0021-7557/04/80-02-Suppl/S111

Jornal de Pediatria

Copyright 2004 by Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria

REVIEW ARTICLE

Neuropsychological assessment in children

1

Danielle I. Costa , Luciana S. Azambuja , Mirna W. Portuguez , Jaderson C. Costa

Abstract
Objective: To describe the methods used for neuropsychological assessment in children, emphasizing aspects of interest to
pediatricians, psychologists and neurologists.
Sources of data: Review of the published literature concerning neuropsychological assessment, including textbooks and reference
manuals. The experience of the Neuropsychology Unit at Hospital So Lucas, Brazil, is described.
Summary of the findings: Neuropsychological assessment should not be limited to the application of psychometric and
neuropsychological tests; it should also correlate test findings with the neurological/behavioral disorder and establish which part of the
brain is likely to be involved. In addition, the careful interpretation of result must be associated with an evaluation of the individuals
current status and of the context in which she/he lives.
Conclusion: The final result of neuropsychological assessment should be a neuropsychological profile of the patient, which, in
combination with the evaluation of neurological/clinical, psychological and social aspects will contribute to diagnosis and provide
elements to guide the patient in terms of maximizing his/her potential.
J Pediatr (Rio J). 2004;80(2 Suppl):S111-S116: Neuropsychology, neuropsychological assessment in children, cognitive functions.

Introduction
Neuropsychology studies the relationship between the human
brain and behavior. Its development as a specific area of study is
relatively recent, although its scientific basis results from several
decades of knowledge and investigation.
1

According to Cunha, neuropsychological screening initially

sought to identify and locate focal brain lesions. Today, it is based
upon the dynamic location of functions, with the aim of
investigating higher cortical functions, such as attention, memory,
language, among others.

1. Psychologist, Service of Neurology, Hospital So Lucas, Pontifcia

Universidade Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre,
Brazil.
2. Associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics,
School of Medicine, Pontifcia Universidade Catlica do Rio Grande do
Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
3. Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Pontifcia Universidade
Catlica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The participation of the brain is regarded as a whole, where

areas are interdependent and correlated, working like an
orchestra, which needs the integration of its components to
2

perform a concert. This is called functional system.

The major focus of this system is the development of a
human behavior science based on brain functioning.
This way, by knowing the normal development and
functioning of the brain, we may understand cerebral
abnormalities, such as cognitive and behavioral disorders that
result from injuries, diseases or abnormal brain development.
Child neuropsychology, whose aim is the early identification
of cognitive and behavioral disorders, has become one of the key
elements of regular well-child visits. In this case, appropriate
tools (neuropsychological tests and developmental assessment
scales) are necessary.

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Neuropsychological assessment in children Costa DI et alii

The results of these scales and tests show the major gains
during development and aim at determining the childs specific
level of development. The importance of these tools lies in the
prevention and early detection of developmental and learning
disabilities, carefully indicating the pace and quality of the
process, allowing for a qualitative and quantitative mapping of
brain areas and their interconnections (functional system), with
the aim of early and accurate therapeutic interventions.

the variability of development parameters between same-aged

children;
the narrow relationship between physical development,
neurological development, and progressive emergency of
higher cortical functions.
Tests used

Some of the neuropsychological tests are listed next. Their

potentialities also are briefly described.

Neuropsychological screening in children indications

and contributions

Intelligence

Neuropsychological screening is recommended in any case

in which a cognitive or behavioral difficulty of neurological etiology
is suspected. This screening can help with the diagnosis and
treatment of several neurological diseases, childhood
developmental disabilities, psychiatric involvement, conduct
disorders, among others.

essential to school performance.

The contribution of such screening in children also applies to

the teaching-learning process, as it allows establishing some
relations between higher cortical functions, such as language,
attention, memory, symbolic learning (concepts, writing, reading,
etc.). The neuropsychological model of learning disabilities seeks
to obtain a sample of higher mental functions involved in symbolic
learning, which are obviously correlated with the functional
organization of the brain. Without that, learning is not processed
normally and, in this case, we may have a brain dysfunction or
injury.

Wechsler intelligence scales, subdivided according to age,

are the international gold standard for the quantification of
intellectual capacities. These scales consist of a series of
standardized questions and answers that determine an
individuals potential in different intellectual areas, such as level
of information on general topics, interaction with the environment
and capacity to solve every-day problems.

