Neuropsychological Tools for Dementia

In most countries around the world the median age of the population is rapidly becoming older. As a result, the need for effective diagnosis and treatment of age-related disorders is greater than ever. Much attention has been directed at Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is the most common form of dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that 5.2 million people in the United States had a clinical diagnosis of AD in 2014, and the number of people with a diagnosis of AD is projected to increase to 13.8 million people in 2050, unless effective preventative or treatment strategies are developed. Neuropsychological Tools for Dementia: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment takes a unique approach by combining neuroscientific background of neuropsychology, neuropsychological tools for diagnosis and disease staging, and neuropsychological treatment into one comprehensive book for researchers and clinicians. The book is divided into seven distinct sections: (1) Introduction to neuropsychological assessment in dementias, (2) Alzheimer’s disease, (3) Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia (alpha-synucleinopathies), (4) atypical Parkinson’s diseases (tauopathies), (5) language and (6) behavioral variants of frontotemporal lobe degeneration, and (7) normal pressure hydrocephalus. Each chapter elucidates the point that neuropsychological measures provide the tools to differentiate disease-specific impairments from normal age-related cognitive decline, and from other neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, this book discusses the possibility of helping patients through neuropsychological intervention. Case studies aid in the reader’s comprehension of the field, and two short guidelines for each disease’s specific assessment and treatment prepare readers for handling real-life patients.

• Includes epidemiological information regarding dementia
• Demonstrates the use of neuropsychological tests and screening tools in diagnosing and differentiating patients with dementia
• Outlines which investigation strategy and which neuropsychological test work best for assessing patients for different neurodegenerative diseases
• Reviews specific interventions to slow the progress of dementia wherever possible
• Discusses the neuropathology, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

Advanced students and researchers in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy

1. Introduction: Neuropsychology and the assessment of patients with dementia
2. Alzheimer’s disease: neuropathology, neuropsychological differential diagnosis, and treatment
3. The alphasynucleinopathies: Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and multisystem atrophy
4. Atypical Parkinson’s diseases: progressive supranuclear paralysis and corticobasal degeneration
5. Primary progressive aphasias
6. Behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia
7. Normal pressure hydrocephalus
8. A short guideline for the neuropsychological differential diagnosis of the dementias
9. Overview treatment options