|
|
One key to understanding epilepsy lies with the neuropsychologist (nur-o-sy-KOL-o-jist), a doctor that specializes in the study and practice of neuropsychology (nur-o-sy-KOL-o-jee). Neuropsychology focuses on the relationship between the central nervous system (the brain or spinal cord) and mental functions such as language, memory, perception, and attention.
A neuropsychologist is a "Ph.D." or a "Psy.D." who has gone through general training in psychology as well as specific training in neuropsychology. Neuropsychologists usually work in hospitals, in centers that focus on one disorder, or in their own private practice. They may evaluate how your brain is working, perform research to understand the brain better, or treat people whose nervous system has been injured by a disease, disorder, or accident. Neuropsychologists are interested in how seizures affect the way a person with epilepsy thinks and remembers. They are involved in neuropsychological testing and special procedures like brain mapping or the Wada test (also known as the intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure).
During a neuropsychological evaluation, you take a series of tests. These tests are not like the ones you may have taken in school; there is no pass or fail. Instead, neuropsychological tests look at the brain's ability to carry out a function (such as language, memory, perception, or attention). Different tests measure different functions. Each function is linked to a specific area of the brain. If you do well overall, but do poorly on a few tests that measure the same function, the neuropsychologist knows which area of your brain is not working properly. That area may be where seizures are coming from.
An evaluation may be brief or may last several hours. Some tests may seem easy and others may be hard. Usually, both easy and hard tests are given to see how you do on different levels. Some of the tests will be timed; others will not. Some tests may ask you to think in a way that you are not used to thinking, or do things that you haven't done in a long time.
Once the evaluation is complete, the neuropsychologist will examine the results. The results of your tests are compared with the results of people the same age who have a similar background. If you've been tested before, the neuropsychologist will compare the new results with your results on earlier tests. The neuropsychologist then writes a report. If the results show that one area of your brain is not functioning normally, the report will say that. The report may include recommendations for further treatment, for job retraining, or for retesting at a later date.
If you have an appointment with a neuropsychologist, check out our neuropsychological testing tips to learn more about what to expect and how to prepare for your visit.
Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, M.D.
Last Reviewed:10/20/03
Welcome to the Wiki. This space is created for epilepsy.com members to share their own experiences and expertise to help refine and expand the discussion around important topics.
No members have yet contributed to this topic. If you are not yet an epilepsy.com member, register today to get started on this Wiki topic and the many other advantages of being a member. If you are a member and wish to be the first to edit this Wiki topic, please make sure to login, then click on the orange "Start Wiki" button at the top of this page. Or, learn more about Wikis.
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| HAVE YOU BEEN INJURED, OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO'S DIED FROM "VNS" | Nov 21, 2009 | |
| nancyjudy | ||
| vns therapy side effects | Nov 21, 2009 | |
| helenpe1 | ||
| Is it typical for an epileptic person to pace constantly or have sudden rushes of energy making you want to run? | Nov 21, 2009 | |
| Concordia | ||
| Epileptologist in DFW? | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| dhemphill | ||
| How long is open trileptal suspension bottle good for? | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| Sholow | ||
| Can we have white chocolate? | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| lilcrumb3 | ||
| Keppra and depression | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| jennysomers | ||
| AFTER SURGERY-IS THAT FEELING A SEIZURE??????? | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| gregg9130 | ||
| Frontal Lobe Epilepsy | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| Jesscottwvwv | ||
| seizure recovery... | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| jubatum | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| my.epilepsy.com Updates | 20,424 | |
| epi_help | ||
| topamax and weight loss | 18,947 | |
