Man finds his true calling in neuropsychology
BY MARGARET ANN MIILLEMonday, September 1, 2003
SARASOTA -- As a graduate student, Peter R. Kaplan
saw something at a Honolulu hospital that caused him to switch
tracks on his career path.
He was on the neurological floor, evaluating a university professor
who had memory loss after a lengthy diabetic coma. Though the
rest of his intellect remained intact, he could remember things
only for a few minutes at a time.
"I was so intrigued by that phenomenon that I shifted gears
toward neuropsychology," said Kaplan, who has a solo practice
at Cattleridge Boulevard.
Neuropsychology is the study of how impaired
brain function affects behavior. A clinical neuropsychologist
evaluates patients with dementia and other types of brain disorders
caused by strokes, disease and blunt trauma.
Kaplan uses a series of standardized tests, sending the results,
along with suggested diagnoses and treatments, to the referring
physicians.
Testing can span a half-day to two days, focusing on attention,
concentration, memory, visual and spatial abilities, initiation
of thought and behavior, and more.
"An MRI or a CAT scan can tell you what
a brain looks like, but the only way you can know how well a
brain is functioning is by standardized testing and ability,"
said Kaplan. "Its performance gives you a window to a brain's
functioning."
Not everyone he sees has a brain malady. Some people who test
for dementia don't have it; they're just getting older. "People
frequently mistake normal aging for evidence of disease."
Kaplan is also involved in clinical trials with CNS Clinical
Trials, a division of Comprehensive Neuroscience Inc., which
has an office in Sarasota. The business studies experimental
drugs and those on the market for depression, Alzheimer's disease
and other ailments.
Kaplan also assesses people who have filed personal
injury claims and those whose competency is challenged in estate
matters.
"One of the nice things about doing this kind of work is
that you are a detective," Kaplan said.
While some medications can marginally help those with Alzheimer's,
neurological diseases are usually progressive. The neuropyschologist's
role, Kaplan said, is to help maximize the patient's quality
of life and help the family prepare for upcoming changes.
"I think the key to doing this right is
to find those areas of life in which people can still exert control.
There is not much you can do about the course of many neurological
diseases, but there is a lot you can do about how you can respond
to them."
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