Principles and Practices of Neuropsychological Assessment

Abstract

Neuropsychological assessment involves integration of data from neurocognitive and psychological tests, sociodemographic data, medical and school records, neuroimaging results, and collateral information to identify, quantify, and describe brain dysfunction. Neuropsychologists evaluate patients across the age range who present with neurological, neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurodegenerative conditions. This article reviews principles and practices in neuropsychological assessment. We provide descriptions of the purpose and principles that guide a neuropsychological assessment approach. We provide details regarding neuropsychological test selection and interpretation and review specific neuropsychological domains that are typically assessed, with exemplar tests for each domain. We conclude with future directions in neuropsychological assessment.