Nero Essay Example For Students

Nero Essay A neuropsychologist is a psychologist who specializes in studying brain behavior relationships. Neuropsychologists have extensive training in the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the nervous system. Some neuropsychologists specialize in research while other neuropsychologists specialize in evaluating and treating people who are thought to have something wrong with the way in which their nervous system is functioning. Neuropsychologists study brain behavior relationships under very specific circumstances which are both controlled and standardized. As a general rule, this means using tests which have been validated and which have been shown to have acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity. This means the test can measure the thing it is trying to measure even when the thing it is trying to measure is only present in small amounts and it also means the test can distinguish the thing it is trying to measure from other things. If we wish to measure a thing A then the test has to be able to measureA even when very little of A is present; this is sensitivity. Specificity means when we measure A with our test, we know that the test does not measure B, C, or D.Clinical neuropsychologists evaluate patients using one of three general methods. The first method is to use an assessment technique in which a fixed battery of tests is given and in which we only want to know what functions are impaired and what functions are not impaired. The most commonly used representative of this type of test is the Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Battery. The second method is to use an assessment technique in which a fixed battery of tests is given but in this method there is a hierarchical each subtest so that if a function is impaired, the level at which it is impaired can be determined. The most common representative of this type of test is the Luria Nebraska. Common to both of these tests is a long history of research studies examining the ability of the two batteries to measure dysfunction of the brain and to accurately identify why that dysfunction is occurring. The third method used by neuropsychologists is the flexible battery approach. By definition, the flexible approach is not a battery because when one uses this approach one gives a group of tests allegedly picked for just the particular patient. This means that the particular group of tests is not given to other patients and it is not Neuropsychology involves the study, evaluation, and treatment of known and suspected brain disorders using the methods of psychology. How do neuropsychologists study these brain/behavior relationships? Classically, brain/behavior relationships have been inferred from the study of individuals with head injuries, tumors, neurological disease, and other unpleasant brain pathologies. Behavioral changes are assumed to be due to this brain tissue damage. For instance, if a stroke caused damage to the very back of your brain, it is known that you will more than likely experience visual difficulties eventhough your eyes are perfectly intact. On the other hand, if the stroke caused damage to the very front of your brain, attention, lack of social insight, and sequencing difficulties would be expected. New brain imaging techniques have allowed us to study brain/behavior in people without brain injury, and not surprisingly, basically the same observations have been made. In a nutshell, a large group of the brains functions are said to be localized to different areas. The last 5 to 10 years in behavioral neurology and neuropsychology have seen tremendous advances in the understanding of the brain bases of cognition, perception, and affect. This, in part is due to the development and growing availability of brain imaging techniques, as well as theoretical and methodological progress in cognitive psychology. Evolution And Religion EssayQualitative assessment of neuropsychological tests provides a look at the process of the individual in producing thequantitative scores. The combination of objective scores and behavioral process observations made by the neuropsychologist constitutes the art and science of neuropsychological assessment. The following listing includes some of the more frequently used neuropsychological tests and what they are intended to measure. In order to keep test content and applications confidential to preserve their clinical usefulness, this information is restricted to general information. Test Name Purpose of TestWechsler Adult Intelligence ScaleIIIThis set of 13 separate subtests produces measures of simple memory, knowledge, problem solving, calculation, abstract thinking, spatial orientation, and speed of mental processing. In addition to summary measures of intelligence, performance on each subtest has implicationsfor different neurofunctional domains. The set of tests takes about an hour or more to administer. The WAIS-III is often the foundation for a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Wechsler Memory ScaleIIIThis set of 18 separate subtests yields information about various kinds of memory and learning processes. Summary memory indices are provided in addition to the individual scores of the subtests. The whole set of tests takes about an hour to administer. The WMS-III provides a comprehensive assessment of memory. Halstead Category TestThis test measures concept learning. It examines flexibility of thinking and openness to learning. It is considered a good measure of overall brain function. Wisconsin Card Sort TestSimilar in concept to the Category Test, this procedure also measures the ability to learn concepts. It is considered a good measure of frontal lobe functioning. Trail Making Tests A and BThese rather simple tests measure attention, visual searching, mentalprocessing speed, and the ability to mentally control simultaneousstimulus patterns. These tests are sensitive to global brain status but arenot too sensitive to minor brain injuries. Halstead-Reitan BatteryA set of tests that examines language, attention, motor speed, abstractthinking, memory, and spatial reasoning is often used to produce anoverall assessment of brain function. Some neuropsychologists use someor all of the original set of tests in this battery. Stroop TestThis brief procedure examines attention and mental control. Verbal Fluency (various)There are a variety of verbal fluency tests used. Each is designed tomeasure the speed and flexibility of thought processes. Hooper TestThis procedure examines ability to visually integrate information into wholeperceptions. It is a sensitive measure of moderate to severe brain injury. Aphasia Tests (various)Several aphasia and language tests examine level of competency inreceptive and expressive language skills. California Verbal Learning TestThis procedure examines several aspects of verbal learning and memory. Shipley ScaleComparison of vocabulary knowledge and ability to figure out abstractsequential patterns has been established as a sensitive measure ofgeneral brain functioning. Philosophy