ABSTRACT
It is a core aim of cognitive neuropsychology to inform theories of cognitive processes and to use data from individuals with cognitive impairments to do so. Nickels, Kohnen, and Biedermann (2010) argued that, in addition to the study of patterns of intact and impaired cognitive processes for testing and extending cognitive theories, treatment1 can also be a powerful tool to achieve these goals. The basic logic behind this enterprise is that the patterns of improvement seen as a result of treatment will differ according to the way knowledge is represented and processed. Hence, treatment can be used to develop and test theories. When successful, this type of research can be an extremely exciting “win/win” approach, achieving both therapeutic and theoretical goals. This issue of Cognitive Neuropsychology is devoted to papers that attempt to do just that. To be included:
(1) Articles must report an intervention (or interventions) with design and analysis that allow the interpretation that the results are attributable to the treatment (rather than to potentially confounding factors like spontaneous recovery or placebo effects); and
(2) The results of intervention must inform theoretical debate regarding the nature of cognitive representation and processing. Moreover, this contribution needs to be specific; a general statement of broader implications is not sufficient.
