[The role of the neuropsychologist in neurology services: a descriptive study of the users of the specialised neurological assessment unit of the Hospital Complex of Navarra during its first year in service].

INTRODUCTION. A large number of neurological diseases course with impairment of higher cognitive functions, their evaluation being important for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes. The main purpose of neuropsychological assessment is to identify behavioral, emotional and cognitive consequences of brain dysfunction. The neuropsychologist's figure was included in Navarra's Hospital Neurology Service in February 2013 through a specialized practice in neuropsychological assessment. AIM. To describe the sociodemographic and clinical profile of all patients referred to the same from March 2013 to March 2014. PATIENTS AND METHODS. A total of 511 people have been treated in this practice. RESULTS. 73.2% are more than 55 years old and the most frequent reason of referral is to characterize the neuropsychological profile to detect and discriminate mild cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as the type of dementia. In younger adults (< 55 years old) the most prevalent cognitive deficit is memory impairment. CONCLUSIONS. The expert neuropsychologist performs thorough neuropsychological evaluations from an interpretative approach. The results of this study suggest the importance of this figures role in neurology services and point out future aims.