| alexia mom | ||
| kepra | 18,843 | |
| brian mattingly | ||
| Possible cure for absence seizures | 15,716 | |
| pdl1 | ||
| Epilepsy and marijuana | 15,216 | |
| cjad234 | ||
| Sexual Side Effects | 13,080 | |
| George R | ||
| How exactly do aura's feel | 12,910 | |
| WendyBendy | ||
| MEDICAL ALERT I.D.'s | 11,357 | |
| picnupthepcs | ||
| Over 40 Different Types Of Seizures - Revised | 10,020 | |
| spiz | ||
| electrical shock in head? | 9,421 | |
| Maggie | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Saw the epi today. Meh. | Jan 17, 2009 | |
| confuzzed | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond jewelry | Nov 21, 2009 | |
| tiffanyblog | ||
| Depression and Epilepsy | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| MichaelK | ||
| What a day! | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| epi_help | ||
| Results with my Neurologist, med changes and life changes | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| Gina Marie | ||
| i broke his ankle... | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| jacky99 | ||
| Sleep deprivation EEG | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| freedbythewind | ||
| TYLENOL, AEDs & SEIZURES | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| cmscribbles | ||
| Links of London jewelry | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| tiffanyblog | ||
| A novice writer needs YOUR help! | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| ACSutliff | ||
| Heck of a day | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| 4mygirl2 | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| Inspirational Quote - My Own Personal Inner Thoughts | 8,002 | |
| Butterflygrl | ||
| my partial complex seizures | 3,859 | |
| Zanna1211 | ||
| Topomax... The Dreaded......... | 3,649 | |
| Dr Jason | ||
| Brain Zaps, tics & twitches | 3,464 | |
| JudiS | ||
| side effects of phenobarb. | 3,061 | |
| pksmom | ||
| Feeling Sick | 2,907 | |
| JBJ1984 | ||
| How can you tell if a sleep seizure happens? | 2,853 | |
| epl_controller | ||
| Tegretol XR and ANXIETY meds | 2,801 | |
| Butterflygrl | ||
| TYLENOL, AEDs & SEIZURES | 2,712 | |
| cmscribbles | ||
| Nonepileptic "Events" vs. "Seizures" | 2,595 | |
| teft | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Grandparents of grandchildren with Epilepsy | Nov 14, 2009 | |
| EmiliesGrandma | ||
| neeraj clinic, rishikesh,india | Nov 14, 2009 | |
| ankita gupta | ||
| Project Uplift | Nov 4, 2009 | |
| tamliniscute | ||
| SEIZURE FREE | Nov 3, 2009 | |
| gracie9933 | ||
| EPILEPSY SUPPORT GROUP NORTH CAROLINA | Oct 9, 2009 | |
| Roxanne D | ||
| Community Feedback on Proposed New epilepsy.com Feature | Sep 30, 2009 | |
| kdredske | ||
| Parent with Child with Epilepsy,Dystonia, and Autism | Sep 24, 2009 | |
| TashaCole | ||
| RX outreach Program | Sep 22, 2009 | |
| mw | ||
| Fun and Games | Sep 22, 2009 | |
| phylisfjohnson | ||
| Epilepsy and Memory Loss?? | Sep 17, 2009 | |
| lindseygthatsme | ||
| View all Groups | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| WHY??????????????????????? | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| marymm | ||
| Ugg Bailey Button Boots–Your Winter Footwear | Nov 20, 2009 | |
| lovetiffany | ||
| Ceremony to welcome President Hu Jintao to the country, accompanied by up to 200 people Barack Obama Barack Obama | Nov 19, 2009 | |
| nicky001 | ||
| Ten best sale cell phones(one) in Otc:A2688 TV cell phone | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| agoodseller | ||
| new roads to travel | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| Marsha Cash | ||
| febrile seizures | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| febrileseizures | ||
| 6 months post brain surgery | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| robin4902 | ||
| James Rowell | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| jamesrowell | ||
| Police Officer with Epilepsy | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| Rob Jamieson | ||
| So Wonderful of Using a Video Baby Monitor | Nov 18, 2009 | |
| buyairshoe | ||
| View all Stories | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Roiz | 2,277 | |
| kroiz | ||
| (TLE) seizures, most misunderstood condition | 867 | |
| wenko | ||
| my story | 469 | |
| snoby | ||
| Always Have On Clean Underwear | 439 | |
| crashllama | ||
| Kelly's Life With Epilepsy | 418 | |
| kjcanada1979 | ||
| my brain has died a thousand deaths........... | 394 | |
| banffgirl | ||
| What My Seizures Are Like...... | 379 | |
| javaman | ||
| Nocturnal grand mal seizures (primary generalized epilepsy) | 334 | |
| karalyeva | ||
| Life......... | 329 | |
| dizzygal | ||
| Crystal's story | 326 | |
| Crystal11 | ||
| View all Stories | ||
