What Is a Neuropsychologist? What Do They Do, What Do They Test, and How Can They Help?
f you or someone you love is experiencing problems with memory, attention, concentration, processing speed, language, problem-solving, or other thinking abilities, you may have been referred to a neuropsychologist—or you may be wondering whether a neuropsychological evaluation could help.
A neuropsychologist is a psychologist who specializes in understanding the relationship between the brain and behavior. Neuropsychologists use specialized neuropsychological testing to evaluate cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning and determine how medical, neurological, psychological, or developmental conditions may be affecting a person's everyday life.
Neuropsychology can be helpful for people recovering from traumatic brain injury, concussion, stroke, epilepsy, neurological disease, cancer treatment, dementia, ADHD, learning difficulties, and other conditions that affect cognitive functioning.
What Is a Neuropsychologist?
A neuropsychologist is a psychologist with specialized education and training in brain functioning, cognition, behavior, and neuropsychological assessment.
Unlike a general psychological evaluation, which may focus primarily on emotional and psychological functioning, a neuropsychological evaluation provides a detailed examination of cognitive abilities.
Depending on the referral question, testing may examine:
Memory and learning
Attention and concentration
Processing speed
Executive functioning
Problem-solving
Language and word retrieval
Visuospatial abilities
Intellectual functioning
Academic abilities
Emotional and psychological functioning
The goal isn't simply to identify weaknesses. A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment also identifies cognitive strengths and determines how a person's cognitive profile relates to their medical history and everyday functioning.
What Does a Neuropsychologist Do?
One of the primary services provided by a neuropsychologist is neuropsychological testing.
Testing uses standardized measures to examine different aspects of cognitive functioning. The specific tests selected depend on the individual's age, concerns, medical history, and reason for referral.
A neuropsychologist may evaluate:
Memory and Learning
Memory testing examines how effectively a person can learn and remember new information. Testing can help distinguish different patterns of memory difficulty and determine whether memory complaints are consistent with objective cognitive changes.
Attention and Concentration
Attention testing evaluates the ability to focus, sustain attention, manage distractions, and maintain information in mind.
Processing Speed
Processing-speed testing measures how efficiently a person can perceive, process, and respond to information.
Executive Functioning
Executive functions allow us to plan, organize, prioritize, shift between tasks, inhibit responses, monitor our behavior, and solve problems.
Executive-function difficulties can affect everyday activities such as managing medications, completing paperwork, organizing work, keeping appointments, or managing multiple responsibilities.
Language
Neuropsychological assessment can examine naming, verbal fluency, word retrieval, comprehension, and other language abilities.
Visuospatial Functioning
These skills allow us to interpret visual information and understand relationships between objects and locations.
Emotional Functioning
Depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, sleep problems, and other psychological factors can significantly affect cognitive functioning. A neuropsychologist considers these factors when interpreting cognitive test results.
What Conditions Can Neuropsychological Testing Help With?
Neuropsychological assessment can be useful across a wide range of medical, neurological, psychological, and developmental conditions.
Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion
Neuropsychologists frequently evaluate people following concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI).
A neuropsychological evaluation can assess cognitive and emotional symptoms and provide recommendations for recovery, return to work, school accommodations, and everyday functioning.
Stroke
A stroke can affect cognitive functioning in addition to causing physical symptoms.
Depending on the area of the brain affected, someone may experience difficulties with:
Memory
Attention
Language
Processing speed
Executive functioning
Visual-spatial abilities
Emotional regulation
Neuropsychological testing can help identify these changes and guide rehabilitation.
Dementia and Memory Loss
Neuropsychologists evaluate individuals experiencing memory loss or other cognitive changes associated with conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
Testing can help establish a cognitive baseline, characterize patterns of strengths and weaknesses, monitor changes over time, and assist physicians with diagnostic decision-making.
ADHD
Neuropsychological assessment can help evaluate attention, working memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and other cognitive abilities relevant to ADHD.
