Neuropsychologic assessment of visual disorders

Patients present with a variety of visual problems that can occur in the context of focal or diffuse brain lesions or as a consequence of low-level visual disturbances or high-level visual/cognitive disturbances. Many of these patients present with visual problems that cannot be readily diagnosed in an ophthalmologic or neurologic examination, thus a neuropsychologic evaluation is indicated. This article introduces a sample of neuropsychologic tests of dysfunction of patients with visual problems. A broad sample of visuoperceptual, visuospatial, visuoconstructive, visual attention, and visual memory tests used primarily in the clinical setting is described. Test logic, reliability, and patterns of performance associated with cerebral lesions also are briefly reviewed.