Neuropsychological Assessments Mapped to Neuroanatomy

Understanding which tests best probe specific brain regions helps you build tighter hypotheses, choose appropriate test batteries, and interpret patterns of impairment with greater confidence. The collapsible sections below pair major neuroanatomical areas with gold‑standard neuropsychological instruments commonly used to evaluate their functions.

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Planning, set‑shifting, inhibition, working memory, fluency, social judgement, motivation, and self‑monitoring. Distinct networks include the dorsolateral prefrontal (cold executive functions), orbitofrontal (emotion / reward), and medial frontal / anterior cingulate (initiation & conflict monitoring).

Core assessments

• Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) – cognitive flexibility, concept formation
• Stroop Colour–Word Test – inhibitory control & mental speed
• Trail Making Test B – set‑shifting, divided attention
• Tower of London / Hanoi – planning & look‑ahead
• Verbal Fluency (FAS / Controlled Oral Word Association) & Design Fluency
• Digit Span (backwards) / Letter–Number Sequencing – working memory manipulation
• Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS)
• Iowa Gambling Task – orbitofrontal risk / reward decision‑making

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Episodic encoding (medial temporal & hippocampus), semantic memory, language comprehension/production (superior & middle temporal gyri), auditory discrimination, emotion (amygdala).

Core assessments

• Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) / California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT)
• Wechsler Memory Scale – Logical Memory & Visual Reproduction
• Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure (immediate & delayed recall)
• Boston Naming Test (BNT) & Token Test – confrontation naming & receptive syntax
• Digit Span (forward) – simple auditory span
• Benton Visual Retention Test – visual memory & constructional errors

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Spatial awareness, mental rotation, visuoconstructive praxis, numerical processing, body schema, attention (especially right posterior parietal).

Core assessments

• Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure (copy)
• WAIS Block Design & Matrix Reasoning
• Judgement of Line Orientation (JLO)
• Benton Constructional Praxis or Hooper Visual Organisation
• Spatial Span (Corsi)
• Tests for Gerstmann syndrome: finger localisation, left‑right orientation, calculation, writing

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Basic visual perception, colour discrimination, object & face recognition (via ventral stream), motion perception (via dorsal stream).

Core assessments

• Visual Object & Space Perception Battery (VOSP)
• Benton Facial Recognition Test
• Ishihara / Farnsworth‑Munsell colour tests (when optic pathways intact)
• Tachistoscopic half‑field identification for hemifield asymmetries

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Motor speed, procedural learning, initiation, sustained attention, processing speed, mood regulation.

Core assessments

• Trail Making Test A – motor & visual search speed
• Digit Symbol / Coding (WAIS)
• Grooved Pegboard & Finger Tapping Test
• Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT)
• Stroop colour naming time (speed component)

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Fine motor coordination, motor learning, temporal processing, and – in CCAS – planning, set‑shifting, linguistic fluency, and affect regulation.

Core assessments

• Purdue / Grooved Pegboard for dexterity
• Rapid Alternating Movement & Finger‑to‑Nose bedside tasks
• Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome (“Schmahmann”) Scale
• Executive tests listed under frontal lobes (cerebellar‑frontal loops)

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Emotional reactivity (amygdala), episodic memory consolidation (hippocampus), motivational drive (septal/nucleus accumbens), affect regulation (cingulate).

Core assessments

• Facial Affect Recognition (Ekman & Friesen sets)
• Emotional Stroop / Affective Go‑NoGo
• Iowa Gambling Task – reward‑based decision‑making
• Memory tests listed under temporal lobes

Primary cognitive / behavioural roles

Rapid information sharing between hemispheres; bimanual coordination; integration of verbal & spatial codes.

Core assessments

• Dichotic Listening Tasks – ear advantage & interhemispheric relay
• Bimanual Coordination (e.g., Purdue Pegboard both‑hands)
• Tachistoscopic half‑field word / picture recognition

• Combine task purity with battery diversity: no single test isolates one region exclusively, so cross‑reference patterns across multiple instruments.
• Adjust for demographic corrections (age, education, culture) to avoid false‑positive localisation errors.
• Integrate behavioural observations (e.g., strategy use, error types) – they often reveal loci of dysfunction better than raw scores alone.
• Where structural/functional imaging is available, use neuropsych data to constrain and complement radiological findings.