V5 Neuropsychology,Patient Impact And Family Considerations :: Biology Biological Research Papers

V5 Neuropsychology,Patient Impact And Family Considerations Neuropsychology After an individual damages the MT/v5 area of the occipital lobe, it can be very beneficial for the individual to go through neuropsychological evaluations to assess their perceptual and cognitive abilities post-trauma or surgery. A Neuropsychologist determines what tests are appropriate to adequately identify the extent of the cognitive and behavioral consequential effects associated with the damage sustained by the MT/v5 area. In the example of SF, the epileptic mentioned earlier by (Nawrot et al, 2000), SF had a series of motion perception test administered to determine the effects of her surgery. In the case of SF, pre and post-surgery tests were given to measure how the removal of the lesion in the MT+ area of her occipital lobe effected her perceptual abilities. The random dot cinematograms (RDC) test, was selected to measure SF perception and the consequential effects of damage sustained to her occipital lobe areas. After these tests were administered, the Neuropsychologist is able to rank the patients test score against the mean scores that represent normal performance range. In the case of SF, the perception tests were able to show the amount of time it took for her MT/v5 area to adapt to its new conditions. The Neuropsychologist then compares SF's perceptual performance to her pre-surgery ranges. These results helped (Nawrot et al, 2000) suggest that either dendritic sprouting or the opposite hemisphere compensation occurred in order to compensate for damage of SF MT/v5 area. The importance of these tests, are to help the Neuropsychologist determine the necessary steps needed for the rehabilitation of the patient. In the case of SF, these results helped conclude that the removal of lesion in the MT to reduce her seizures was worth it. The amount of seizures was greatly reduced post surgery and the visual and perceptual deficits experienced by SF after the surgery were short lived. Another example of the types of tests used by Neuropsychologist to identify the effects of head trauma, are illustrated in the case study of BC, a 45 year old women with visual-perceptual deficits. (Vaina et al, 2002, p. 465) The Performance part of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) was administered by the Neuropsychologist to assess BC's perceptual and cognitive abilities. Three tests in the Performance IQ set were administered, Picture Completion, Block Design, and Object