PY 835 - Neuropsychology with Older Adults

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Clinical neuropsychology addresses the link between the human brain and behavior. It considers the impact of both normal and abnormal brain functioning on a broad range of cognitive, emotional and behavioral functions. As such, neuropsychological assessments provide a scientific way of quantifying and describing the changes in brain function caused by damage or disease which can be used to develop and inform diagnoses, interventions and monitor changes over time. This course introduces you to the role of the neuropsychologist with older adults and the elderly, and addresses neuroanatomy, common neurological conditions, neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation. In particular, disorders associated with Dementia and memory dysfunction will be emphasized. This will involve the enhancement of practitioner skills in neuropsychological test administration and scoring as well as clinical report writing. Normal changes across the lifespan will be reviewed and contrasted with pathological changes. Students will also learn to adapt individual therapeutic interventions to meet the needs of specific populations (e.g. older adults with cognitive and memory impairments) and look at specific modalities of delivering interventions, such as working with care giver and staff treatment teams.