Neuropsychological evaluations
Neuropsychological evaluations are used to assess how the brain functions in various domains, such as language, memory, attention, visuo-spatial reasoning, executive functioning, fine motor skills, learning, and processing speed. These evaluations are usually completed to determine your if and how your cognitive functioning has changed after experiencing a traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, stroke, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia. These evaluations can also assist in determining eligibility for certain services, or to measure adaptive functioning, such as your ability to make financial or medical decisions. Consultation with your neurologist or medical doctor can help focus medical treatment.
Neuropsychological evaluations include the interview (to understand your symptoms and background information), psychodiagnostics testing (to assess for mental health concerns that can exacerbate or mimic neurocognitive difficulties), and the neurocognitive testing (which measures the various domains of cognitive functioning). These evaluations can take six to eight hours to complete, and are often broken into two testing days.
What is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)? TBI is defined as a blow, bump, or jolt to the head that disrupts the brain’s ability to function. Common causes of TBI include falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, falls, and assaults. A TBI’s impact on a person’s ability to function depends on the severity and location of the damage to the brain. TBI can be considered mild, moderate or severe; there can be long-term consequences of TBI depending on severity and an individual may require rehabilitation to re-acquire skills. Some individuals with mild TBI may still experience long-term difficulties and neuropsychological testing can help plan a course of treatment.
How is mild cognitive impairment different from dementia? Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is defined as relatively isolated cognitive impairment beyond what is seen in normal aging. It is sometimes thought of as a lead-in phase for dementia. MCI does not dramatically interfere with a person’s everyday functioning. There are several classifications of MCI which include memory impairment with or without any other cognitive impairment, and no memory impairment with a deficit in one or several other domains (executive functioning, language, visuospatial processing).
Dementia is a progressive, degenerative brain disorder that affects at least two brain areas: memory, language, judgment, behavior, and visuospatial skills. A neuropsychological evaluation may be requested to help determine if there has been a decline in functioning, as well as changes in mood (guardedness, suspiciousness, irritability, depression, apathy).