Neuropsychological Assessment

Neuropsychological assessment

may be defined as the evaluation of brain and nervous system functioning as it relates to behavior

Lesion

• A pathological alteration of tissue, such as that which could result from injury or infection

• can be physical (physical trauma)

• chemical (neurotransmitter)

Brain damage

A general reference to any physical or functional impairment in the central nervous system

Dopamine

Involved in the reward center of the nervous system

Parkinson’s disease

lower dopamine is equal to limited movement in people with

Acalcula

inability to perform arithmetic calculation

Prosopagnosia

face blindness

Alexia

inability to read

Agraphia

inability to write

Aphasia

inability to speak

Case History

clinician interviews the client (developmental milestone, family history)

Mini Mental Status Examination

Measures concentration, memory, general intellect, language, orientation and attention (screening tool)

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Measuring General Intellectual Ability

Interpret a proverb test

Measuring Abstraction Ability

Clock Drawing Test

Measuring Executive functioning

Bender-Gestalt Test

Measuring motor-perceptual functioning (five senses) and measuring memory

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

useful for internal workings of the brain in realtime

Computerized Axial Tomography Scan

render 3d images of the brain

Positron Emission Tomography

diagnose biological lesions of the brain

Electroencephalogram

record electrical activity of the brain