Neuropsychological test

Neuropsychology
Topics Brain regions Clinical neuropsychology Cognitive neuropsychology Cognitive neuroscience Dementia Human brain Neuroanatomy Neurophysiology Neuropsychological assessment Neuropsychological rehabilitation Traumatic brain injury
Brain functions Arousal Attention Consciousness Decision making Executive functions Natural language Learning Memory Motor coordination Perception Planning Problem solving Thought
People Alan Baddeley Arthur L. Benton David Bohm Antonio Damasio Phineas Gage Norman Geschwind Elkhonon Goldberg Patricia Goldman-Rakic Donald O. Hebb Kenneth Heilman Eric Kandel Edith Kaplan Muriel Lezak Benjamin Libet Rodolfo Llinás Alexander Luria Brenda Milner Karl H. Pribram Pasko Rakic Oliver Sacks Mark Rosenzweig Roger W. Sperry Hans-Lukas Teuber Henry Molaison ("H.M.", patient) K.C. (patient)
Tests Benton Visual Retention Test Continuous Performance Task Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery Hayling and Brixton tests Lexical Decision Task Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery Mini–mental state examination Rey–Osterrieth complex figure Stroop Test Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Wechsler Memory Scale Wisconsin Card Sorting Task
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Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks that are used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway.^[1] Tests are used for research into brain function and in a clinical setting for the diagnosis of deficits. They usually involve the systematic administration of clearly defined procedures in a formal environment. Neuropsychological tests are typically administered to a single person working with an examiner in a quiet office environment, free from distractions. As such, it can be argued that neuropsychological tests at times offer an estimate of a person's peak level of cognitive performance. Neuropsychological tests are a core component of the process of conducting neuropsychological assessment, along with personal, interpersonal and contextual factors.

Most neuropsychological tests in current use are based on traditional psychometric theory. In this model, a person's raw score on a test is compared to a large general population normative sample, that should ideally be drawn from a comparable population to the person being examined. Normative studies frequently provide data stratified by age, level of education, and/or ethnicity, where such factors have been shown by research to affect performance on a particular test. This allows for a person's performance to be compared to a suitable control group, and thus provide a fair assessment of their current cognitive function.

According to Larry J. Seidman, the analysis of the wide range of neuropsychological tests can be broken down into four categories. First is an analysis of overall performance, or how well people do from test to test along with how they perform in comparison to the average score. Second is left-right comparisons: how well a person performs on specific tasks that deal with the left and right side of the body. Third is pathognomic signs, or specific test results that directly relate to a distinct disorder. Finally, the last category is differential patterns, which are typically used to diagnose specific diseases or types of damage.^[2]