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 1/12/2010 • mcf | Copyright ©2014 Turner White Communications