Neuropsychology and the Law

by Jane Dywan (Editor), Ronald D. Kaplan (Editor), Francis J. Pirozzolo (Editor)

Overview

We have had a number of interesting cases come to our attention over the years. The following are illustrative of some of the issues that can emerge at the interface between neuropsychology and the law. The first involved a patient suffering from a debilitating fear of heights. The fear seemed a reasonable consequence of the fact that he had been a passenger on a plane that crashed while attempting take off. Given that many of the passengers and crew died or were seriously injured, this man was quite fortunate. In fact, he could be said to have lived a charmed life. It had been just a year since he had been involved in an industrial accident in which he could have easily died. He came away from that accident with injuries to his legs and a concussion. That accident had also involved him falling from a considerable height so that there was some discussion among clinic staff about how well the patient's circumstances and symptoms fit the diagnostic category of "posttraumatic stress disorder. " Supportive psychotherapy was used as an aid in dealing with his re­ curring memories of the plane crash and systematic desensitization was quite successful in reducing the most disruptive consequences of his fear of heights. However, during the course of treatment, it became apparent that there were a number of problems that had not been addressed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461277989
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	10/05/2011
Series:	Springer Series in Neuropsychology
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1991
Pages:	295
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.03(d)

Table of Contents

1 Neuropsychology and Its Applications to the Legal Forum.- Mental Illness Versus Incompetency.- Competence Versus Responsibility.- The Scientific Basis of Neuropsychology.- The Nature of Science and the Needs of the Court.- The Psychometric Methods of Neuropsychology.- The Neuropsychological Assessment.- Summary and Conclusions.- 2 Minor Head Injury and the Post-Concussive Syndrome.- The Importance of Interviewing Collaterals.- Some Special Considerations Regarding Assessment of Children.- Frontal Lobe Tests.- Anosmia and Parosmia.- Dichotic Listening.- The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.- Psychodiagnostic Assessment.- Conclusion.- End Notes.- 3 Workers’ Compensation and Clinical Neuropsychological Assessment.- Workers’ Compensation and Neuropsychological Information.- Role of Clinical Neuropsychology in Workers’ Compensation.- 4 Assessing the Neuropsychological Abilities of Children and Adolescents for Personal Injury Litigation.- Neuropsychologists and Personal Injury Litigation.- Existence of Neuropsychological Impairments.- Consequences of Neuropsychological Impairments.- Causes of Neuropsychological Impairments.- Issues Unique to Children.- Conclusion.- 5 The Assessment of Competency in the Older Adult.- Normal Aging.- Diseases and Disorders.- Assessment.- Summary and Conclusions.- 6 Legal Applications of Electrophysiological Assessments.- Quantitative Measures of Brain Function.- Assessment Needs in Litigation Proceedings.- Further Applications for Electrophysiological Data.- Obstacles and Precautions in the Use of Electrophysiological Data.- Summary and Conclusions.- 7 The Use of Neuroimaging Techniques in Brain Injury.- Techniques.- Regional Brain Function and Behavior.- A Method for Integrating Behavioral and Neuroimaging Data.- PresentLimitations and Future Steps.- Implications for Legal Practices.- Conclusions.- 8 The Problems of Prognpsis.- Epidemiology of Brain Trauma.- The Relevance of the Animal Literature.- Neural Responses to Injury.- Mechanisms Associated with Neurological Recovery.- The Problem of Localization.- Focal Versus Diffuse Effects.- Variables Affecting Recovery.- Situations in which Further Deterioration can be Expected.- Prognostic Strategy.- 9 Can Competencies be Retrained? A Critical Appraisal of Cognitive Rehabilitation.- Cognitive Competency.- Cognitive Incompetency and Rehabilitation.- Contextual Considerations.- Evaluating Cognitive Rehabilitation: General Issues.- Can Cognitive Competencies be Retrained?.- Rehabilitation and Psychosocial Problems.- Overall Effectiveness of Cognitive Rehabilitation.- Conclusions.- 10 Developing Legislation and the Concept of Disability.- Outdated Concepts and Their Implications: The Case of No Fault Automobile Insurance in Ontario.- The Tort System with No Fault Add On in Ontario.- History of the Debate on Automobile Insurance in Ontario.- The Disability Assessment Model 268 From the Rehab Setting to the Neuropsychological/Legal Evaluation.- Author Index.

Editorial Reviews

Addressed to those in either the mental health or the legal profession who are interested in the theoretical and practical problems that arise when the adequacy of neuropsychological function has a bearing on the outcomes of legal decisions. The ten chapters consider such topics as the nature of neuropsychological assessment, the development of technologically sophisticated computer imaging, efforts in cognitive rehabilitation, and special issues such as dealing with children, or workers' compensation cases. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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