Fundamentos teóricos y estrategias de intervención en la rehabilitación neuropsicológica en adultos con daño cerebral adquirido

Neuropsychological rehabilitation is an area of applied neuropsychology that intervenes over altered cognitive processes, allowing a higher level of information processing and functional adaptation of the patient with acquired brain disfunction. The present article describes some observations of the mentioned therapy, and presents the basic principles for the design and application of neuropsychological rehabilitation programs. In addition, it revises and gives details about the most frequently used techniques in the intervention of cognitive disfunction in attention, memory, executive functions, and visual perception. It also presents concepts about behavior therapy, and its applicability and utility during the rehabilitation of patients with brain disfunction. Nowadays, neuropsychological rehabilitation is a useful therapeutic tool for patients with secondary neuropsychological alterations due to brain damage, so that it allows improving in functionality and a higher quality of life for both, the patient and his family.Resumen La rehabilitación neuropsicológica es un área de la neuropsicología aplicada que se encarga de la intervención de los procesos cognitivos alterados, permitiendo un mejor nivel de procesamiento de información y una mayor adaptación funcional del paciente con daño neurológico adquirido. En este artículo se describen algunas generalidades de esta terapia y se exponen los principios básicos para el diseño y aplicación de programas de rehabilitación neuropsicológica. De igual forma, se revisan y detallan las técnicas más empleadas para la intervención de alteraciones cognitivas en atención, memoria, funciones ejecutivas y percepción visual, además se presentan algunos conceptos sobre la terapia de la conducta, su aplicación y utilidad durante la rehabilitación de los pacientes con lesión cerebral. La rehabilitación neuropsicológica es en la actualidad una herramienta terapéutica útil para pacientes con alteraciones neuropsicológicas secundarias a daños cerebrales, ya que permite mejorar el desempeño funcional y aumenta la calidad de vida del paciente y su familia Palabras claves: Atención, Función Ejecutiva, Memoria, Neuropsicología, Rehabilitación Cognitiva, Traumatismos Encefálicos Abstract Neuropsychological rehabilitation is an area of applied neuropsychology that intervenes over altered cognitive processes, allowing a higher level of information processing and functional adaptation of the patient with acquired brain disfunction. The present article describes some observations of the mentioned therapy, and presents the basic principles for the design and application of neuropsychological rehabilitation programs. In addition, it revises and gives details about the most frequently used techniques in the intervention of cognitive disfunction in attention, memory, executive functions, and visual perception. It also presents concepts about behavior therapy, and its applicability and utility during the rehabilitation of patients with brain disfunction. Nowadays, neuropsychological rehabilitation is a useful therapeutic tool for patients with secondary neuropsychological alterations due to brain damage, so that it allows improving in functionality and a higher quality of life for both, the patient and his family. Keywords: Attention, Brain Trauma, Cognitive Rehabilitation, Executive Function. Memory, Europsychology.