For adults, an evaluation may be particularly useful when attention or executive-function difficulties are interfering with work, relationships, organization, or daily responsibilities.
Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders
People with epilepsy may experience cognitive changes related to seizures, underlying neurological conditions, or antiseizure medications.
Neuropsychological testing can evaluate memory, attention, processing speed, language, and executive functioning. Neuropsychological assessment may also be part of an epilepsy surgery evaluation.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis can affect processing speed, attention, memory, and executive functioning.
Neuropsychological assessment can identify areas of cognitive difficulty and provide practical strategies for managing them.
Brain Tumors and Cancer Treatment
Brain tumors and cancer treatments can affect cognitive functioning.
Neuropsychologists may evaluate patients before or after treatment to establish a baseline, identify changes, and develop strategies to support cognitive functioning.
Neurodevelopmental Conditions
Neuropsychologists may also evaluate children, adolescents, and adults with neurodevelopmental concerns, including:
Autism spectrum disorder
ADHD
Learning disorders
Intellectual disability
Developmental disorders
Assessment can help identify cognitive strengths and weaknesses and guide educational, occupational, and treatment recommendations.
What Happens During a Neuropsychological Evaluation?
Many people are nervous about neuropsychological testing because they don't know what to expect.
A typical neuropsychological evaluation includes several components.
1. Clinical Interview
The neuropsychologist will discuss your concerns and gather information about your:
Medical history
Neurological history
Medications
Education
Work history
Developmental history
Psychological history
Current cognitive concerns
2. Neuropsychological Testing
You will complete standardized tests designed to assess different areas of cognitive functioning.
Some tasks may involve remembering information, solving problems, answering questions, working with visual information, or responding quickly to simple stimuli.
There are no "trick" questions, and you are not expected to know the answers to everything.
3. Interpretation
The neuropsychologist analyzes the pattern of test results rather than looking at one score in isolation.
Your results are interpreted in the context of your age, education, background, medical history, and presenting concerns.
4. Feedback and Recommendations
Following the evaluation, the neuropsychologist explains the results and provides recommendations.
Recommendations may address:
Medical follow-up
Cognitive rehabilitation
Therapy
School accommodations
Workplace accommodations
Memory strategies
Organizational strategies
Return to work
Return to school
Family support
What Is the Difference Between a Neuropsychologist and a Neurologist?
A neurologist is a physician who diagnoses and treats disorders of the nervous system.
A neuropsychologist is a psychologist who specializes in the relationship between brain functioning and cognition, behavior, and psychological functioning.
The two professionals often work together.
For example, a neurologist may diagnose and medically manage a stroke, while a neuropsychologist may evaluate the stroke's effects on memory, attention, language, processing speed, and executive functioning.
What Is the Difference Between a Psychologist and a Neuropsychologist?
A clinical psychologist may specialize in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions and providing psychotherapy.
A neuropsychologist has specialized training in brain-behavior relationships and cognitive assessment.
Neuropsychologists may also provide psychological treatment, but their distinctive area of expertise is understanding how neurological and medical conditions affect cognition and behavior.
Where Do Neuropsychologists Work?
Neuropsychologists work in many different settings.
Hospitals and Medical Centers
Neuropsychologists may work alongside neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, rehabilitation specialists, oncologists, and other medical professionals.
Outpatient Neuropsychology Clinics
Many neuropsychologists work in outpatient practices where they provide comprehensive cognitive assessments for adults, children, and older adults.
Rehabilitation Centers
Neuropsychologists are important members of rehabilitation teams following brain injury, stroke, and other neurological conditions.
Private Practice
Private-practice neuropsychologists may provide neuropsychological evaluations, cognitive rehabilitation, psychotherapy, consultation, and treatment recommendations.
Universities and Academic Medical Centers
Some neuropsychologists work in academic settings where they provide clinical services while also conducting research and teaching students and trainees.
