ABSTRACT
Neuropsychology originally developed in the mid-1900s as a method of using assessment of various cognitive skills to identify which areas of the brain (primarily cortex) were damaged and dysfunctional. at is, language decits would point to damage to the le hemisphere in most individuals, while dysfunction in visual perceptual/spatial abilities would implicate injury to the right hemisphere. Likewise, losses in verbal versus visual learning and memory would suggest damage to le and right medial temporal lobe structures, respectively. Disturbances in sequencing, problem solving, mental exibility, multitasking/divided attention, and response inhibition would be consistent with dysfunction of frontal and subfrontal structures. Weaknesses in motor dexterity and strength of the hands/ngers could signal disruption of motor strips of the contralateral hemispheres. However, with advent of sophisticated brain imaging techniques, the use of testing to localize brain damage became less important. Instead, the focus of neuropsychological testing came to emphasize objective quantication of cognitive abnormalities for the prediction of function in daily life activities.