Intelligence tests for children basically evaluate skills that are

Neuropsychology can prepare different health professionals

(e.g.: physicians, psychologists, speech therapists, etc) by
subsidizing the investigation of childrens intellectual functions
and promoting a more efficient therapeutic intervention.
The group of instruments used allows us to have a global
assessment of childrens abilities, as well as of their difficulties
regarding their daily performance. We are not labeling children
as problematic, but we are preventing such difficulties from
affecting their healthy development.
Some aspects should also be considered, such as the fact
that brain development has characteristics that are peculiar to
each age group. Therefore, according to this brain functioning
pattern, it is important to devise tests that are based on the
maturational process of the brain. For instance, immaturity in
3

childhood should not be understood solely as deficiency, due to

peculiarities of brain development in childhood. Differently from
adults, a childs brain is still in the process of developing, with its
own characteristics that warrant differentiation and specificity of
functions.
3

According to Antunha, the batteries of neuropsychological

tests for children are not many, as they must include:
the organization and development of the childs nervous
system;

The Stanford-Binet test was the first to be used in the United

States. Adapted from Binet-Simon original scales, it is extensively
based on verbal performance and covers the ages of two years
to 23 years (adulthood), providing a mental age and intelligence
quotient (IQ).

Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence

(WPPSI) is a version of Wechsler scales for younger children that
allows assessing the intelligence of children aged between four
and six and a half years. It consists of six verbal and five
performance subtests. Usually, the application of five subtests of
each of the (verbal and performance) subscales is enough for a
reliable analysis of that scale. This scale also allows gathering
some information on how childs behavior is organized.
6

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (WISC-III) is the

scale most widely used to assess the intelligence of children
aged between six and 16 years, 11 months and 30 days. It
provides scores for verbal and performance scales, as well as a
full scale IQ score. It includes different types of tasks, allowing
the observation of the childs strengths and weaknesses. It
should be underscored that children with motor difficulty often are
penalized on this test, and therefore it should not be used when
such deficiency is observed. WISC-III block design subtest
(Figure 1) aims at checking the capacity of analysis, synthesis
and planning of visuospatial coordinates and constructive praxis.
Individuals are asked to reproduce drawings shown to them using
multi-colored blocks. A limit time is established for each model.
Although IQ is used to detect brain dysfunctions, the IQ score
can give further information on the patients general level of
functioning and thus serve as reference for more specific
functions, such as memory, language, etc. Both Stanford-Binet
and WISC-III and WIPPSI are administered individually.

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Neuropsychological assessment in children Costa DI et alii

refers to the depth of information acquired through formal

schooling, and is often used to solve problems similar to those
learned through past experience (as in conventional intelligence
tests). The latter one refers to the capacity of cognitive
processing, that is, general capacity to process information, or to
mental operations performed when relative new problems are
solved.
A battery of reasoning tests (BPR-5)

11

for assessing

intelligence on a global basis has been standardized to be used

in the Brazilian population. These tests estimate the general
cognitive functioning and skills in five specific areas: abstract,
verbal, spatial, numerical and mechanic reasoning. They help
examiners to take decisions based on the assessment of
aptitudes and general reasoning, as in the assessment of
learning disabilities. The tests are applied to: A) elementary
school students (6th to 8th grades) and B) high school students
(1st to 3rd grades).

Figure 1 - Example of WISC-III cubes subtest

When patients cannot express themselves verbally, Ravens

7

progressive matrices and Columbia mental maturity scale are

used. These tests assess general intelligence and estimate a
childs general ability to reason independent of language. The aim
of Ravens progressive matrices (Figure 2) is to find out the
relations between the figures and imagine which of them (total of
eight) completes the system.
Traditionally, intelligence is related to academic skills, but
there are other types of intelligence (e.g.: capacity to relate
complex ideas, form abstract concepts, derive logical implications
through general rules), which sometimes cannot be measured by
9,10

conventional tests. In this regard, Primi

underscores that two
types of intelligence are considered fundamental: crystallized
intelligence (which prioritizes knowledge) and fluid intelligence
(which prioritizes reasoning). The former one

Memory

Here, tests that assess memory functioning are used, such

as Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and Rey Visual
12

Design Learning Test (RVDLT). The tests that involve learning,

that is, the repeated exposure to the material to be recalled, are
more sensitive in detecting memory impairment than tests that
are presented only once. The RAVLT (Figure 3) consists in
reading a 15-word list to the examinee at a slow pace five times
in a row. After each turn, the examinee has to recall the words,
without having to follow the same order of presentation.
Wide range assessment of memory and learning Short
13

form (WRAML) is a psychometric instrument used to evaluate

the ability to learn and memorize several types of information
(visual memory, verbal learning, story memory) in patients aged
between five and 17 years.