Schools and Educational Settings
Neuropsychological services can help identify learning, attention, developmental, and cognitive difficulties that affect academic performance.
Forensic Settings
Neuropsychologists may also conduct evaluations related to legal questions involving cognitive functioning, disability, brain injury, or other neuropsychological issues.
When Should You See a Neuropsychologist?
Consider talking with a physician or neuropsychologist if you are experiencing persistent changes in cognitive functioning, particularly following a neurological or medical event.
Common reasons for referral include:
Memory loss
Difficulty concentrating
Increased forgetfulness
Word-finding problems
Slowed thinking
Difficulty organizing
Problems with multitasking
Changes following a concussion or TBI
Cognitive changes following stroke
Concerns about dementia
ADHD concerns
Learning difficulties
Cognitive changes associated with epilepsy
Difficulty returning to work or school
Questions about cognitive functioning
How Can a Neuropsychologist Help?
The purpose of neuropsychology is not simply to identify what's wrong.
A neuropsychologist can help answer important questions such as:
What has changed?
What cognitive abilities are still strong?
What might be contributing to the difficulties?
How are these changes affecting everyday life?
What can be done to improve functioning?
A good neuropsychological evaluation provides information that can be translated into practical recommendations for everyday life.
For example, someone experiencing memory difficulties may benefit from external memory systems, written reminders, structured routines, and repetition. Someone experiencing executive-function difficulties may benefit from breaking complex tasks into smaller steps, using organizational systems, and reducing distractions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Neuropsychologists
What does a neuropsychologist test for?
A neuropsychologist can evaluate memory, attention, processing speed, executive functioning, language, visuospatial skills, intellectual abilities, academic skills, and emotional functioning.
What is neuropsychological testing?
Neuropsychological testing is a standardized assessment of cognitive and psychological functioning. It helps identify patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses through testing and determines how the results relate to a person's medical, neurological, developmental, and psychological history.
How long does a neuropsychological evaluation take?
The length varies depending on the reason for referral, age, complexity of the concerns, and number of cognitive domains being assessed. Some evaluations require several hours of testing and may occur across multiple appointments.
Does neuropsychological testing diagnose dementia?
Neuropsychological testing can provide important information when evaluating suspected dementia or other causes of cognitive decline. Results are interpreted alongside medical history, neurological examination, imaging, laboratory findings, and other clinical information.
Can neuropsychologists diagnose ADHD?
Neuropsychologists can conduct comprehensive evaluations that contribute to the diagnosis of ADHD. A proper evaluation considers developmental history, symptoms across settings, cognitive findings, and other possible explanations for attention difficulties.
Can a neuropsychologist diagnose a brain injury?
A neuropsychologist can evaluate cognitive and psychological functioning following a brain injury and provide diagnostic impressions related to neuropsychological functioning. Medical diagnosis and management of the underlying brain injury may involve other healthcare professionals.
Is neuropsychological testing only for people with brain injuries?
No. Neuropsychological testing is used for many conditions, including neurological disorders, dementia, ADHD, developmental conditions, learning difficulties, psychiatric conditions, and cognitive concerns associated with medical treatment.
Do I need a referral for neuropsychological testing?
Referral requirements vary by practice, healthcare system, and insurance plan. Some practices accept self-referrals, while others require a referral from a physician or other healthcare provider.
Find Out How Neuropsychology Can Help
Changes in memory, attention, processing speed, or other thinking abilities can be frustrating—and sometimes frightening. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation can provide a clearer picture of cognitive functioning and help identify practical ways to improve everyday functioning.
If you are concerned about changes in cognition following a brain injury, stroke, neurological condition, medical illness, ADHD, or another condition, consider speaking with a qualified neuropsychologist about whether an evaluation is appropriate.
A neuropsychological evaluation isn't simply about finding problems. It is about understanding the whole person—their strengths, challenges, brain health, emotional functioning, and everyday needs—and using that information to develop a plan for moving forward.Neuropsychological Evaluation
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