Neuropsychological and Neurophysiological Assessment

Clinical neuropsychology is an applied science that examines the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral expression of brain function and dysfunction. As psychiatry has increasingly integrated cognitive and affective neuroscience into its conceptual framework and practice, the value of clinical and experimental neuropsychology and neurophysiology has grown accordingly. In the modern society, a new important issue has emerged, which is related to the migration phenomenon. In fact, when administering neuropsychological assessments, it is necessary to take into account the values, experiences, and cognitive styles of the different culture. Other factors to consider are acculturation, language, education quality and literacy, poverty and low socioeconomic status, familiarity with the evaluation process, and communication style. Considering that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, there is the urgent need to assess and treat culturally different individuals with appropriate neuropsychological tests, which should take into account the different sociocultural backgrounds. Moreover, another innovation in neuropsychology is related to the development of technology and the availability of computer- and tablet-based neuropsychological assessments. These computerized neuropsychological assessment devices require fewer staff resources and less time to be administer and scored and may represent a viable alternative. In this chapter, the main neuropsychological assessment tools and the innovations in the field of neurophysiology have been summarized.