Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Aging and Dementia (Clinical Handbooks in Neuropsychology)

From the reviews:

“This is a practical guide to assessment, recommendations, and prevention of cognitive decline and dementia. … The chapters are organized fairly uniformly … . The book includes helpful tables and figures as well as some clinical case examples. … this will be an invaluable resource, both for seasoned veterans and novice clinicians. It also will be of great assistance to neuropsychologists who are considering changing their focus to older adults.” (Gary B. Kaniuk, Doody's Book Reviews, January, 2013)

“A ‘must have’ for the bookshelves of any neuropsychologist who sees or wants to see older adults. … Hats off to Drs Lisa Ravdin and Heather Katzen for putting together such a useful, well written addition to the Clinical Handbook series … . I recommend this book to anyone who is involved in or considering providing assessment to older adults. I guarantee it will provide you with new perspectives and/or issues to consider as you move forward in your clinical practice.” (Laura A. Flashman, Clinical Handbooks in Neuropsychology, 2013)

This book offers practitioners a hands-on guide to bedrock clinical tasks. The first half of the volume addresses special considerations for conducting neuropsychological assessments of older adults, such as disease management issues, sleep concerns, and ethical matters. The second section illuminates symptoms and issues associated with specific disorders and their relationship to functional impairments. Information is presented in a practitioner friendly format with sample cases, test battery recommendations, and “clinical pearls” from recognized experts in the field. Among the Handbook’s topics: 

·                   Serial assessments in dementia.

·                   Considerations for neuropsychological evaluations with older minority patients.

·                   Impact of medications on cognition.

·                   Assessing depression and anxiety in older adults.

·                   Prevention of cognitive decline.

·                   Plus in-depth chapters on late-life cognitive impairment resulting from Alzheimer’s disease, vascular cognitive impairment, cancer, stroke, epilepsy, and a variety of other conditions.

 Useful and informative well beyond its immediate specialty, the Handbook on the Neuropsychology of Aging and Dementia is a practical reference for neuropsychologists, neurologists, primary care physicians (geriatricians, internists, family doctors), health psychologists, clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers.

Lisa Ravdin, Ph.D., ABPP-CN is a board-certified neuropsychologist and director of the Weill Cornell Neuropsychology Service in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience at new York Hospital Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. After graduating from the Chicago Medical School doctoral program, she completed an internship at the West Haven VA medical Center and Yale Epilepsy Program where she received the Jacob Levin Intern Award for Outstanding Clinical Scholarship. Subsequently, she underwent advanced training in a neuropsychology post doctoral fellowship at New York University School of Medicine-Hospital for Joint Diseases, as well as a neuropsychology fellowship at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Presently, her primary clinical and research activities focus on cognitive changes associated with neurologic disorders and, in particular, age-related diseases. In addition, she is a co-investigator on a number of research initiatives relating to cognitive decline associated with neurologic disease (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus) and depression. Heather Katzen, Ph.D. is assistant research professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and adjunct research assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology/neuropsychology from the University of Miami and completed a post doctoral fellowship at New York Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College. She is a member of the International Neuropsychological Society, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and American Psychological Association, Division 40, Neuropsychology.