ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some concepts of probabilities relevant for the neuropsychological clinical practice. Neuropsychologists often collect test scores to estimate the probability that the examinee's cognitive profile is compatible with a given disorder (e.g., a neurodegenerative disorder like Alzheimer's disease). Concepts originating from biostatistics and clinical decisions, such as sensitivity and specificity of a test, are discussed, as well as the statistical tools available to the neuropsychologist. The final part of the Chapter briefly introduces Bayes’ Theorem and its relevance in clinical neuropsychology. In particular, the Chapter discusses how lack of knowledge of prior probabilities hampers the possibility of drawing clear-cut conclusions about probabilities from test scores. For this reason, the chapter reinforces the importance of interpreting the tests, as previously discussed in Chapter 6.
