Memory assessment in neuropsychology: theoretical considerations and practical utility.

Memory assessment is one of the principal objectives of neuropsychological evaluation. Yet, careful examination reveals very clear shortcomings in the memory tests employed by neuropsychologists. Specifically, most procedures are selected on the basis of their ability to detect structural brain pathology rather than their ability to assess memory performance per se or the constituent operations that underlie it. This paper addresses the shortcomings in the structure of several representative memory tests in neuropsychology, how some of these limitations have been overcome with newer scales, and presents practical and theoretical considerations for the development of new clinical memory measures.