A response to Mapou.

Mapou (1988) has suggested that detection of brain damage has become an irrelevant task for neuropsychology, and that neuropsychological assessment should be used to generate profiles of cognitive function useful for sophisticated diagnosis and rehabilitation. While agreeing the latter considerations are important and germane, we affirm that the detection of brain damage remains an important task for neuropsychology. This affirmation is based on considerations of the nature of brain damage, the development and validation of neuropsychological tests, the utilization of neuropsychological assessment in current practice and the appropriate professional practice of clinical neuropsychology.