Neuropsychological deficits are common in various cerebrovascular, neurodegenerative and traumatic pathologies. Neuropsychological rehabilitation refers to a set of interventions that aim to improve a person's ability to perform cognitive tasks by retraining previously learned skills and teaching compensatory strategies. However, today there are some relevant points that need of further investi...

The recent report on neuropsychological testing of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has implications for neuropsychologists as well as neurologists. The subcommittee's report omits mention of standardized neuropsychological test batteries used by a majority of practicing neuropsychologists, and of the demonstrated validity of suc...

Neuropsychological theories have traditionally attempted to provide a unifying account of the complex and diverse behavioral manifestations of autism in terms of their underlying psychological mechanisms and associated brain bases. This article reviews three competing neuropsychological theories of autism: the executive dysfunction hypothesis, the weak central coherence hypothesis, and the limb...

Overwhelming evidence suggests that compromised neuropsychological function is frequently observed in schizophrenia. The neuropsychological profile is typically characterized by prominent specific deficits in memory and learning, working memory, executive functions, attention, and processing speed, which are evident on a background of a generalized cognitive deficit. This paper provides a revie...

Neuropsychological assessment offers a rigorous method of identifying the presence, extent and severity of cognitive impairments. Brief observation and informal interaction can yield valuable information about a patient’s condition, but this level of assessment does not usually provide a sufficient foundation for evaluating the degree or extent of cognitive difficulties, and may mean that subtl...

OBJECTIVE To describe the methods used for neuropsychological assessment in children, emphasizing aspects of interest to pediatricians, psychologists and neurologists. SOURCES OF DATA Review of the published literature concerning neuropsychological assessment, including textbooks and reference manuals. The experience of the Neuropsychology Unit at Hospital São Lucas, Brazil, is described. S...