Part 3: Neuropsychological Evaluation in Clinical Practice: Overview and Approach

Lynn W. Shaughnessy, MA, Maureen K. O’Connor, PsyD, ABCN, and Janet C. Sherman, PhD

Ms. Shaughnessy is a student, Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, West Roxbury, MA. Dr. O’Connor is an instructor, Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, and Director of Neuropsychology, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA. Dr. Sherman is an assistant professor, Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, and clinical director, Psychology Assessment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Question 5

A neurologist who is interested in determining whether a specific new treatment may improve a patient’s memory functioning requests a neuropsychological evaluation to help address this question. Which of the following approaches would be most helpful in determining if this treatment is effective?

  •  Assess only the domain of interest, in this case the patient’s memory functioning
  •  Provide a broad assessment that assesses all domains of cognitive functioning
  •  Recommend that the patient be seen for a baseline evaluation prior to onset of
    treatment and for reevaluation at 1- to 6-month intervals following onset of
    treatment
  •  Recommend that the patient be seen after the treatment has been initiated to
    determine if the patient’s scores on neuropsychological measures are within
    normal limits

Updated 12/03/2014 • jdw | Copyright ©2015 Turner White Communications