Our Approach to Neurocognitive
Deficits & Disorders
The Montefiore Einstein Division of Neuropsychology is at the forefront of the emerging frontier for delivering clinical breadth and expertise, education and research in neuropsychological evaluation and care, enhancing our ability to dramatically impact the optimal functioning and social interactions of individuals with cognitive disabilities across the lifespan.
Our multidisciplinary team of internationally recognized neuropsychologists provides comprehensive, in-depth and targeted evaluations across the lifespan of our patients to assess behavioral and cognitive (thinking) abilities, such as memory, attention, visuospatial skills, and problem-solving. Our neuropsychological evaluations further our mission of precision medicine for the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative dementias; traumatic brain injury; stroke; epilepsy; multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmunological disorders; Parkinson’s disease and numerous other movement disorders; neuromuscular disorders; brain tumors and paraneoplastic conditions; pediatric communication disorders, including autism spectrum and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders; and infectious and metabolic disorders. We have more than four decades of experience developing tools to detect the earliest stages of degenerative dementias and other neurological conditions. Our Division of Neuropsychology is unique in our ability to diagnose and intervene at all stages of neurological illness, thereby allowing us to intervene with innovative therapeutic modalities at incipient stages of illness to optimize patient recovery, resilience and potential cures.
Our specialized team of neuropsychologists works together with neurologists, neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, physicians and specialists from numerous Montefiore Einstein departments, centers and programs, including our Center for the Aging Brain; Hudson Valley Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease; Comprehensive Brain Health Center; Memory Disorder Clinic; Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center; Comprehensive Epilepsy Center; Center for Autism and Communications Disorders; and COVID-19 Recovery Clinic, among others, as well as referring physicians in the surrounding community and nationwide. The Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology is ranked in the top 1% of all hospitals in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report, and an international referral site for the most complex, atypical and rare cases.
Tratamientos avanzados
Our multidisciplinary team diagnoses children and adults employing the most comprehensive and emerging neuropsychological assessment techniques and technologies, including digital and AI-enhanced biobehavioral assessment batteries including remote monitoring, naturalistic environments, and virtual reality settings, to deliver the most advanced precision care plans to optimize functional recovery and enhance cognitive resilience.
Our department created the first program in the world that challenged and transformed the view that senility is a normal part of aging, which led to an international biomedical movement to begin to study the scientific underpinnings of degenerative dementias, as well as their distinction from the process of normal aging. This led to a congressional mandate to establish Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers and a new branch of the National Institute of Health called the National Institute on Aging.
We offer an extensive and innovative range of complimentary diagnostic and treatment services such as:
- Comprehensive and individualized neuropsychological profiling
- Cognitive, emotive, and sensorimotor brain localization and fine cortical mapping
- Functional lateralization, including assessment of right/left skill dominance
- Cognitive Remediation
- Biobehavioral Therapy
- Psychotherapy
Investigación y ensayos clínicos
Nos dedicamos a promover la comprensión de las relaciones entre el cerebro y el comportamiento a lo largo de la vida. Desde la infancia, examinamos las causas y las modalidades de tratamiento para un amplio espectro de afecciones neurológicas, incluidos los trastornos de la comunicación, como los trastornos del espectro autista; los trastornos por déficit de atención e hiperactividad; los trastornos pediátricos del lenguaje; las afecciones auditivas y del habla; los trastornos neurocutáneos; la epilepsia traumática y del desarrollo; los trastornos neuromusculares, como la atrofia muscular espinal y las distrofias musculares; los trastornos del movimiento, incluidas las distonías hereditarias y los tumores pediátricos del cerebro y de los nervios periféricos.
During later stages of life, we continue to advance innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative dementias; neurovascular conditions; movement disorders, such as Parkinson's and Huntington’s diseases; neuromuscular disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), mitochondrial encephalomyopathies, myasthenia gravis; epilepsy syndromes; primary brain tumors and brain metastasis; headache and facial pain syndromes; and sleep-wake disorders. Our investigators have discovered that many of these late-onset disorders have their origins during early development. These remarkable observations are enabling us to develop novel diagnostic and treatment strategies at presymptomatic stages of disease, a time during which therapeutic interventions hold great promise for preventing, delaying, and eventually curing some of the most intractable diseases.
