ABSTRACT

One of the earliest accounts of the physical, neurocognitive, and neurobehavioral consequences of acquired brain injury was penned by renowned neurologist Kurt Goldstein1 in his book published in 1942, Aftereffects of Brain Injuries in War. In this comprehensive volume, Goldstein1 described characteristic symptoms of patient’s with acquired brain injury based upon his clinical experiences in monitoring and treating numerous patients after combat, some over the course of 10 years. Goldstein1 observed precise insights regarding the scope and genesis of disorders of motor output, sensory input, visuospatial, brainstem, and frontal lobe functions. His neurologic insights converged with his methods of assessment of cognitive functions and impairments, and described his approach to what would today be considered elements of the neuropsychological evaluation. These investigations are carried out for the following reasons:

To evaluate some of the mental functions usually separated in psychology, such as • memory and attention. To evaluate the patient’s general level of performance. Some mental and physical • performances are investigated over a period of time. The results obtained here are also useful for our judgment of the subject’s capacity in general. To ascertain the circumscribed mental defects, in detail, as a basis for procedure • in retraining. To study the subject’s working capacity in special kinds of labor.• p.92