RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Neuropsychological testing
JF Practical Neurology
JO Pract Neurol
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP practneurol-2017-001743
DO 10.1136/practneurol-2017-001743
A1 Chiara Zucchella
A1 Angela Federico
A1 Alice Martini
A1 Michele Tinazzi
A1 Michelangelo Bartolo
A1 Stefano Tamburin
YR 2018
UL http://pn.bmj.com/content/early/2018/02/22/practneurol-2017-001743.abstract
AB Neuropsychological testing is a key diagnostic tool for assessing people with dementia and mild cognitive impairment, but can also help in other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. While cognitive screening tests offer gross information, detailed neuropsychological evaluation can provide data on different cognitive domains (visuospatial function, memory, attention, executive function, language and praxis) as well as neuropsychiatric and behavioural features. We should regard neuropsychological testing as an extension of the neurological examination applied to higher order cortical function, since each cognitive domain has an anatomical substrate. Ideally, neurologists should discuss the indications and results of neuropsychological assessment with a clinical neuropsychologist. This paper summarises the rationale, indications, main features, most common tests and pitfalls in neuropsychological evaluation.