Forensic Neuropsychology: A Scientific Approach

Neuropsychologists are frequently asked to serve as experts for court cases where judgments must be made as to the cause of, and prognosis for, brain diseases and injuries, as well as the impact of brain dysfunction on legal competencies and responsibilities. This fully-updated second edition describes the application of neuropsychology to legal issues in both the civil and criminal courts. The book emphasizes the scientific basis of neuropsychology, as well as using a scientific approach in addressing forensic questions. All of the contributors are recognized experts in their fields, and the chapters cover common forensic issues such as appropriate scientific reasoning, the assessment of malingering, productive attorney-neuropsychologist interactions, admissibility of neuropsychological evidence, and ethics. Also covered are functional neuroimaging in forensic neuropsychology and the determination of damages in personal injury litigation, including pediatric brain injury (traumatic injury and perinatal birth injury), mild, moderate, and severe traumatic brain injury in adults, neurotoxic injury, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and assessment of medically unexplained symptoms. Civil competencies in elderly persons with dementia are addressed in a separate chapter, and two chapters deal with the assessment of competency and responsibility in criminal forensic neuropsychology. The book closes with a perspective on trends in forensic practice and research. Like the previous edition, this new volume is an invaluable resource for neuropsychologists, attorneys, neurologists, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and their students and trainees.