What Is A Neuropsychological Evaluation?

A neuropsychological or cognitive evaluation is a diagnostic method designed specifically to explore people’s cognitive function. It provides valuable information that may not appear in other types of surveys. As such, healthcare professionals use it as a supplement to brain scans or radiology.

Neuropsychological evaluation allows us to study the activity and function of cognitive brain systems by exploring higher-level abilities. Therefore, healthcare professionals use this evaluation in patients with brain damage. It can help them determine the extent of the intellectual harm. They also use it on patients who want to keep an eye on their mental function.

Types of neuropsychological evaluation

No two patients are alike. That is why it is so important that the neuropsychological evaluation is flexible. It must be adapted to each clinical case.

Cognitive evaluation

The main goal of cognitive evaluation is to analyze a person’s attention span, memory, language and executive functions. Executive functions include planning, prevention, control, oversight and organization. To do this, psychologists use standardized tests that record quantitative and qualitative information.

The patient’s attitude to the test and the conduct of the test are as important or more important than the results. To evaluate someone with brain damage, the numerical score has a meaning. However, it is equally important for a professional to observe and evaluate the patient when taking the test.

In most cases, information from family members is crucial. This is because people with mental health problems are sometimes unaware that their intellectual capacity is different. So information from close relatives and friends is important for an accurate assessment.

Executive functions and social cognition

This type of neuropsychological evaluation is very common for children. It consists of a series of neuropsychological tasks that measure maturity level and cognitive performance. These tests look at inhibition control, as well as multi-tasking and social skills. The ultimate goal is the adaptation of interpersonal strategies that children use in everyday life.

Visual-spatial functions

Visual-spatial features are very useful in our daily lives. They allow us to represent, analyze and manipulate objects with our thoughts. Without them, it would be impossible to pour water into a glass without causing it to overflow, for example.

What may appear to be a vision problem at first may actually have more to do with brain function. They are related to information processing in later stages. In other words, to process basic information related to the connecting areas of the cerebral cortex.

The most common tool for this type of evaluation is Poppelreuter tests. These tests consist of a series of figures that overlap and overlap. The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery is also very common.

As you can see, a neuropsychological evaluation measures a number of things. Among them are general intellectual abilities, language, personality, temperament, attention span, memory and other skills at a high level. Experts analyze some abilities more than others, depending on the patient’s needs.

A neuropsychological evaluation can be crucial to make a correct diagnosis

A neuropsychological evaluation has many uses and uses. One of them is to identify which areas or intellectual functions have been changed. For example, it helps to identify disorders or memory problems that would otherwise be impossible to detect.

In fact, the neuropsychological battery is often the only professional tool that can lead to the early detection of some pathologies. As such, they are important in diagnosing Alzheimer’s. They can also help identify attention problems related to diabetes or alcoholism.

They also allow physicians to distinguish between possible diagnoses with the same clinical profile. In other words , neuropsychological evaluation is the key to differentiating between diseases. It can help determine the cause of the patient’s cognitive changes. For example, whether a stroke or deep depression causes the changes.

However, it is important not to confuse neuropsychological evaluation with just taking neuropsychological tests or quizzes. It’s much more than that. Administration of tests and quizzes is only part of this type of evaluation.