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Frequently Asked Questions My mother has been having problems with memory that have become progressively worse over the past couple of years. More recently, she's having trouble with finding the words to express herself, with distractibility, and with getting lost. I'm concerned about her well-being. What should I do? Memory problems are one of the most frequent reasons that neuropsychologists
see patients. There are many different reasons for memory difficulties, and it
is important to determine the etiology or the cause of them. Frequently, these
patients have already seen a neurologist, who may have done an MRI or other
neurological assessment which produced normal results. In these cases,
neuropsychological testing may be of great assistance. While the typical MRI
focuses on evaluating brain structure, neuropsychological testing assesses brain
functioning. Thus, it can help to determine the cause of the patient's
complaints of memory problems and how to best address these. If problems are
confirmed, it provides the individual and his or her family members (who are
typically involved in the assessment process) with valuable information in terms
of their helping the person and with respect to planning. |