Neuropsychological testing defines the neurobehavioral significance of neuroimaging-identified abnormalities.
Three cases are presented in patients all of whom sustained focal left frontal traumatic injury to the brain. Although each case was selected because of a neuroimaging-identified frontal lesion, the point is made that the behavioral significance of such lesions is defined by the neuropsychological examination process, and not the specific size, location, or type of lesion. While neuroimaging information is critical to the comprehensive evaluation of the neurologic patient, neuroimaging findings alone have only limited predictive ability with regard to neurobehavioral syndromes. The key role of information from neuropsychological test data, combined with neuroimaging findings to fully evaluate the neurologic patient, is made.
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, 1001 Kimball Tower, Provo, UT 84602, USA. erin_bigler@byu.edu
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Bigler