Neuropsychological assessment in adults and the elderly - YMPC019

• Title: Neuropsychological assessment in adults and the elderly
• Form of teaching: lecture
• Guaranteed by: Programme Theoretical and Research Psychology (24-TVP)
• Faculty: Faculty of Humanities
• Actual: from 2025 to 2025
• Duration in semesters: 1
• Semester: winter
• E-Credits: 4
• Examination process: winter s.:
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unlimited / unknown (25)
• Maximum number of enrolled students: 25
• Min. number of students: 5
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Repeated enrollment: 1 (2) / 1 / 1 / 1
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: Valeria Piombino, M.Sc., Ph.D.
• Teacher(s): Valeria Piombino, M.Sc., Ph.D.
• Class: Courses available to incoming students

Annotation

The course will cover the main cognitive functions and their impairments. A few examples of tests will be used to demonstrate how cognitive functions are assessed in neuropsychology. In the final module of the course, practical exercises will be conducted in groups.

Last update: Piombino Valeria, M.Sc., Ph.D. (26.09.2025)

Syllabus

Seminar on Neuropsychological assessment
* in adults and the elderly

Course open to Master students
Pre-requisites: Introduction to psychology
Lesson duration: 80 minutes (including a 10-minute break)
Weekly schedule: 1 lesson per week, 80 minutes each
Credits: 4 ECTS 
How to get credits: Mandatory attendance of 80% of lectures. Test during exams period: Multiple choice and open questions 
Learning resources (optional but recommended):
- Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D.B, Bigler, E.D., Tranel, D. (2012). Neuropsychological assessment (Fifth edition). Oxford University Press, USA.
- Slides + papers (provided during lectures)




* Weekly schedule and Lectures

Part 1: Foundation of neuropsychological assessment (week 1)

• Introduction to neuropsychological assessment and neuropsycological testing principles
• Brain-behaviour relationship in adults

Part 2: Cognitive domains, dysfunctions and neuropsychological testing (week 2-7)

• Intellectual and general cognitive abilities (lecture 2)
• Attention and processing speed (lecture 2)
• Executive functioning & decision making (lecture 3)
• Voluntary movement and apraxia (lecture 3)
• Spatial cognition and neglect (lecture 4)
• Object recognition and agnosia (lecture 4)
• Memory (lecture 5)
• Language and communication (lecture 6)
• Body representation and pain (lecture 7)
• Behavioural and emotional functioning (lecture 7)

Part 3: Clinical application in adults and elderly (week 8-10)

• Cognitive changes in normal aging and Alzheimer's dementia (lecture 8)
• Neuropsychological profiles in other dementias (lecture 9)
• Stroke and vascular cognitive impairment (lecture 10)
• Traumatic brain injury in adults (lecture 10)

Part 4: Practical application & case studies: group exercise on diagnosis and neuropsychological assessment planning (week 11-13)

• Case study 1 - Normal vs pathological cognitive decline 
• Case study 2 - Alzheimer's vs vascular dementia
• Case study 3 - Stroke/traumatic injury

Last update: Piombino Valeria, M.Sc., Ph.D. (04.09.2026)