The neuropsychological evaluation includes gathering information and administering testing. Before you begin the testing, your neuropsychologist will collect information about your family, ask questions, and review your medications. You can have a friend or relative accompany you during this process. Next comes the standard testing phase. For valid results, the tests must always be taken in the same manner each time. Most are pen-and-pencil tests. Your doctor will refer you to have the appropriate tests performed. If the doctor has questions about you, the Neuropsychologist tests should be answered.
A neuropsychological assessment can take between 2 and 8 hours, depending on the complexity of the symptoms. People may take longer to complete tests or require additional time between them. You can take the tests over multiple days if you need. Your neuropsychologist will give you a score after you’ve taken your tests. Some tests may show results right away. Your neuropsychologist will prepare a complete report for the referring physician. The neuropsychologist may review your findings with you or the referring doctor.
Your doctor will be able to see how you function through your tests. These tests can help establish a baseline for you if it is your first-ever neuropsychological exam. Your doctor can then tell you if the condition is improving or worsening. Your doctor might use these results to confirm or recommend a diagnosis. However, some principles have proven highly effective for many studies and can be a good starting place for a new study program or a change in approach.
Buzzfeed has recently identified the best methods to study a professor in cognitive science. Christina, our psychologist on staff, weighs in on these techniques and provides some insight into why they work. Professor Amanda Barnier, Macquarie University, said passive reading and highlighting are incompelling.
Christina explains that reading and reciting information is insufficient to transfer the data to your short-term memories. This means we can only retain 5-9 pieces of information simultaneously. Our study must be practical if we want it to stay in our long-term memory. By actively interpreting the text, we add meaning to it.
While writing by hand is more engaging, we can be lazy using the computer. The computer can also help you organize and present information more coherently. However, engaging with the content and the ability to reshuffle/edit content to improve clarity is essentialy. Multiple pieces of information can overwhelm and clutter our minds. Christina recommends creating a mind map to help you visualize how all the information is connected and make it easier to access.
You can also see if your study has covered everything and pinpoint gaps. Additionally, the visual aspect makes it even easier to access information. This helps us reduce our anxiety, so we don’t waste precious time worrying. The purpose of this practice, without notes, is to evaluate our ability to retrieve information without the cues we are used to. This mimics the environment in which the exam takes place.