04| Neuroimaging and Neuropsychology, Friends or Foes? – With Dr. Steve Correia (Part 2)

In Part 2 of our discussion with Stephen Correia, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, we talk about training neuropsychologists in imaging, interacting with radiologists, the relationship between brain structure and function, and recommendations regarding imaging.  See the show notes for Part 1 for Steve’s bio.

A pdf of the transcript for this episode is available here.

If you’d like to receive APA-approved CE credit for listening to this episode, click here.

Topics Covered

  • Training neuropsychologists in neuroimaging  
    • the importance of the Houston Conference Guidelines and the idea that we should be informed consumers of all neurodiagnostic techniques  
  • How neuropsychologists should go about interacting with radiologists in clinical settings to maximize the quality of clinical care  
    • adopt a collaborative approach, ask for education, clarify when necessary, and attend neuroradiology rounds whenever possible 
  • How to handle the situation where you have obtained a radiology report and you have questions about the findings but you are unable to contact the author of the report 
  • The boundaries of neuropsychologists’ scope of practice with respect to interpreting neuroimaging 
  • The approach taken by many radiologists in interpreting brain scans, including what may and may not be included in the radiology report 
  • How neuropsychological trainees and professionals might go about improving their knowledge and skills in interpreting brain scans, including recommended resources (see below) 
  • The importance of understanding 3-dimensional neuroanatomy when interpreting scans 
  • The relationship between brain structure and brain function 
  • How to find out whether or not radiologists age-correct in their interpretations of atrophy 
  • How to think through the decision about whether or not to recommend neuroimaging at the end of a neuropsychological report 

Resources 

Brain Imaging, Paul Lebby: 

Education and training in neuroimaging:

https://www.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/training/courses

Good resources for studying brain anatomy from MRI images:

http://w-radiology.com/atlas_brain_mri.php

http://headneckbrainspine.com/ (the tutorial on how to operate can be found here: http://www.touchneurology.com/gallery/brain-mri-anatomy-module-tutorial)

https://Radiopaedia.org

Selected References

Baker, L. M., Laidlaw, D. H., Cabeen, R., Akbudak, E., Conturo, T. E., Correia, S., … & Salminen, L. E. (2017). Cognitive reserve moderates the relationship between neuropsychological performance and white matter fiber bundle length in healthy older adults. Brain imaging and behavior11(3), 632-639.

Gordon, B. A., Blazey, T. M., Su, Y., Hari-Raj, A., Dincer, A., Flores, S., … & Cairns, N. J. (2018). Spatial patterns of neuroimaging biomarker change in individuals from families with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease: a longitudinal study. The Lancet Neurology17(3), 241-250.

Malloy, P., Correia, S., Stebbins, G., & Laidlaw, D. H. (2007). Neuroimaging of white matter in aging and dementia. The Clinical Neuropsychologist21(1), 73-109.

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