Language
14

The Boston naming test is one of the most widely used

tests to assess language. It is designed to measure object
naming from line drawings. It is applied to children aged six years
or older with difficulty understanding or producing words or
written verbal material. Other tests are used, such as the verbal
15

fluency test (FAS), comprehension tests (e.g.: Token test), and

text, written and reading comprehension. Assessment also
includes the following topics: speech organs, oral habits, and
language development.

1
5

2
6

3
7

4
8

Some peculiarities have to be respected and taken into

consideration when assessing children with brain injuries. It is the
health professionals duty to be aware of the aims, skills, and
adequacy of techniques and investigative tools to be used, and to
know about the possible alterations and restraints that result from
brain injury, so that mistakes are not made during
neuropsychological screening.
The formal channels of expression and communication with
the environment are impaired in many children with

Figure 2 - Ravens progressive matrices

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Neuropsychological assessment in children Costa DI et alii

REY AUDITORY VERBAL LEARNING TEST (RAVLT) Phase I

Patient:
Age:

LIST A

LIST B

LIST A

DRUM

DESK

DRUM

CURTAIN

RANGER

CURTAIN

BELL

BIRD

BELL

COFFEE

SHOE

COFFEE

SCHOOL

STOVE

SCHOOL

PARENT

MOUNTAIN

PARENT

MOON

GLASSES

MOON

GARDEN

TOWEL

GARDEN

HAT

CLOUD

HAT

FARMER

BOAT

FARMER

NOSE

LAMB

NOSE

TURKEY

GUN

TURKEY

COLOR

PENCIL

COLOR

HOUSE

CHURCH

HOUSE

RIVER

FISH

RIVER

SCORE

Figure 3 - Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT)

brain injury. Therefore, the health professional has to create

strategies so that the child can communicate, interact, and have a
better understanding about what is going on with him/her.
We should help children to show us their potential and
communicate using resources that allow them to understand what
they are being asked, and to represent (through gestures,
mimicry, speech, written expression, or action) what they
understand and/or want to do.

For proper assessment of frontal functions (executive

functions), it is necessary to know the developmental stages of
this structure, that is, its process of maturation, which is
particularly important when assessing children. Evaluation of the
frontal lobe is usually difficult, since it involves complex and
poorly investigated functions. Among the several functions of the
frontal lobe are: plasticity, judgment capacity, ability to produce
different ideas, organization of information, capacity to give
proper responses to stimuli, to establish and change strategies
and to plan an action. These abilities may be assessed by the
verbal fluency test, drawing fluency, Wisconsin card sort test,

Frontal lobes

The interest in frontal lobe functions has been aroused in the

last few years. It is in this brain region that most differences
between humans and their ancestors are found. Frontal lobes
constitute one of the largest brain regions, whose functions
remain poorly known, although remarkable data on their activity
have been gathered in the last few years. It is now known that the
most complex human skills are located in the frontal lobe, such
as planning of sequential actions, standardization of social and
motor behaviors, part of automatic emotional behavior and
memory.

17

18

16

trail making test, Stroop test, which evaluate the capacity to

keep ones attention focused and not be influenced by answers
that are not expected at the moment. On the trail making test, the
task in part A (Figure 4) is to link, with a pencil, consecutively
numbered circles randomly distributed in a sheet of paper; in part
B (Figure 5), besides numbers, there are also printed letters on
the answer sheet and the sequence to be linked should alternate
between the two series, numbers and letters (1-A, 2-B, 3-C). This
task has to be performed as quickly as possible.

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Neuropsychological assessment in children Costa DI et alii

perception and memory, verifying how individuals recognize

perceptual data that are shown to them and what has been
spontaneously stored in memory. The tests are comprised of two
stages: the first one consists in copying the figure, and the
second one consists in recalling it after 30 minutes. It may also be
assessed through the block design subtest of Wechsler
intelligence scale.

3
5

6
9

8
10

2
7

11

1
Bayley scales of infant development (Bayley II- Bsid-II)

12

21

Bayley II is a test to assess the development of children

aged between 1 and 42 months. The test is divided into three
scales: motor, mental and behavioral, with a performance score
for each area. The three areas are considered complementary,
each of which has its importance in assessing children.

Figure 4 - Trail Part A

The mental scale assesses aspects related to cognitive

development and communication skills (ability to distinguish
shapes, attention, fine motor ability, understanding of instructions,
naming, problem solving, social skills).

