The traditional practice of Neuropsychological Assessment was to check and analyze the extent of a particular skill of a person that has been impaired and it also assisted in locating a specific area in the brain which could have been damaged as a result of a brain injury. There are many new neuroimaging technologies nowadays that accurately locate a section of the brain that has been injured. So, the focus of Neuropsychological Assessment has shifted to measuring the behavior and cognitive functioning of the brain which also includes the examination of effects of head injury. After a traumatic brain injury, the behavior and functioning of different parts of the brain can be affected. Using Neuropsychological Assessment, the underlying problems can be determined so that further medication and rehabilitation process can be decided if required.
The cognitive functioning of the brain is assessed by conducting neuropsychological tests. Neuropsychological tests are especially developed tasks that are used in the measurement of cognitive functions which are linked with a specific structure in the brain. With the help of these tests, different aspects of cognitive functioning such as newly learnt skills, memory, orientation, language, intelligence and perception of vision can be assessed. There are various tests designed specifically for the assessment of different cognitive functions and behavior of brain structures. Clinical Neuropsychological Assessment also helps in determining the state of mind of a person after a traumatic brain injury by focusing on the psychological, personal and other contextual conditions of that person.
There are three objectives of Neuropsychological Assessment:
- The first objective is the diagnosis of head injury that is to examine whether a person is suffering from a traumatic brain injury.
- The second objective is to analyze and understand the nature of head injury and the cognitive problems aroused as a result. The analysis can be used to estimate the impact of head injury on the patient and also to plan the further medication and rehabilitation process. It can also suggest whether the patient is fit and has the ability to perform certain activities like driving or returning back to work.
- The third objective of Neuropsychological Assessment is to measure the change in the behavior and cognition of the brain after a recovery from TBI.
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