ABSTRACT
Neuropsychology contains many relatively familiar categories of patient presentations: traumatic brain injury, stroke, and dementia. This chapter offers the description of one of the cases, by describing the investigation of a patient with locked-in syndrome (LIS). A key element of working with LIS patients is the adaptation and flexibility of the neuropsychologist in modifying the way in which they relate to, and assess, these patients. There are several ways in which the complexity of working with these patients presents itself: the adaptation of assessment instruments, the exploration of mental status and the development of a therapeutic relationship. These adaptations allow us to explore the complexity of separating and integrating cognitive and emotional/dynamic elements in a patient presentation. Neuropsychology has well-established tools, but the must inevitably be adapted when working with LIS patients, undercutting psychometric validity. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the number of studies reporting the neuropsychological status of these patients is discrete.
