ABSTRACT
Neuropsychological assessment of the severely head-injured is important because such cases are relatively common causes of continuing significant disability. There are several reasons for carrying out a neuropsychological assessment of an individual who has sustained a severe head injury. Physical impairments which in themselves are not of major importance may in combination with cognitive impairments lead to the patient's job prospects being very much curtailed. Whereas physical deficits are not the direct concern of psychologists, it should be borne in mind that they may have psychological effects. The mental state examination in neuropsychology is very similar to that used in psychiatry but much shorter. The characteristic picture is that abilities which are overlearned and well-practised, and which, presumably, involve a considerable element of redundancy, such as familiar verbal tasks, the use of language, capacity to define words, capacity to retrieve general knowledge. Assessing the head-injured requires observational, interviewing, and formal testing skills.
