The Technology Crisis in Neuropsychology

Abstract

Neuropsychology has fallen reliant on outdated and labor intensive methods of data collection that are slow, highly inefficient, and expensive, and provide relatively data-poor estimates of human behavior despite rapid technological advance in most other fields of medicine. Here we present a brief historical overview of current testing practices in an effort to frame the current crisis, followed by an overview of different settings in which technology can and should be integrated. Potential benefits of laboratory based assessments, remote assessments, as well as passive and high-frequency data collection tools rooted in technology are discussed, along with several relevant examples and how these technologies might be deployed. Broader issues of data security and privacy are discussed, as well as additional considerations to be addressed within each setting. Some of the historical barriers to adoption of technology are also presented, along with a brief discussion of the remaining uncertainties. While by no means intended as a comprehensive review or prescriptive roadmap, our goal is to show that there are a tremendous number of advantages to technologically driven data collection methods, and that technology should be embraced by the field. Our predictions are that the comprehensive assessments of the future will likely entail a combination of lab-based assessments, remote assessments, and passive data capture, and leading the development of these efforts will cement the role of neuropsychology at the forefront of cognitive and behavioral science.

Keywords: Assessment; Behavior; Cognition; Computer science; Information technology; Neurology; Neuroscience.