Your Neuropsychology Team
John J. McGinley, PhD
The Montefiore Einstein Division of Neuropsychology comprises an elite team of neuropsychologists; neurologists; behavioral therapists; rehabilitation medicine and pain management specialists; board-certified geriatricians; and social workers and nurse consultants, giving patients extensive access to resources for diagnosing, treating and navigating cognitive and other conditions.
About the Conditions We Define and Treat
Below are some of the nervous system disorders that we define and treat.
Enfermedad de Alzheimer
La enfermedad de Alzheimer es un trastorno cerebral que destruye lentamente la memoria y las habilidades de pensamiento y, finalmente, la capacidad de realizar las tareas más simples. En la mayoría de las personas con la enfermedad, los síntomas aparecen por primera vez cuando tienen alrededor de 60 años. El Alzheimer de aparición temprana se da entre los 30 y los 60 años y es muy poco frecuente. La enfermedad de Alzheimer es la causa más común de demencia entre los adultos mayores.
Accidente cerebrovascular (ACV)
A stroke is often referred to as a “brain attack.” It is a sudden interruption of continuous blood flow to the brain and is considered a medical emergency. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked or narrowed, or when a blood vessel bursts and spills blood into the brain. Just like a heart attack, a stroke requires immediate medical attention.
Epilepsia
Epilepsies are chronic neurological disorders in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally and cause seizures. Neurons normally generate electrical and chemical signals that act on other neurons, glands, and muscles to produce human thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Esclerosis múltiple
La esclerosis múltiple (EM) es la enfermedad neurológica discapacitante más común en adultos jóvenes, y sus síntomas suelen aparecer entre los 20 y los 40 años. También es el trastorno desmielinizante inflamatorio más común, una afección en la que el sistema inmunitario ataca a las células que producen y mantienen la vaina de mielina, una capa protectora blanquecina que recubre los nervios y que ayuda a la señalización eléctrica nerviosa.
Enfermedad de Parkinson
La enfermedad de Parkinson (EP) es un trastorno del movimiento del sistema nervioso que empeora con el tiempo. A medida que las células nerviosas (neuronas) en partes del cerebro se debilitan, se dañan o mueren, las personas pueden comenzar a notar problemas con el movimiento, temblores, rigidez en las extremidades o el tronco del cuerpo o problemas de equilibrio. A medida que avanzan los síntomas, las personas pueden tener dificultad para caminar, hablar o realizar otras tareas sencillas. No todas las personas con uno o más de estos síntomas padecen EP, ya que los síntomas también aparecen en otras enfermedades.
Brain Tumors
A tumor is a mass of abnormal cells that either form into a new growth or were present as a mass at birth (congenital). Tumors can be noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant) and occur when something goes wrong with genes that regulate cell growth, allowing cells to grow and divide out of control. Tumors can form anywhere in the body. Brain and spinal cord tumors form in the tissue inside the brain or spinal cord, which make up the central nervous system (CNS).
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are developmental disorders. Developmental disorders (or developmental disabilities) are a group of conditions and impairments in physical, learning, language or behavior that affect daily life. These disorders are primarily diagnosed in children, but present before the age of 22.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
El trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) es un trastorno neuroconductual caracterizado por dificultades para controlar la impulsividad, la dificultad para prestar atención o la hiperactividad. Es uno de los trastornos del desarrollo neurológico más comunes en la infancia. El TDAH interfiere con la capacidad de una persona para concentrarse en una tarea y mantener la concentración. La persona puede actuar sin pensar o tener dificultades para autocontrolarse. Existen tres tipos de TDAH: inatento, hiperactivo-impulsivo y combinado. El diagnóstico depende de cuáles de los siguientes síntomas sean más predominantes en la persona.
Lesión cerebral traumática
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be caused by a forceful bump, blow or jolt to the head or body, or from an object that pierces the skull and enters the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. Primary effects on the brain include various types of bleeding and tearing that injure nerve fibers and cause inflammation, metabolic changes and brain swelling.