A Contemporary Approach to Geriatric Neuropsychology

Extract

Geriatric Neuropsychology: Assessment and Intervention. Deborah K. Attix and Kathleen Welsh-Bohmer (Eds.). 2006. New York: The Guilford Press, 467 pp., $65.00 HB.

Most neuropsychologists specializing in assessment and treatment of adults will receive a fair share of referrals for assessment of memory and cognitive functions in older patients. The past 15 to 20 years have been marked by an impressive increase in the amount known about the neurobiological basis of aging and dementia. Keeping up with this field has been like monitoring a “moving target,” as a result of increasing refinements in diagnostic categories, technological developments in neuroimaging, and continuing discoveries in the fields of genetics and molecular biology. The field has needed an accessible reference that reviews all of these important areas while also providing an integration of the literature from a uniquely neuropsychological perspective. I am pleased to report that the book, Geriatric Neuropsychology: Assessment and Intervention, meets this important need.