Edith Kaplan
Encyclopedia
Edith F. Kaplan was an American
psychologist
. She was a pioneer of neuropsychological test
s and did most of her work at the Boston VA Hospital
.
Kaplan is known for her promotion of clinical neuropsychology
as a specialty area in psychology. She examined brain-behavioral relationships in aphasia
, apraxia
, developmental issues in clinical neuropsychology, as well as normal and abnormal aging. Kaplan helped develop a new method of assessing brain function with neuropsychological assessment
, called the "Boston Process Approach."
As a graduate student Kaplan worked with Heinz Werner
, and then collaborated further with Norman Geschwind
and Harold Goodglass.
, then did her graduate work at Clark University
in Worcester, with a dissertation focusing on the development of word meanings and apraxia
in children.
Kaplan was a Professor in the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, and in the Behavioral Neuroscience Ph.D. Program at Boston University
School of Medicine at the time of her death. Kaplan was also Professor of Psychology at Suffolk University
and Affiliate Professor of Psychology at Clark University. She was also a member of the Psychology Department at the Baycrest Hospital
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
.
. Her observations and assessment methods evolved into a philosophical school of neuropsychological assessment, called by most people the "Boston Process Approach."
Kaplan also re-purposed intelligence tests such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
as tools to localize functional deficits in the brain (whether developmental or due to lesion
s).
Prior to the introduction of the process-oriented approach, clinical neuropsychological assessment followed a fixed-battery global-achievement approach, and stressed quantitative interpretation of test results (for example the Halstead-Reitan
battery). The process-oriented approach offered advances in test interpretation, stressing the qualitative aspects of patients' performance profiles. The Boston Process Approach examines the qualitative process by which the patient solves a problem rather than simply looking at the patient's quantitative numerical scores. The Boston Process also tailors which tests to give a patient instead of administering an entire test battery to every subject, regardless of their condition. This alternative approach improved clinical understanding of brain functions and generated discussion about diagnostic issues in clinical neuropsychology.
Kaplan developed and co-authored The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, The Boston Naming Test, The Boston Stimulus Board, The California Verbal Learning Test (Adult and Children's Versions), Microcog: A Computerized Assessment of Cognitive Status, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
- Revised, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WAIS-RNI), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
- III, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WISC-IIINI), The Baycrest Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, and The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS),
a refined and expanded selection of tasks from the widely used Halstead-Reitan battery. She also contributed analytical methods for clock drawings as neuropsychological assessment tools, especially in regards to spatial neglect
and attention
.
Kaplan also contributed a body of research, including (with Norman Geschwind) the first paper on cerebral disconnection syndrome.
She also investigated Parkinson's disease
, schizophrenia
, dementia
, and other neuropsychological disorders.
(Division 40), and president of the Boston Neuropsychological Foundation, which she co-founded in 1983.
She received many awards, including The National Academy of Neuropsychology Distinguished Clinical Neuropsychologist Award in 1993, The Edith Kaplan Neuroscience Scholarship Fund in 1994, and The New England Psychological Association first annual Distinguished Contributions Award in 1996. She also won The Massachusetts Psychological Association Career Contribution Award in 1998 and The Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society Career Contribution Award in 1999. Kaplan had one son.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
. She was a pioneer of neuropsychological test
Neuropsychological test
Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway. Tests are used for research into brain function and in a clinical setting for the diagnosis of deficits. They usually involve the...
s and did most of her work at the Boston VA Hospital
VA Boston Healthcare System
The VA Boston Healthcare System is a set of hospitals run by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in the Greater Boston area. It comprises nine campuses, with three major medical centers in Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, and Brockton....
.
Kaplan is known for her promotion of clinical neuropsychology
Clinical neuropsychology
Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of psychology concerned with the cognitive function of individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders. Neuropsychological assessment examines cognitive function in the broadest sense, including the behavioural, emotional, social and functional status...
as a specialty area in psychology. She examined brain-behavioral relationships in aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
, apraxia
Apraxia
Apraxia is a disorder caused by damage to specific areas of the cerebrum. Apraxia is characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements...
, developmental issues in clinical neuropsychology, as well as normal and abnormal aging. Kaplan helped develop a new method of assessing brain function with neuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological assessment was traditionally carried out to assess the extent of impairment to a particular skill and to attempt to locate an area of the brain which may have been damaged after brain injury or neurological illness...
, called the "Boston Process Approach."
As a graduate student Kaplan worked with Heinz Werner
Heinz Werner (Psychologist)
Heinz Werner was an Austrian developmental psychologist. His orthogenic principle has been an influential approach to the concept of development...
, and then collaborated further with Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind
Norman Geschwind pioneered behavioral neurology in America. He is best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis.- Early life :...
and Harold Goodglass.
Personal History
Kaplan was born in Brooklyn, New York to Louis Kaplan and Fanny Kaplan. She earned her bachelor's degree at Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, then did her graduate work at Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
in Worcester, with a dissertation focusing on the development of word meanings and apraxia
Apraxia
Apraxia is a disorder caused by damage to specific areas of the cerebrum. Apraxia is characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements...
in children.
