Neurovascular Neuropsychology

Book excerpt: Neurovascular diseases and conditions, and their associated risk factors, represent a significant cause of cognitive disability in the United States and throughout the world. In the USA alone there are 750,000 new strokes each year, representing the number one cause of disability in the country. Hypertension, found in approximately 50 million Americans, has been shown to be associated with alterations of cognitive function, even in the absence of stroke and dementia. Recent studies of neurovascular disease have now revealed that neuropsychological function may be a more sensitive measure of brain integrity than coordination, motor or sensory function and correlates will with functional outcome measures. Neurovascular Neuropsychology focuses on focal and diffuse neurovascular disease in addition to systemic conditions in which cognition and behavior have been uniquely associated with different pathologic states. With an increasing number of patients being treated by healthcare professionals, Neurovascular Neuropsychology will prove to be a strong reference to consult in regards to neuropsychological syndromes.