Clinical Neuropsychology: Open Access
Open Access

Hydrocephalus; Spina bifida; Normal pressure hydrocephalus

Introduction

A neurological condition known as hydrocephalus is typically characterized by an increase in the volume of the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF). This results in ventricular swelling, which puts pressure on the brain and skull and damages numerous neural structures. The purpose of this review is to present a current overview of the condition's functional and etiological characteristics [1, 2]. In doing as such, we trust that its profile may be raised to a place of more noteworthy unmistakable quality inside scholarly neuropsychology. Despite having characteristics that make it of particular psychological interest, despite being a condition that is well-studied and well-understood in the clinical sciences, hydrocephalus has not achieved quite the same level of awareness in the behavioral sciences. While some of these characteristics are based on ideas like functional impairment, sparing, and dissociation, others are more general ideas like typical and atypical developmental trajectories, acute (and treatable) versus chronic manifestations, and so on. As a result, hydrocephalus presents a unique opportunity to theoretically bridge the gap between traditional patient-based neuropsychology and the study of developmental cognitive disorders [3, 4].

Since the introduction of the shunt procedure in the 1950s, patients' life expectancy has increased sufficiently for them to represent an existing population (with existing cognitive impairments), which may account for why hydrocephalus has escaped mainstream neuropsychological attention up to this point. In turn, the scientific literature on hydrocephalus has developed more slowly as a result of this historical context [5].

Results and Discussion

According to Aschoff, research on cognitive function primarily focused on children at the beginning of the 20th century. On the other hand, advancements in treatment have made it more likely that later studies will include adults as well as people of varying ages. Even though some functions (such as executive function and fine motor function) appear to be consistently impaired, this profile has resulted in some variation in cognitive outcomes between studies [6].

In the field of neuropsychology, hydrocephalus has the potential to play a particularly intriguing role. While our under remaining of conditions, for example, hemi spatial disregard or Balint's condition are gathered from people that we dare to have had common pre-horrible capability, how we might interpret mental weakness related with, for instance, Delicate X or on the other hand Turner's conditions comes from people who have, by definition, grew abnormally all along. An intriguing chance to look at the same condition from the perspectives of both conventional and atypical developmental trajectories is provided by hydrocephalus [7]. The latter is probably the most typical, with hydrocephalus appearing at birth (or before), most frequently as a result of ventricular or neural tube defects.

However, despite following a typical developmental path, a normal pressure variant of the condition can manifest itself in adulthood, typically around middle age, resulting in cognitive impairment. Although developmental reading or face processing impairments may be considered comparable to their clinical equivalents, it is difficult to generate other neuropsychological conditions that share such a singular pro-file [8]. We will discuss the potential repercussions of this. This indepth look at hydrocephalus will focus on the information that will likely be most useful to neuropsychologists. As a result, we will focus more on the condition's unique cognitive and behavioral effects than on its clinical complexities, though we will direct the reader to relevant resources for the latter. A comprehensive discussion of the causes of hydrocephalus and its connection to spina bifida follow in the first section of our review. After that, we proceed to defining its cognitive profile based on careful neuropsychological research on fundamental cognitive processes [9, 10]. This will be supplemented by inclusion of the generally inadequate examination that has tended to more integrative ways of behaving in patients with hydrocephalus, for example, spatial route. Last but not least, we'll return to the more philosophical and theoretical implications of studying this population or populations and suggest some future endeavors.

Conclusion

Even though congenital and early-onset variants of HC can have a variety of etiological causes, functional impairment tests show a fairly consistent picture across individuals. In any case, since bits of knowledge have been gathered from a combination of formative and grown-up examples, there are not dependably records of similar mental capabilities in the two associates of patient. In this segment, we start by presenting a wide mental profile of the condition, fundamentally educated by portraying execution across batteries regarding normalized neuropsychological tests. This aims to provide a general description of the domains that patient’s exhibit impairment in as well as those that might be regarded as unimpaired or "spared." Then, we look at some of the more in-depth studies of particular cognitive impairments that help us better understand specific domains.

Acknowledgement

None

Conflict of Interest

No conflict of interest declared.

1. Palmer BW, Heaton SC, Jeste DV (1999) Older patients with schizophrenia:  challenges in the coming decades. Psychiatric Services 50: 1178–1183. 

Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at 

2. Patorno E, Bohn R, Wahl P, Avorn J, Patrick AR, et al. (2010) Anticonvulsant medications and the risk of suicide, attempted suicide, or violent death. JAMA 303: 1401–1409. 

 Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at

3. Olesen JB, Hansen PR, Erdal J, Abildstrøm SZ, Weeke P, et al. (2010) Antiepileptic drugs and risk of suicide:  a nationwide study. Pharmacoepidem Dr S 19: 518–524. 

Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at 

4. Leipzig R, Cumming R, Tinetti M (1999) Drugs and falls in older people:  a systematic review and meta-analysis:  I. Psychotropic drugs. J Am Geriatr Soc 47: 30–39. 

Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at 

5. Gill S, Bronskill S, Normand S, Anderson GM, Sykora K, et al. (2007) Antipsychotic drug use and mortality in older adults with dementia. Ann Intern Med 146: 775–786. 

Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at 

6. Casey D, Haupt D, Newcomer J, Henderson DC, Sernyak MJ, et al. (2004) Antipsychotic-induced weight gain and metabolic abnormalities:  implications for increased mortality in patients with schizophrenia. J Clin Psychiatry 65(Suppl 7): 4–18. 

Google Scholar, Indexed at 

7. Schneider LS, Dagerman KS, Insel P (2005) Risk of Death with Atypical Antipsychotic Drug Treatment for Dementia. JAMA 294: 1934–1943. 

Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at 

8. Meijer WEE, Heerdink ER, Nolen WA, Herings RMC, Leufkens HGM, et al. (2004) Association of Risk of Abnormal Bleeding With Degree of Serotonin Reuptake Inhibition by Antidepressants. Arch Intern Med 164: 2367–2370. 

 Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at

9. Hamilton M (1960) A rating scale for depression. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 23: 56–62. 

Google Scholar, Cross Ref, Indexed at

10. DigheDeo D, Shah A (1998) Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Long Bone Fractures. J ECT 14: 115–119. 

Google Scholar, Indexed at