Reviewer: Christopher J Graver, PhD, ABPP-CN(Madigan Healthcare System)
Description: One of many advantages of a neuropsychological evaluation is the ability to differentiate cognitive problems due to neurological versus psychological factors. In order do so, neuropsychologists need to be aware of the potential cognitive deficits that accompany various psychological disorders. This book is intended to provide just such a review of the literature.
Purpose: The focus of this book is perplexing. Neuropsychology is in the title, but the foreword begins with a discussion of the interface between psychiatry and its medical colleagues, as well as the diverse disciplines, that contributed to the book. Moreover, one chapter title includes a reference to the nebulous and redundant field of "neuropsychiatry" and later chapters refer to "neuropsychiatric" disorders, as if there are psychiatric disorders that do not have neurological involvement.
Audience: To further add to the bewilderment, the book is purportedly intended for psychiatrists and philosophers who "have an interest in understanding how our brains work," but neuropsychologists are never mentioned.
Features: The content tends to follow the turmoil. For example, the first chapter is supposed to address normative neuropsychological development, but each cognitive domain receives a short paragraph with 1-2 references. Some references are even outdated. Subsections are mislabeled throughout, such as one that, at first blush, appears to explore risk factors in the development of schizophrenia, but by the second paragraph it becomes clear that the focus is on cognitive deficits in individuals at risk for developing schizophrenia, not the risk itself. The baffling topic problem materializes again in chapter 3, where the opening quote alludes to the division between neurology and psychiatry, as if the authors are somehow trying to build a case for the legitimacy of a neuropsychiatry subspecialty. There are inane comments, such as identifying Parkinson's disease as straddling the neurology/psychiatry boundary, that veer off topic. There is significant redundancy in early chapters with respect to characteristics and deficits seen in various disorders, but in the third section, the choice of disorders is somewhat incomplete (e.g., OCD is the only anxiety disorder covered). The entire third section, which one would think the focus of the book, makes up less than one-quarter of the volume. Although the information in this section is reasonable, it is by no means a comprehensive review of the literature with obviously pertinent studies omitted. It is also difficult to sift through the text and there are no summary tables or figures to make the digestion of this information easier. Summary paragraphs at the end of chapters rarely provide a concise description of the research findings, but rather discuss theoretical issues or future directions. Additionally, the role of motivation and effort in the validity of the neuropsychological literature is given a brief mention in one chapter, but consideration that much of the current literature is of unknown or questionable quality because of this issue is conveniently overlooked in the remainder of the book.
Assessment: The editors had a sound idea, but failed miserably to implement it in a coherent, logical, and thoughtful manner. There are political undercurrents running throughout that really have no place in the book, which add to the bewilderment about the aim of the book. The purported focus on neuropsychological functioning in mental illness is only a small portion of the book, which falls short of delivering a comprehensive and cogent review of quality studies. Needless to say, a few meta-analytic studies covering the various disorders will be more valuable than this book, especially since they can probably be obtained free of charge.
Reviewer:Christopher J. Graver, PhD(Madigan Army Medical Center)
Description:One of many advantages of a neuropsychological evaluation is the ability to differentiate cognitive problems due to neurological versus psychological factors. In order do so, neuropsychologists need to be aware of the potential cognitive deficits that accompany various psychological disorders. This book is intended to provide just such a review of the literature.
Purpose:The focus of this book is perplexing. Neuropsychology is in the title, but the foreword begins with a discussion of the interface between psychiatry and its medical colleagues, as well as the diverse disciplines, that contributed to the book. Moreover, one chapter title includes a reference to the nebulous and redundant field of "neuropsychiatry" and later chapters refer to "neuropsychiatric" disorders, as if there are psychiatric disorders that do not have neurological involvement.
Audience:To further add to the bewilderment, the book is purportedly intended for psychiatrists and philosophers who "have an interest in understanding how our brains work," but neuropsychologists are never mentioned.
Features:The content tends to follow the turmoil. For example, the first chapter is supposed to address normative neuropsychological development, but each cognitive domain receives a short paragraph with 1-2 references. Some references are even outdated. Subsections are mislabeled throughout, such as one that, at first blush, appears to explore risk factors in the development of schizophrenia, but by the second paragraph it becomes clear that the focus is on cognitive deficits in individuals at risk for developing schizophrenia, not the risk itself. The baffling topic problem materializes again in chapter 3, where the opening quote alludes to the division between neurology and psychiatry, as if the authors are somehow trying to build a case for the legitimacy of a neuropsychiatry subspecialty. There are inane comments, such as identifying Parkinson's disease as straddling the neurology/psychiatry boundary, that veer off topic. There is significant redundancy in early chapters with respect to characteristics and deficits seen in various disorders, but in the third section, the choice of disorders is somewhat incomplete (e.g., OCD is the only anxiety disorder covered). The entire third section, which one would think the focus of the book, makes up less than one-quarter of the volume. Although the information in this section is reasonable, it is by no means a comprehensive review of the literature with obviously pertinent studies omitted. It is also difficult to sift through the text and there are no summary tables or figures to make the digestion of this information easier. Summary paragraphs at the end of chapters rarely provide a concise description of the research findings, but rather discuss theoretical issues or future directions. Additionally, the role of motivation and effort in the validity of the neuropsychological literature is given a brief mention in one chapter, but consideration that much of the current literature is of unknown or questionable quality because of this issue is conveniently overlooked in the remainder of the book.
Assessment:The editors had a sound idea, but failed miserably to implement it in a coherent, logical, and thoughtful manner. There are political undercurrents running throughout that really have no place in the book, which add to the bewilderment about the aim of the book. The purported focus on neuropsychological functioning in mental illness is only a small portion of the book, which falls short of delivering a comprehensive and cogent review of quality studies. Needless to say, a few meta-analytic studies covering the various disorders will be more valuable than this book, especially since they can probably be obtained free of charge.