2
B
3
C

The motor scale assesses the level of coordination of large

muscles (activities such as sitting, standing, walking, climbing up
and going down stairs) and fine motor skills (more delicate
manipulations with fingers and hands.

4
D

A
1
6

Figure 5 - Trail Part B

The behavioral scale allows assessing qualitative aspects of

childrens behavior during the testing session, such as attention,
understanding instructions, engagement in tasks, emotional
control, among others.

The Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) assesses the

executive function of the frontal lobe. It measures the modulation
of impulsive answers, direction of behavior, the abilities to
develop and maintain a strategy to solve a problem despite
changes in contingencies, flexibility, planning, organization,
inefficiency of initial conceptualization, and difficulty in finding
solutions to every-day problems, as the level of perseveration,
which is the continuation/repetition of a topic and the inability to
modify it after some time, or repetition of a motor behavior. It may
be applied to children aged six years or older.

Various subtests of the Wechsler intelligence scale (WISC III

and WPPSI) also help to investigate frontal lobe dysfunctions,

Figure 6 - Reys Figure

such as analogies, comprehension, coding, etc.

Parieto-occipital lobes

Functions related to visuospatial skills, visuospatial

organization (perception) and planning are assessed by ReyOsterrieth complex figure test

19

and perceptual and visuospatial

skills on Hooper visual organization test.

6) aim at evaluating

20

Reys figures (Figure

The test material is attractive and easy to be used. There

also is the Bayley infant neurodevelopment screener (BINS),
which is a simpler version used to evaluate the development of
children between three and 24 months, as with Denver II

22

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Result analysis
We have mentioned some of the tests used to evaluate
children. We suggest that more than one test be used to assess
each function, thus allowing for more reliable neuropsychological
conclusions.
It is also important to analyze the patients whole
performance throughout the process in combination with other
tests. The contribution of the findings of neurological,
neuroimaging, neurophysiological and neuropsychological tests
should be interpreted by a multidisciplinary team.

Neuropsychological assessment in children Costa DI et alii

4.

Thorndike RL, Hagen EP, Sattler JM. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence

Scale. 4th ed. Technical Manual. Chicago: Riverside Wechsler; 1986.

5.

Wechsler D. Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.

San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation; 1989.
Wechsler D. WISC-III: Escala de Inteligncia Wechsler para Crianas
- adaptao brasileira da 3 ed.. So Paulo: Casa do Psiclogo; 2002.

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

In conclusion, neuropsychologists choose the most suitable

evaluation methods based on their experience and specific
training, but they should be aware that the tests are not
categorical. The interpretation of results requires knowledge
about cognitive and affective aspects, as well as about factors
that might interfere with a task.
Psychologists interested in this area should be aware of the
complexity of each function and of the ways they could be
assessed by these tests. This way they can improve their
knowledge about brain functions and various central nervous
system pathologies. After a quantitative analysis, it is necessary
to analyze results qualitatively and investigate the intellectual
functions implicated in each of the items of each test, thus
establishing a relationship between function or dysfunction and
brain area. Only after such detailed analysis it will be possible to
contribute recommendations and guidelines to these childrens
rehabilitation program, corroborating them with clinical
investigation.

References
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2.
3.

Cunha JA, org. Psicodiagnstico. 4th ed. Porto Alegre: Artes Mdicas;
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Luria AR. Fundamentos de neuropsicologia. So Paulo: Editora da
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Raven JC. Matrizes Progressivas. Escala Geral. Rio de Janeiro:

CEPA; 2000.
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Heaton RK, Chelune GJ, Talley JL, Kay GG, Curtiss G. Wisconsin
Card Sorting test manual: revised and expanded. Odessa:
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DElia LF, Satz P, Uchiyama CL, White T. Color trail test: professional
manual. Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources; 1996.

18. Trenerry MR, Crosson B, DeBoe J, Leber WR. Stroop

Neuropsychological Screening Test Psychological Assessment.
Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources; 1989.
19. Oliveira M, org. Figuras Complexas de Rey - Teste de Cpia e
Reproduo de Memria de Figuras Geomtricas Complexas Adaptao Brasileira. So Paulo: Casa do Psiclogo; 1999.
20. Hooper HE. The Hooper Visual Organization test. Beverly Hills, CA:
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Materials, Inc.; 1996.

Corresponding author:
Mirna Wetters Portuguez
Servio de Neurologia, Unidade de Neuropsicologia,
Hospital So Lucas da PUCRS
Av. Ipiranga, 6690
CEP 90610-000 - Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Tel./Fax: +55 (51) 3339.4936
E-mail: mirna@pucrs.br