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It should be patently clear that the historical record provided in most rehabilitation textbooks is Eurocentric in its perspective. For example, although Eurocentric history tends to note the emergence of trephination in Egypt, it fails to note that in the "New World," the advanced Chinchoros culture of Northern Chile, precursors to the complex, eminent, and sophisticated Inca State, perfected artificial mummification as a means to protect the body and soul in the afterlife. However, unbeknownst to large number of students in the field of neuropsychology, psychology, and rehabilitation, is the fact that the Chinchoros perfected this process in the third millennium BC, most likely before or temporally concurrent with the Egyptians (Mosely, 1993). This example is provided because it underscores the importance of attending to our cultural biases, even when addressing a discipline's history, an issue that should be taken into consideration when rehabilitating individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds, including Hispanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural and ethnic landscapes of the United States (U.S.) are becoming increasingly more diverse, as noted in Chapter 2. Although large-scale migrations historically have exhibited geographical predilection, diversity is no longer manifested only in selected border towns or large metropolitan areas, since small cities and suburbs across the country are reflecting an increasingly diverse population, particularly large-scale increases in the Hispanic population. The effects of multiculturalism are acutely felt in the decision-making processes associated with educational placement, diagnostic formulation, legal proceedings, and treatment planning. Clearly, the important role that neuropsychological evaluations play in the aforementioned decision-making processes will only continue to be effective if the impact of bias in neuropsychological practice, and in particular, test bias, is adequately addressed. For decades neuropsychology has grappled with the effects of such potential biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The senior author remembers eagerly reading the book The Art of Loving (Fromm, 1956) for the first time as a teenager. In its Foreword, Dr. Fromm notes in its first sentence that "reading of this book would be a disappointing experience for anyone who expects easy instruction in the art of loving." Unfortunately, the same disappointment is applicable to this chapter, in that the reader will quickly surmise the complexity involved in the neuropsychological assessment of the Hispanic client. This chapter, or this entire volume for that matter, is incapable of providing "easy instruction" in such an art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language is a common denominator in all settings, including social relationships, education, and professional interactions. According to Warner and Nelson (2000), "a language is built through orderly combinations of linguistic symbols into words, sentences, and discourse." Language is what truly sets humans apart from other animals in that we have a pattern of vocalizations that produce effects on the listener and allow individuals to interpret their world through verbal means. In this regard, the outstanding social sciences philosopher D. C. Dennett (1978) has brilliantly noted that it is linguistic skills that allow humans to "generate" and "test" hypotheses inside their brains without the need to expose their organisms to situations that may represent peril, unlike animals without language. In other words, presupposing the absence of executive dysfunction, language allows for the formulation of testable hypotheses inside our minds without the need of exposure to dangerous circumstances, providing for species preservation, consistent with evolutionary theory (cf. Darwin, 1967). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of intellectual abilities has held a special place in the history of psychology. Starting with the establishment of the civil service program in China approximately 4,200 years ago, to the Spanish physician Juan Huarte's Examen de Ingenios in 1575, the assessment of aptitude, whether valid or invalid throughout the centuries, has attempted to capture the broad range of intellectual abilities noted by Sir Francis Galton in 1869 when he stated that "There is continuity of natural ability reaching from one knows not what height, and descending to one can hardly say what depth" (Galton, 1869). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many members of ethnic minority and non-minority groups living in the U.S., Hispanics included, the interrelationship between neuropsychological test performance and education, socioeconomic factors, and other specific variables, such as nutrition, access to health care, and stress, is particularly complex, with significant implications for a science of brain-behavior relationships and its practice. While educational attainment to a large degree dictates, and certainly facilitates, income potential, it is also the case that socioeconomic advancement facilitates educational attainment and other specific advantages, and both of these variables have been shown to impact neuropsychological performance. These are important factors meriting attention, and many investigators have noted that it is these factors, rather than cultural or ethnic factors, that require attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the most recent decennial U.S. Census (U.S. Census, 2001) indicates that Hispanics account for approximately 11% of the total American population. The conservative 11% estimate represents a total of approximately 32 million legal individuals of Hispanic origin living in the U.S. Table 2.1 presents a brief description of the most recent census estimates for the U.S. Hispanic population according to country of origin for selected nations (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). The data collected by the U.S. Census is to a large extent impacted by patterns of American immigration, and although a comprehensive review of such patterns is beyond the scope of this book, a brief examination of American immigration trends for Hispanics will be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropsychology faces an intimidating and unparalleled challenge in the 21st century. This specific challenge arises out of the need to develop theoretical frameworks and applied methods and instrumentation that are capable of explaining and assessing complex brain-behavior relationships, including cross-cultural constituents and components of such relationships. Considering that many neuropsychological theories and methods emerged out of scientific and applied endeavors conducted with the majority populations in the United States (U.S.) and abroad, particularly Western Europe, neuropsychologists should not presume that such theories, methodologies, or instrumentation are appropriate or valid for populations that differ in key demographic features. Such theories and applied methods may not necessarily apply to all individuals, including Hispanics, as if such a science and applied methods were universal despite diverging cultural or ethnic background (cf. Nell, 2000; Wong, Strickland, Fletcher-Janzen, Ardila, and Reynolds, 2000) and in spite of significant evidence to the contrary (Anger et al., 1993; Ardila et al., 1989, 1994; Irvine and Berry, 1988; LaRue et al., 1999; León-Carrión, 1989; Luria, 1976; Nell, 2000; Olazaran, Jacobs and Stern, 1996; Verney et al., 2005; Wong et al., 2000; Yeats et al., 2002; Zindi, 1994). In fact, variables such as socioeconomic status and extremely complex cultural, ethnic, and linguistic factors most likely moderate and modulate neuropsychological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]