Kaplan was a Professor in the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, and in the Behavioral Neuroscience Ph.D. Program at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
School of Medicine at the time of her death. Kaplan was also Professor of Psychology at Suffolk University
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private, non-sectarian, university located in Boston, Massachusetts and with over 16,000 students it is the third largest university in Boston...
and Affiliate Professor of Psychology at Clark University. She was also a member of the Psychology Department at the Baycrest Hospital
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care
Baycrest is a research and education hospital on Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.It was founded in 1918 as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home in a semi-detached house on Cecil Street in downtown Toronto. In 1968, the new Jewish Home for the Aged opened at Baycrest's present location in...
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mentorship
Kaplan was a leader in developing education and training of neuropsychologists. From 1976 to 1987, DKaplan was the director of Clinical Neuropsychological Services at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center where she was responsible for the development of pre- and post-doctoral clinical neuropsychological internship training program. Later, at Suffolk University, Boston University School of Medicine, and Tewksbury Hospital, she continued this work. She also did philanthropic work with the National Head Injury Foundation and the World Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
.
Clinical contributions
Kaplan made important contributions to clinical neuropsychological assessmentNeuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological assessment was traditionally carried out to assess the extent of impairment to a particular skill and to attempt to locate an area of the brain which may have been damaged after brain injury or neurological illness...
. Her observations and assessment methods evolved into a philosophical school of neuropsychological assessment, called by most people the "Boston Process Approach."
Kaplan also re-purposed intelligence tests such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale intelligence quotient tests are the primary clinical instruments used to measure adult and adolescent intelligence. The original WAIS was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale...
as tools to localize functional deficits in the brain (whether developmental or due to lesion
Lesion
A lesion is any abnormality in the tissue of an organism , usually caused by disease or trauma. Lesion is derived from the Latin word laesio which means injury.- Types :...
s).
Prior to the introduction of the process-oriented approach, clinical neuropsychological assessment followed a fixed-battery global-achievement approach, and stressed quantitative interpretation of test results (for example the Halstead-Reitan
Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery
The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery is a combination of neuropsychological tests used to assessment the possible physical aspects and localization of neurological damage.The Battery includes:...
battery). The process-oriented approach offered advances in test interpretation, stressing the qualitative aspects of patients' performance profiles. The Boston Process Approach examines the qualitative process by which the patient solves a problem rather than simply looking at the patient's quantitative numerical scores. The Boston Process also tailors which tests to give a patient instead of administering an entire test battery to every subject, regardless of their condition. This alternative approach improved clinical understanding of brain functions and generated discussion about diagnostic issues in clinical neuropsychology.
Kaplan developed and co-authored The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, The Boston Naming Test, The Boston Stimulus Board, The California Verbal Learning Test (Adult and Children's Versions), Microcog: A Computerized Assessment of Cognitive Status, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale intelligence quotient tests are the primary clinical instruments used to measure adult and adolescent intelligence. The original WAIS was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale...
- Revised, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WAIS-RNI), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children , developed by Dr. David Wechsler, is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16 inclusive that can be completed without reading or writing...
- III, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WISC-IIINI), The Baycrest Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, and The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS),
a refined and expanded selection of tasks from the widely used Halstead-Reitan battery. She also contributed analytical methods for clock drawings as neuropsychological assessment tools, especially in regards to spatial neglect
Hemispatial neglect
Hemispatial neglect, also called hemiagnosia, hemineglect, unilateral neglect, spatial neglect, unilateral visual inattention, hemi-inattention or neglect syndrome is a neuropsychological condition in which, after damage to one hemisphere of the brain, a deficit in attention to and awareness of...
and attention
Attention
Attention is the cognitive process of paying attention to one aspect of the environment while ignoring others. Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics within psychology and cognitive neuroscience....
.
Kaplan also contributed a body of research, including (with Norman Geschwind) the first paper on cerebral disconnection syndrome.
She also investigated Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
, and other neuropsychological disorders.
Professional achievements and awards
Kaplan was one of the founders of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology and was among the first to be awarded the Diplomat in Clinical Neuropsychology. Kaplan was president of the International Neuropsychological Society, president of the Clinical Neuropsychology Division of the American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
(Division 40), and president of the Boston Neuropsychological Foundation, which she co-founded in 1983.
She received many awards, including The National Academy of Neuropsychology Distinguished Clinical Neuropsychologist Award in 1993, The Edith Kaplan Neuroscience Scholarship Fund in 1994, and The New England Psychological Association first annual Distinguished Contributions Award in 1996. She also won The Massachusetts Psychological Association Career Contribution Award in 1998 and The Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society Career Contribution Award in 1999. Kaplan had one son.
Selected publications
- Armengol, C., Kaplan, E., & Moes, E. (Eds.). (2001). The consumer oriented neuropsychological report. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
- Kaplan, E. (2002). Serendipity in science: A personal account. In T. Stringer, E. Cooley, & A.L. Christensen (Eds.) Pathways to prominence in neuropsychology: Reflections of twentieth century pioneers. New York: Psychology Press.