NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
A neuropsychological assessment is a specialized evaluation designed to measure a person’s brain function including specific mental or cognitive abilities, behaviours, and emotional state. This is accomplished using standardized measures and integrating those results with information from other sources including history forms, clinical interview, observations, information provided by people who know the examinee well, and relevant records (e.g., medical reports, CT/MRI/PET brain imaging, cognitive screening scores).
What is involved?
You can expect a neuropsychologist to interview you, review records, select and administer tests, interpret the results, write a report that will be provided to you or a third-party, and discuss the results and recommendations in a feedback session. The tests are standardized, or in other words, they are administered and scored in the same way for all. This permits accurate and fair comparisons. The tests are well-researched and have been designed for use with older adults. That is, they are known to provide reliable or consistent measurements, and they have an established level of validity to accurately measure certain abilities or skills. This allows the neuropsychologist to identify areas of strength and weakness.
What areas are measured?
The tests that are selected depend on several factors including the age and characteristics of the examinee, and the nature of the referral question(s) - not everyone will complete the same tests. However, areas that are commonly assessed include:
- learning and memory (i.e., the ability to take in, learn, retain, and retrieve new information)
- attention and concentration (e.g., focusing, sustaining, and shifting or dividing attention)
- sensory and perceptual skills (i.e., ability to perceive through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch)
- motor skills (e.g., strength, speed of movement, and fine motor coordination)
- mental speed or speed of information processing
- language (e.g., listening and reading comprehension, speech fluency, word-finding, reading, and writing)
- number calculation skills
- visuospatial abilities (e.g., abilities related to understanding visual relations, direction-finding, and drawing)
- reasoning and general intellectual abilities
- executive functions (e.g., problem-solving, planning, organization, judgment, and mental flexibility, etc.)
- effort and motivation level
- emotional status related to mood, anxiety, and stress, and
- behaviour (e.g., wandering, acting out, or hoarding)
How are the results interpreted?
An examinee's scores are directly compared to a cognitively healthy group of individuals who are similar in age and other important variables. Comparisons might also be made to individuals known to have a particular disease or injury (e.g., mild dementia or a mild brain injury).
How might this be useful?
Neuropsychological assessment can provide a wealth of information and serve many purposes, such as:
- identifying areas of strength and weakness, or specific problem areas
- detecting cognitive impairment, and accurately determining the severity of deficits
- clarifying conditions that may be causing or contributing to one’s cognitive difficulties
- diagnosing neurocognitive or mental disorders (e.g., dementia, mild cognitive impairment, depression)
- establishing a baseline and tracking changes over time via serial assessments
- guiding decisions about treatment and compensation or remediation strategies
- aiding in future planning and establishing reasonable expectations
- addressing specific questions (e.g., decisions about a return to work, safety at home or with driving, or a need for additional support)
Examples of questions that it might answer are listed below:
Can my memory slips be explained by normal aging? Stress? Depression?
Do I have signs of mild cognitive impairment or dementia?
Are the results consistent with a particular disease, such as Alzheimer’s disease?
Are my cognitive problems expected to get worse?
What might help improve my memory and thinking abilities?
Am I able to continue working based on my current level of functioning?
What resources are available for me and my family?