T
he last decade of the 20th century saw the most significant advances in scientific understanding of the brain. In this context, there was a consolidation of the concept of “Brain Sciences” (Ciencias Neurales in Spanish) to name the discipline made up of several currents: Neurosciences (affective, cognitive, and social), Neurology, Neuropsychiatry, and Neuropsychology. The United States government named this period as “The Decade of the Brain” and prioritized investments in consolidating the knowledge accumulated up to that historical moment of the structure and functioning of the brain.
In addition, the government invested in developing new research projects aimed at understanding other complex brain functions and circuits. In this broad scientific context, knowledge was advanced about fear and anxiety circuits, the neurophysiology of depression, and other psychopathological disorders, including the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative conditions or dementias.
With that same impulse, behavioral professionals have considerably advanced our understanding of many neurodevelopment conditions. For example, we increased our understanding of attention and hyperactivity disorders (ADHD). The work of Dr. Russell Barkley and other researchers helped us develop a broader and deeper understanding of the role of executive functions in regulating attention, motivation, emotion, and behavior, leading to the conclusion that ADHD is a dysregulation syndrome.
Likewise, these advances accelerated the scientific study of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These resulted in developing a wide range of early interventions to counteract deficiencies in information processing (canalesthesia), limitations in the development and functioning of social cognition (associability), restrictions in interests, and stereotyped behaviors that characterize the syndrome. Currently, theoretical models propose effective methods to address the alterations associated with this condition.
Another area that has received a great deal of attention over the past decades is trauma. From the first publications of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, Dr. Rachel Yehuda’s neuroscientific, neuropsychological, and psychological explorations, to Dr. Julian Ford’s articulation of Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) with van der Kolk, our understanding of this condition increased dramatically. Now, we can explain through epigenetic processes how a trauma experience turns into a stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, we know about the neurodevelopment variables that predispose a person to subsequently and repeatedly suffer the psychophysiological impact of traumatic events. Various evidence-based clinical interventions have been developed to care for people with PTSD, DTD, or Complex Trauma.
Neuropsychological evaluation methods have increased their ecological validity thanks to the abundant lines of research in neuropathology that use fMRI, PET scans, and other neurodiagnostic techniques. In summary, clinical neuropsychology ceased to be a hypothetical science to become a more precise science that knows what it is looking for and what it evaluates through its measuring instruments.
Considering these significant advances and their usefulness for behavioral professionals, Albizu University recently initiated the first postgraduate program in Neuropsychology in Puerto Rico, which constitutes a historic and pioneering advance for the institution. This master’s program offers psychology professionals training in the basic skills of contemporary neuropsychology, and neuropsychological evaluation and intervention techniques that will allow them to perform efficiently in various social and work contexts. The curriculum, designed to be completed in one year, is offered entirely online, with synchronous and asynchronous components that allow the professional to learn and practice through simulations, neuropsychological assessment techniques, diagnosis, and intervention. The program is fit for professional psychologists licensed in Puerto Rico or other jurisdictions. It does not provide training leading to independent licensing as a psychologist or a subspecialty as a clinical neuropsychologist in Puerto Rico or the United States. Albizu University took this pioneering step to provide professionals with the opportunity to learn about and implement the new knowledge developed by Brain Sciences, particularly Neuropsychology.
