Quick Cognitive Screening for Clinicians PDF

Preface

This collaboration on cognitive screening brings together two rapidly growing and overlapping fields, namely geriatric psychiatry and neuro-psychiatry. As colleagues in the same department, we came to realize the importance of sharing our expertise and experience of assessing and treating a wide range of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The fields of psychiatry, geriatrics, neurology, neuropsychology and primary care all share a role and vested interest in the early identification of brain disorders as well as having the capacity to monitor cognitive changes over time.

The book focuses on the brief or ‘quick' cognitive screening instruments. Inevitably, there is a selection bias on the part of the authors in terms of which instruments we chose to review and their relative emphasis. However, we did strive for objectivity in reviewing those instruments most widely used and studied. We also felt that a chapter devoted to frontal lobe tests was necessary, given the importance of this brain region in modulating behavior and cognition. In this book, we summarize the current state of knowledge related to the development of cognitive screening instruments. Hopefully, readers will find the book of academic interest and practical value in their daily clinical work.