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 interpretation of how ...
. She was 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 research into brain function and in a clinical setting f ...
s and did most of her work at the
Boston VA Hospital. Kaplan is known for her promotion of
clinical neuropsychology
Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of psychology concerned with the applied science of brain-behaviour relationships. Clinical neuropsychologists use this knowledge in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and or rehabilitation of patients ...
as a specialty area in psychology. She examined brain-behavioral relationships in
aphasia
Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...
,
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 disor ...
, developmental issues in clinical neuropsychology, as well as normal and abnormal
aging
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
. Kaplan helped develop a new method of assessing brain function with
neuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological assessment was traditionally carried out to assess the extent of impairment to a particular skill and to attempt to determine the area of the brain which may have been damaged following brain injury or neurological illness. Wi ...
, 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 ...
and
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 f ...
.
Personal history
Kaplan was born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...
. She earned her bachelor's degree at
Brooklyn College, then did her graduate work at
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in th ...
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 disor ...
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 research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...
School of Medicine at the time of her death. Kaplan was also Professor of Psychology at
Suffolk University
Suffolk University is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. With 7,560 students (includes all campuses, 7,379 at the Boston location alone), it is the eighth-largest university in metropolitan Boston. It was founded as a l ...
and Affiliate Professor of Psychology at Clark University. She was also a member of the Psychology Department at the
Baycrest Hospital in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
, 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
Tewksbury Hospital is a National Register of Historic Places-listed site located on an 800+ acre campus in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The centerpiece of the hospital campus is the 1894 Richard Morris Building ("Old Administration Building").
The M ...
, 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 specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
.
Clinical contributions
Kaplan made important contributions to clinical
neuropsychological assessment
Neuropsychological assessment was traditionally carried out to assess the extent of impairment to a particular skill and to attempt to determine the area of the brain which may have been damaged following brain injury or neurological illness. Wi ...
. 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
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and cognitive ability in adults and older adolescents. The original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of ...
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 disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals.
Types
There is no designated classif ...
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 d ...
, 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 neuropsychological ...
(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. The original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of ...
- 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 minu ...
- 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 is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Att ...
.
Kaplan also contributed a body of research, including (with Norman Geschwind) the first paper on
cerebral disconnection syndrome
Disconnection syndrome is a general term for a collection of neurological symptoms caused – via lesions to associational or commissural nerve fibres – by damage to the white matter axons of communication pathways in the cerebrum (not to be ...
.
She also investigated
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
,
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wi ...
,
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
, 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 Association
The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It has ...
(
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.
References
External links
Suffolk University biographyNew York Times Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Edith
20th-century American psychologists
American women psychologists
Neuropsychologists
People from Brooklyn
1924 births
2009 deaths
Brooklyn College alumni
20th-century American women
20th-century American people
21st-century American women