Prospectus | 08/09 - Psychology and Neuroscience - Maastricht ...

Chapter 4 - Specialization Neuropsychology
Instructional Approach
A series of four lectures for each of two broad themes. Faculty members from each of
the four specializations will present lectures in successive weeks.
Required readings, assigned by each lecturer, will be made available prior to the first
meeting of a new theme.
Form of Assessment
Following each series of four lectures, an open book exam will be given, covering
material from all of the assigned readings and lectures for that theme. The final pass/
fail score is based on the average grade obtained on the two exams.
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4.2 Core courses
| 441NP Brain Damage – 4 credits
Coordinator: Martin van Boxtel, Psychiatry & Neuropsychology (FHML), Phone 38 81028,
12 Dr. Tanslaan, Room 4.E3.017, E-mail: m.vanboxtel@psychology.unimaas.nl
Description of the Course
Students are introduced to the fields of Behavioural Neurology and Neuropsychology:
what do pathological conditions in brain structure and function tell us about the relationship
between brain and behaviour? Much of what we know about cognitive processes
and affective functioning has been learned from close observation of patients
with damage to the central nervous system. This course reviews mechanisms of the
relationship between brain and behaviour that are the basis of neuropsychological dysfunctions
in persons who suffer from brain damage. Students acquire knowledge about
the causes and neurobiological effects of brain lesions, and get acquainted with the
taxonomy of common neurological and neuropsychological syndromes. Functional disturbances
that occur after focal or diffuse lesions in different cortical areas, in connecting
tracts, in limbic and other subcortical brain structures are discussed, together with
the neurocognitive assessment procedures that are necessary to identify such deficits,
including disorders of memory, praxis, language, visual spatial abilities and executive
function. After completion of the course the students will have a broad overview of
functional brain anatomy (including lobar anatomy and cerebral vascularization), the
neurophysiology of brain repair, and the neurological diseases (e.g. brain trauma, stroke,
and epilepsy) that are relevant for Neuropsychology, both as a clinical and a research
discipline. Finally, the student will be familiar with the fundamental processes involved
in functional brain plasticity. This knowledge is essential to understand the principles of
neuropsychological rehabilitation in order to support or even improve residual function
after brain damage and to ameliorate the life quality of neurological patients.
Literature
• Selected readings from neuropsychological and neurological handbooks;
• Course syllabus (e-reader).