Neuropsychological Assessment of Dementia

Department of Psychiatry and Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center-Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, U.S.A. Neuropsychological assessment plays an important part in the differential diagnosis of dementing disorders, particularly in clinically ambiguous situations (e.g., suspected early dementia) and in the context of confounding factors, such as the presence of a superimposed depression or advanced age (1, 2). Within the medical evaluation of dementia, the neuropsychological evaluation provides unique information in the form of a “behavioral sample” that can be used to determine in an objective, quantifiable manner the presence of cognitive symptoms and their functional significance. To accomplish these basic aims, the neuropsychological examination employs rigorous, standardized psychometric tests of memory and cognitive function and relies heavily on the application of normative standards and on a fundamental understanding of brain function. The examination results in metric values for discrete cognitive and behavioral capacities, which can then be used by the examining clinician to arrive at diagnostic inferences, to make judgments of functional abilities, and to establish a benchmark for monitoring future change and responsiveness to medical treatments and therapies.

Duke Scholars

Author Kathleen Anne Welsh-Bohmer Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neur ...