Neuropsychological Testing and Assessment (V体育官网入口)

Overview

"V体育安卓版" What is neuropsychological testing?

Neuropsychological testing refers to a number of tests that healthcare providers use to get information about how your brain works V体育官网. Specially trained psychologists — neuropsychologists — look at the results to better understand the relationship between your brain health and behavior, and mood and thinking (cognition). These tests can help healthcare providers:.

• Determine a diagnosis. Your healthcare provider may use your neuropsychological test results to help understand the cause of your issues with thinking and understanding. For example, let’s say you’re having difficulties with memory. Your results might help your provider distinguish between normal changes from aging, a neurological illness, depression, anxiety or other causes.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses in your thinking processes (cognition). Sometimes, your healthcare provider may order tests if you’ve had a neurological injury, like a stroke or traumatic brain injury. They may also test you to get a baseline, for instance, if you play contact sports or have a family history of dementia. This way, your healthcare team can compare future test results to help understand how you’re doing. They may also use baseline results to see whether a treatment is helping you.
• Understand your personal risk for changes in your ability to think that can occur with certain brain surgeries.
• Develop plans for future treatment and interventions like occupational or speech therapy. Providers can use test results to decide the focus of rehab or which strengths might be able to compensate for weaknesses. They may also use neuropsychological test results to recommend adjustments to school or work schedules or to determine which skills are most important to you to work on.

What does a neuropsychological evaluation test for?

In a neuropsychological evaluation, your provider tests your mental functions, which may include:

• General intellect.
• Reading/reading comprehension.
• Your ability to use language and understand what others say.
• Attention/concentration.
• How much time it takes you to receive, understand and respond to information (processing speed).
• Learning and memory.
• Reasoning.
• Higher-level skills you use to organize and plan, manage your time, problem solve, multitask, make judgments and maintain self-control (executive functions).
• Your ability to understand the relationships between objects and space (visuospatial skills). This includes things like drawing, tying shoes, making a bed, etc.
• Fine motor skills.
• Mood and personality.

What does neuropsychological testing diagnose?

Neuropsychological testing doesn’t diagnose a condition directly. But it can give your healthcare providers more information to help them diagnose and manage conditions like: V体育ios版.

• Alzheimer’s disease.
• Brain tumors.
• Dementia.
• Epilepsy.
• Learning disabilities.
• Transient ischemic attack and stroke.
• Traumatic brain injury.
• Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.
• Multiple sclerosis.

When is neuropsychological testing done?

Healthcare providers, like neurologists and primary care specialists, might want neuropsychological testing if they notice trends or changes such as:

• An unexplained change in personality, like an increase in anxiety or depression, the development of delusions or hallucinations.
• Changes in short-term memory, like asking the same question over and over.
• Difficulty communicating or interacting with others.
• Difficulty speaking or finding words.
• Difficulty drawing or using a map.
• Frequently losing items or getting lost easily.
• New difficulty with understanding or managing bills or finances.
• Poor attention and concentration.
• Poor judgment/decision-making.
• Trouble recognizing familiar people, like close family members and friends.
• Trouble staying organized or completing tasks.