Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

One of the most complex and time-intensive investigations in clinical medicine is the neuropsychological evaluation. This type of testing can be utilized for psychiatric and cognitive issues which are discussed in the succeeding pages. Once confined to large academic centers, this increasingly available specialty has expanded to become an integral component in evaluating brain injury, dementia and other encephalopathic processes. Dr. Mercury and colleagues have presented several chapters on the unique nature of this service and its value for the primary care physician. We have no doubt that the reader will benefit from this monograph and eventually be able to successfully utilize this invaluable type of evaluation to improve patient care.

The editor and authors dedicate this issue to the memory of Arthur Benton, a founding father of neuropsychology. He died at the end of 2006, leaving a legacy of quietly challenging those in the field to find both new and old ways to diagnose their patients.