Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Differential Diagnosis Of Late Onset Psychosis Using Neuropsychological Assessment And Neuroimaging Techniques, Susan Fralick Ball

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Few references in the literature have been made with respect to the diagnosis of late onset psychosis by the use of behavioral observations coupled with neuropsychological and neuroimaging techniques. This is a report of the case of a 68-year-old woman who experienced a sudden onset of psychotic illness characterized by delusions and confabulation. As part of her neurobehavioral evaluation, a SPECT scan revealed right frontal and left anterior temporal lobe hypoperfusion. Serial neuropsychological evaluations demonstrated decline on tests of executive control (monitoring, allocation of attention, perseveration) and visuospatial abilities, whereas performance in other areas of cognitive functioning remained close to …