Structural neuroimaging in neuropsychology: History and contemporary applications

Abstract

Objective: Neuropsychology's origins began long before there were any in vivo methods to image the brain. That changed with the advent of computed tomography in the 1970s and magnetic resonance imaging in the early 1980s. Now computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are routinely a part of neuropsychological investigations with an increasing number of sophisticated methods for image analysis.

Method: This review examines the history of neuroimaging utilization in neuropsychological investigations, highlighting the basic methods that go into image quantification and the various metrics that can be derived. Neuroimaging methods and limitations for identify what constitutes a lesion are discussed. Likewise, the influence of various demographic and developmental factors that influence quantification of brain structure are reviewed.

Conclusions: Neuroimaging is an integral part of 21st Century neuropsychology. The importance of neuroimaging to advancing neuropsychology is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record