Neuropsychological Testing

Neuropsychological testing is used to assess and diagnosis brain impairments, such as a head injury, dementia, or Alzheimer’s (Gregory, 1999). Purposes of neuropsychological assessments include determining if the problem is physiological (e.g., brain damage or lesion), the nature of the dysfunction (e.g., location or type), and cognitive deficits caused by the problem (Class Notes VIII). For example, following a brain injury, a neurological battery of tests may be given in order to assess the individual to see if there has been any change in cognitive functioning. Results from neurological assessments can provide information on the individual’s current mental capacities, which allows for the development of a specific diagnosis and an individualized treatment plan (Gregory, 1999). Additionally, these tests help document the effects of a progressive illness (i.e., Alzheimer’s) or can confirm the individual’s recovery (Gregory, 1999). Furthermore, if suspicion or referral questions about cognitive functioning are presented, then screening tests are often given beforehand to assess whether or not a neurological test battery or flexible battery is required. These screening tests are shorter versions that are easier to administer and interpret than the long intensive neurological test batteries (Gregory, 1999).

A neuropsychological battery of assessments examines areas that are sensitive to brain trauma or disorders, such as intelligence, memory, language, visuospatial and motor abilities, and frontal lobe functioning. The WAIS is specifically useful to neuropsychological testing because it can be used to examine these same areas. The intelligence aspect is generally measured by a standard intelligence test like the WAIS-III or WAIS-I...

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...r-level concept formation. Furthermore, reading ability on the WAIS-III can predict the score on the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WRAT). Some problems with using this approach is that reading is dependent on education and verbal abilities and brain damage can cause problems with reading ability (e.g., aphasias), so another test would have to be administered in the neuropsychological evaluation (Schoenberg et al., 2002).

Overall, the WAIS can be a useful tool to include in a neuropsychological battery. It can help estimate a person’s premorbid IQ and some of the individual subtests can provide insight into the section of the brain that may be dysfunctional. However, the WAIS may also be a difficult test to use to estimate cognitive decline, because there are so many tasks involved in the WAIS tasks that it is hard to separate out what they real problem may be.