What's wrong and what's right in neuropsychology and neuropsychiatry.
There has been a recent converging of interests by psychiatrists and psychologists in subjective mental phenomena. Examples of topics where these converging interests arise include the relationship of confabulation and delusional memories, the nature of face-processing deficits in prosopagnosia and the Capgras delusion, and hierarchial models of psychological function. These developments are very much welcomed; but the over-interpretation of neuropsychological test findings in neuropsychiatry, and the occasional failure to take account of clinical context (particularly the psychiatric background) in neuropsychology, are also noted. Cognitive neuropsychiatry appears to have emerged as a label to identify this converging of interests, modelling itself on cognitive neuropsychology. The potential benefits and limitations of such an approach are discussed.
Neuropsychiatry and Memory Disorders Clinic, Division of Psychiatry and Psychology, United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital, London, UK.
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MD
Kopelman