Assessment [RETIRED]

This report considers the use of neuropsychological assessment of adults for neurologists, including the appropriate application and limitations of neuropsychological testing, specific disorders where evaluation is pertinent, and issues surrounding neuropsychological consultation to neurologists. The report excludes neuropsychological testing in developmental disorders. The report was assembled from a review of the pertinent literature, opinions, and information from experts in the fields of Neurology and Neuropsychology and input from the Academy at large. Diseases of the brain commonly produce changes in behavior, including impairment of cognitive abilities and production of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Knowledge of the presence and characteristics of these behavioral changes can aid in the diagnosis, management, and longitudinal care of patients with neurologic disease. Neuropsychological evaluation is one means of garnering quantitative information about behavioral changes in patients with known neurologic diseases or who are considered to be at risk for brain dysfunction. Neuropsychological evaluation can characterize cognitive and behavioral disturbances and may be helpful to the clinician in the course of diagnostic assessment, rehabilitation planning, or development of a management plan. Like other tests, neuropsychological assessments are of limited usefulness by themselves and must be interpreted in conjunction with other clinical, imaging, and laboratory information. Neuropsychological evaluations have the advantage of being objective, safe, portable, and relevant to the functional integrity of the brain. Results of neuropsychological assessment must be considered in the context of the patient's age, education, socioeconomic status, and cultural background. These factors can affect test performance and condition the conclusions that can be inferred from the evaluation. In addition, issues involved in test construction such as the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the assessment procedures have an impact on the conclusions that can be drawn from neuropsychological evaluations. [1] ### Neuropsychologic tests and neurologic function. Many widely used psychological tests were constructed before the emergence of much of the currently …