinking has tended to blur the distinction between the so-called functional and organic disorders (d. Shagass, Gershon, & Friedhoff, 1977), but we would ad- here to the view that the patient with structural brain damage contin- ues to present relatively unique assessment and treatment problems. Furthermore, the emphasis of this book will be placed on individ- uals with nonprogressive, chronic brain damage.
