Edith Kaplan
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Edith F. Kaplan (February 16, 1924 – September 3, 2009) was an American
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
, and a pioneer of
neuropsychological test Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks that are used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway. Tests are used for cognitive neuropsychology, research into brain function a ...
s who did most of her work at the Boston VA Hospital. Kaplan is known for her promotion of
clinical neuropsychology Clinical neuropsychology is a subfield of psychology concerned with the applied science of brain-behaviour relationships. Clinical neuropsychologists apply their research to the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients w ...
as a specialty area in psychology. She examined brain-behavioral relationships in
aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...
,
apraxia Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex or corpus callosum), which causes difficulty with motor planning to perform tasks or movements. The nature of the damage determines the di ...
, developmental issues in clinical
neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology focus on how injuries or illnesses of the brai ...
, as well as normal and abnormal
aging Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming Old age, older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentiall ...
. Kaplan helped develop a new method of assessing brain function with
neuropsychological assessment Over the past three millennia, scholars have attempted to establish connections between localized brain damage and corresponding behavioral changes. A significant advancement in this area occurred between 1942 and 1948, when Soviet neuropsycholog ...
, called " The Boston Process Approach." As a graduate student, Kaplan worked with Heinz Werner, and then collaborated further with
Norman Geschwind Norman Geschwind (January 8, 1926 – November 4, 1984) was a pioneering American behavioral neurologist, best known for his exploration of behavioral neurology through disconnection models based on lesion analysis. Early life Norman Geschwi ...
as well as
Harold Goodglass Harold Goodglass (August 18, 1920 – March 18, 2002) was a prominent pioneer of neuropsychological tests and assessment, and spent much of his career investigating aphasia. The Boston VA Hospital, where he spent many years investigating brain fun ...
.


Personal history

Kaplan was born in
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. She earned her bachelor's degree at
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...
, then did her graduate work at
Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...
in Worcester, with a dissertation focusing on the development of word meanings and
apraxia Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex or corpus callosum), which causes difficulty with motor planning to perform tasks or movements. The nature of the damage determines the di ...
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 (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
School of Medicine at the time of her death. Kaplan was a Professor of Psychology at
Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...
and Affiliate Professor of Psychology at Clark University. She was also a member of the Psychology Department at the Baycrest Hospital in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada.


Mentorship

Kaplan was a leader in developing education and training of neuropsychologists. From 1976 to 1987, Kaplan 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 Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
.


Clinical contributions

Kaplan made important contributions to clinical
neuropsychological assessment Over the past three millennia, scholars have attempted to establish connections between localized brain damage and corresponding behavioral changes. A significant advancement in this area occurred between 1942 and 1948, when Soviet neuropsycholog ...
. 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 An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. Originally, IQ was a score obtained by dividing a person's mental age score, obtained by administering ...
such as the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and cognitive ability in adults and older adolescents. For children between the ages of 6 and 16, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is com ...
as tools to localize functional deficits in the brain (whether developmental or due to
lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...
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 Naming Test (BNT), introduced in 1983 by Edith Kaplan, Harold Goodglass and Sandra Weintraub, is a widely used neuropsychological assessment tool to measure confrontational word retrieval in individuals with aphasia or other language ...
, The Boston Stimulus Board, The
California Verbal Learning Test The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT)Delis, D. C., Kramer, J. H., Kaplan, E., & Ober, B. A. (1987). ''CVLT, California Verbal Learning Test: Adult Version: Manual''. Psychological Corporation. is one of the most widely used neuropsychologica ...
(Adult and Children's Versions), Microcog: A Computerized Assessment of Cognitive Status, the
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and cognitive ability in adults and older adolescents. For children between the ages of 6 and 16, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is com ...
- Revised, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WAIS-R-NI), the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) is the most recent version. The WISC-V takes 45 to 65 min ...
- III, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WISC-III-NI), 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 regarding spatial neglect and
attention Attention or focus, is the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the exclusion of other stimuli. It is the selective concentration on discrete information, either subjectively or objectively. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...
. 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 (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
,
schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
,
dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
, and other neuropsychological disorders.


Professional Achievements and Awards

* Distinguished Service Award, Massachusetts Speech and Hearing Association (1977) * Recognized by National Head Injury Foundation (1982) * Recognized by National Head Injury Foundation (1982) * Ezra Paul Psychological Service Award, Massachusetts Psychological Association (1984) * Distinguished Clinical Neuropsychologist Award, National Academy of Neuropsychology (1993) * Distinguished Contributions Award, New England Psychological Association (1996) * Distinguished Career Contributions Award, Massachusetts Psychological Association (1997) * Inducted into the Psi Chi Honor Society, St. Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire (1997)


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.


References


External links


Suffolk University biography



New York Times Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Edith 20th-century American psychologists American women psychologists American neuropsychologists Health professionals from Brooklyn 1924 births 2009 deaths Brooklyn College alumni 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women