Case series investigations in cognitive neuropsychology

Abstract

Case series methodology involves the systematic assessment of a sample of related patients, with the goal of understanding how and why they differ from one another. This method has become increasingly important in cognitive neuropsychology, which has long been identified with single-subject research. We review case series studies dealing with impaired semantic memory, reading, and language production and draw attention to the affinity of this methodology for testing theories that are expressed as computational models and for addressing questions about neuroanatomy. It is concluded that case series methods usefully complement single-subject techniques.