Neuropsychology as a (Psycho)Social Science: Implications for Research and Clinical Practice

Many early investigators of brain-behaviour relationships focused their investigative efforts on the psychiatric implications of brain damage and dysfunction. Descriptions of emotional dyscontrol and other psychosocial difficulties appeared frequently in their writings. Although dimensions of perception, memory, and cognition dominate the current neuropsychological literature, the psychosocial implications of patterns of neuropsychological assets and deficits retain their importance (e.g., in the study of the dementing diseases of adulthood). Our investigations of brain-behaviour relationships and their impact on psychosocial functioning have attempted to expand upon and chart a somewhat different (sub-typal) course for this area of study. One clearly evident conclusion of these efforts is that neuropsychology is a psychosocial science. Some implications of our findings for research and clinical practice are outlined.