Neuropsychology studies changes in behavior and cognition after brain damage. It is an applied science that helps diagnose cognitive disorders and develop treatments. Neuropsychologists use psychological and neurological tools, computer simulations, and clinical trials to better understand the brain. Experimental neuropsychology studies healthy individuals to understand how the brain works.
Neuropsychology is the study of changes in human behavior and cognitive functioning, often after some sort of physical damage to the brain. It is therefore an intersection between psychology and clinical neurology. For the most part, neuropsychology is an applied science, and most neuropsychologists are actively trying to help patients in a clinical setting. Outside of clinical treatment, neuropsychologists may also be active in diagnosing behavioral changes in people for court cases, providing insight into hard-wired psychological responses for product design, studying healthy patients’ responses to stimuli, or working on new treatments clinics for ailments.
In clinical trials, neuropsychology often examines people who have suffered some kind of brain injury. By looking at the type of injury, the area affected and the symptoms, they help to better understand how different areas of the brain affect behavior and cognition. This work has helped create a better map of the brain over the past two decades and has given neuropsychologists better tools to do their job.
When faced with a patient suffering from some sort of cognitive disorder, the first task a neuropsychologist takes on is to attempt to find out whether the disorder is caused by a real physical pathology, or if it is purely a psychological disorder. This is done using both psychological and neurological tools. For example, a patient may undertake a series of different standardized tests, examining their memory function, broad intelligence, visual retention, and word association. They may also undergo a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) test or a positron emission topography (PET) test to see if there are any visible problems with the brain.
In recent years, neuropsychology has begun to use computer simulations more and more effectively. Called connectionism, this approach to neuropsychology uses complex artificial neural networks to simulate the human brain at a very basic level. Once a reasonable model has been developed, it can be artificially damaged, simulating injury or other physical trauma, to see what happens. While no artificial neural network comes close to perfectly simulating the human brain, the level of scrutiny and data obtained make connectionism a very effective way to learn more about the consequences of brain injury.
While most neuropsychology takes place on a clinical level, a great deal of popular interest focuses on experimental neuropsychology. This school studies healthy individuals, rather than those suffering from some sort of brain trauma, and sees how they respond to different inputs. This is done to try to better understand how our brain works and how it is affected by responses from our nervous system, which in turn can help clinical researchers discover new cures and treatments. Due to their popular nature, studies conducted by experimental neuropsychologists are often written up by journalists in popular publications.
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