Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Epilepsy

Once feared and misunderstood even among the medical community, epilepsy has since largely been demystified. Besides the characteristic seizures, various cognitive, behavioral, and emotional difficulties are recognized as associated with the condition, and patients are finding relief in medical management and/or surgical intervention. Not surprisingly, neuropsychology has emerged as a major component in treatment planning, program development, and assessment of surgical candidates.

Geared toward beginning as well as veteran clinicians, the Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Epilepsy offers readers a skills-based framework for assessment and treatment, using current evidence and standardized terminology. Expert coverage reviews widely-used methods for evaluating key aspects of patient functioning (MRI, MEG, electrocortical mapping, the Wada test), and presents guidelines for psychotherapeutic and cognitive remediation strategies in treating comorbid psychiatric conditions. Given the diversity of the patient population, additional chapters spotlight issues specific to subgroups including high- and low-functioning as well as geriatric and pediatric patients. This integrative hands-on approach benefits a range of practitioners across medical and neurological settings. Topics featured in the Handbook:

• Neuropsychological assessment across the lifespan.
• Evaluating the epilepsy surgical candidate: methods and procedures.
• The Wada test: current perspectives and applications.
• Assessing psychiatric and personality disorders in the epilepsy patient.
Evaluation and management of psychogenic non-epileptic attacks.
• Neuropsychological assessment with culturally diverse patients.

William B. Barr, Ph.D., ABPP is the chief of neuropsychology at the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and an associate professor of neurology and psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. Included among his clinical duties are neuropsychological assessments, Wada tests, and brain mapping procedures on patients undergoing surgical treatment for epilepsy. He also specializes in neuropsychological assessment of patients with memory disorders resulting from brain injury, dementia, psychiatric disorders, and medical illness. His primary research interests include memory and other aspects of cognitive and behavioral functioning in epilepsy. He also researches sports concussion and serves at the neuropsychological consultant to various sports teams around the New York region. Dr. Barr is board certified in clinical neuropsychology, with more than 20 years of experience in working with epilepsy patients in specialized settings. He lectures extensively on the topic and has trained a generation of neuropsychologists working in epilepsy settings across the country.

Chris E. Morrison, Ph.D., ABPP is a clinical neuropsychologist at the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. She received her doctoral degree from the City University of New York Graduate School at Queens College. After completing her internship at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, she received grant funding for a post-doctoral fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center (specializing in movement disorders) and then went on to complete a second fellowship at the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. In her current faculty position at the CEC, she is involved with clinical, training, and research activities. Her research interests include the cognitive, behavioral, and affective sequelae of neurological diseases and their treatments, with a specific focus on epilepsy and movement disorders, and she has published in these areas. She is an active member in state and international organizations that represent the interests of the field of neuropsychology.

Dr. Morrison is board certified in clinical neuropsychology, with extensive particular expertise in performing specialized neuropsychological procedures including the Wada test and both intraoperative and extraoperative language mapping. Dr. Morrison is actively engaged in research on these procedures and in training graduate students on how to work with epilepsy patients.