Abstract
Neuropsychological rehabilitation is concerned with achievement of maximum potential in diverse domains of psychological, social, vocational, and everyday life functioning in people with cognitive, emotional, psychosocial, and behavioral deficits caused by an insult to the brain. Hence, neuropsychological rehabilitation is the process of helping a patient to recover the functions that are impaired due to brain injury. The major role of neuropsychological rehabilitation is the improvement of cognitive deficits resulting from brain damage using extensive cognitive retraining. This chapter explores neuropsychological rehabilitation.
TopChapter Outline
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Introduction
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Use of rehabilitation
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Rehabilitation team
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Brain plasticity
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Basics of neuropsychological rehabilitation
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Principles of rehabilitation
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categories of neuropsychological rehabilitation assessment
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Techniques of cognitive rehabilitation
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Cognitive rehabilitation for specific domains
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Types of cognitive retraining
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Domain wise specific methods of rehabilitation
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Development of new technologies
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Conclusion
TopUse Of Rehabilitation
Neuropsychological rehabilitation is used for people with various conditions such as:
TopBrain Plasticity
Neuropsychological rehabilitation is based on plasticity of the brain. Plasticity is known as the brain’s capacity to adapt to changes in the environment. In severe brain injury, plasticity is the capacity of one part of brain to take on the function of a damaged part of the brain. Since adaptive function is the integrated function of brain, cognitive rehabilitation considers a thorough evaluation of the individual’s profile of cognitive abilities, personality, emotional make-up, motivation, and social situation and most importantly, his/her cognitive reserve to formulate any intervention program. Recovery and restitution also depends upon the depth, size, and site of the lesion and severity of the injury. Evidence of brain plasticity is based on three functions of brain which are regeneration, reorganization, and recovery.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Alzheimer’s Disease: Is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with the disease those with the late-onset type-symptoms first appear in their mid-60s.
Degenerative Conditions: Is a type of a medical condition that causes a tissue or organ to deteriorate over time. There are quite a number of degenerative diseases and many of them are associated with aging or gets worse during the aging process.
Attention Deficit Disorder: Is a neurological disorder that causes a range of behavior problems such as difficulty attending to instruction, focusing on schoolwork, keeping up with assignments, following instructions, completing tasks and social interaction.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is sudden damage to the brain caused by a blow or jolt to the head. Common causes include car or motorcycle crashes, falls, sports injuries, and assaults. Injuries can range from mild concussions to severe permanent brain damage.
Epilepsy: Is a central nervous system (neurological) disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures or periods of unusual behavior, sensations, and sometimes loss of awareness. Anyone can develop epilepsy.
Learning Disabilities: Learning disabilities are neurologically-based processing problems. These processing problems can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing and/or math. They can also interfere with higher level skills such as organization, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short-term memory and attention. It is important to realize that learning disabilities can affect an individual’s life beyond academics and can impact relationships with family, friends and in the workplace.
Schizophrenia: Is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. Although schizophrenia is not as common as other mental disorders, the symptoms can be very disabling.
Tumor: Is a mass of tissue that's formed by an accumulation of abnormal cells. Normally, the cells in your body age, die, and are replaced by new cells. With cancer and other tumors, something disrupts this cycle. Tumor cells grow, even though the body does not need them, and unlike normal old cells, they don't die.
Stroke: Is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain results in cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both result in parts of the brain not functioning properly.