ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the relevant issues in the neuropsychological assessment and management of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) who also present with postconcussional symptoms. The fact that attorneys appear to be sending many such patients for neuropsychological evaluation provides a powerful testimony that such evaluations, in fact, may have special relevance in cases of litigation. Agreement exists that there are patients who sustain an MTBI with a clear neurologic component that accounts for persistent neuropsychological deficits. In clinical practice, neuropsychologists evaluate patients whose subjective complaints and overall level of disability are grossly in excess of what would be expected following an MTBI. Patients need to know early in their recovery from MTBI that cognitive and emotional symptoms are “normal” and should resolve with time and treatment. The patient’s pre-, peri-, and postnatal complications must be investigated.
