Basics of neuropsychology
Neuropsychology: all about the relationships between brain and behaviour, about the
effects of a brain disorder on someone’s behaviour.
fundamental neuropsychological research: about the understanding of underlying cognitive
disorders and related brain structures using experiments, like the Posner task.
clinically oriented neuropsychological research: about the classification of symptoms
(assessment), usefulness of test instruments (treatment of brain disorders).
- normally it is better to use standardised tests because you can compare the results better
to others, sometimes using experimental tests can provide more specific information.
- a standardised test can contain only a limited number of tests and is usually not precise
enough for individuals.
- missing values: problems with interpreting and analysis of the results because the patient
didn’t complete the test due to complaints.
neuro-myth: a misconception generated by a misunderstanding/misreading etc. based on
brain research. They often originate from overgeneralizations of empirical research.
Where neuropsychologists can work:
- hospital: when working in a teaching hospital, neuropsychologists are usually bonded to a
university and carry out more scientific research. When working in a general hospital, they
mainly provide patient care.
their main job is to identify the cause of cognitive complaints or to assess the effects
of brain injury that has been identified already.
psychoeducation: explaining the effects of a brain disorder to the patient and give
them a clear insight into their strengths and weaknesses.
often has to do with Alzheimer, brain injuries, strokes, dementia, epilepsy etc.
- rehabilitation centre: multidisciplinary work, especially working on treatment rather than
identifying diagnosis.
main focus is on therapy and on treating patients how to cope with their injury and
its consequences.
Working together with speech therapists, physiotherapists and social workers etc.
- mental health care: explaining a patient’s behaviour using a neuropsychiatric model with
cognitive disorders at its centre, like why someone is hallucinating.
often has to do with bipolar, depression, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, addiction etc.
- residential homes: evaluating cognitive skills on elderly with for example dementia and
expecting the course of complaints for the future.
\
very varied work and also giving a lot of advice how to handle patients the best way.
- forensic institutions: researching the neuropsychological basis for criminal behaviour.
assessing the cognitive condition of a criminal for example.
, Subtraction method
- reaction time paradigm: subtract the reaction time from an easier task from the
reaction time that involves more thinking to get a specific part of the whole reaction
time. This is used to predict the speed of cognitive processes. Not very reliable
- pure insertions: a single cognitive process can be inserted into a task without
affecting the duration of other processes.
- potentially there are other mental processes involved in the task
Dissociation
- identifying and localizing mental functions in the brain using case studies,
neuroimaging or neuropsychological testing.
- dissociation: a selective loss of function, so only a specific part of cognitive
functioning has been lost. There is only a dissociation when the difference between
the performances on both tasks is bigger than the reliability interval.
- single dissociation: task A is impossible to do but simpler task B is still possible for
the patient, so the sub-processes are independent of each other when each of them
can be disrupted separately. So there is a difference between tasks due to brain
lesion which must be associated with the aspect of behaviour studied.
- double dissociation: two or more independent cognitive processes rely on different
brain regions or mechanisms (comparing 2 patients with two different lesions and 2
impairments). Like in recognizing faces and recognizing emotions.
Test-retest effect: when a patient with brain damage takes a test twice to measure
progress and then scores way higher the second time, this is not due to actual
progress but just because the patient was already familiar with the test the second
time. This is a problem on longitudinal research but is solved by adding a control
group.
Multiple baseline design is a very good way of testing whether or not a treatment is
effective, by measuring multiple patients beginning before the treatment.
Neuropsychology: all about the relationships between brain and behaviour, about the
effects of a brain disorder on someone’s behaviour.
fundamental neuropsychological research: about the understanding of underlying cognitive
disorders and related brain structures using experiments, like the Posner task.
clinically oriented neuropsychological research: about the classification of symptoms
(assessment), usefulness of test instruments (treatment of brain disorders).
- normally it is better to use standardised tests because you can compare the results better
to others, sometimes using experimental tests can provide more specific information.
- a standardised test can contain only a limited number of tests and is usually not precise
enough for individuals.
- missing values: problems with interpreting and analysis of the results because the patient
didn’t complete the test due to complaints.
neuro-myth: a misconception generated by a misunderstanding/misreading etc. based on
brain research. They often originate from overgeneralizations of empirical research.
Where neuropsychologists can work:
- hospital: when working in a teaching hospital, neuropsychologists are usually bonded to a
university and carry out more scientific research. When working in a general hospital, they
mainly provide patient care.
their main job is to identify the cause of cognitive complaints or to assess the effects
of brain injury that has been identified already.
psychoeducation: explaining the effects of a brain disorder to the patient and give
them a clear insight into their strengths and weaknesses.
often has to do with Alzheimer, brain injuries, strokes, dementia, epilepsy etc.
- rehabilitation centre: multidisciplinary work, especially working on treatment rather than
identifying diagnosis.
main focus is on therapy and on treating patients how to cope with their injury and
its consequences.
Working together with speech therapists, physiotherapists and social workers etc.
- mental health care: explaining a patient’s behaviour using a neuropsychiatric model with
cognitive disorders at its centre, like why someone is hallucinating.
often has to do with bipolar, depression, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, addiction etc.
- residential homes: evaluating cognitive skills on elderly with for example dementia and
expecting the course of complaints for the future.
\
very varied work and also giving a lot of advice how to handle patients the best way.
- forensic institutions: researching the neuropsychological basis for criminal behaviour.
assessing the cognitive condition of a criminal for example.
, Subtraction method
- reaction time paradigm: subtract the reaction time from an easier task from the
reaction time that involves more thinking to get a specific part of the whole reaction
time. This is used to predict the speed of cognitive processes. Not very reliable
- pure insertions: a single cognitive process can be inserted into a task without
affecting the duration of other processes.
- potentially there are other mental processes involved in the task
Dissociation
- identifying and localizing mental functions in the brain using case studies,
neuroimaging or neuropsychological testing.
- dissociation: a selective loss of function, so only a specific part of cognitive
functioning has been lost. There is only a dissociation when the difference between
the performances on both tasks is bigger than the reliability interval.
- single dissociation: task A is impossible to do but simpler task B is still possible for
the patient, so the sub-processes are independent of each other when each of them
can be disrupted separately. So there is a difference between tasks due to brain
lesion which must be associated with the aspect of behaviour studied.
- double dissociation: two or more independent cognitive processes rely on different
brain regions or mechanisms (comparing 2 patients with two different lesions and 2
impairments). Like in recognizing faces and recognizing emotions.
Test-retest effect: when a patient with brain damage takes a test twice to measure
progress and then scores way higher the second time, this is not due to actual
progress but just because the patient was already familiar with the test the second
time. This is a problem on longitudinal research but is solved by adding a control
group.
Multiple baseline design is a very good way of testing whether or not a treatment is
effective, by measuring multiple patients beginning before the treatment.
