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Premorbid Intelligence

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

Synonyms

Estimated premorbid intelligence; Premorbid IQ

Definition

Premorbid intelligence is an estimate of a person’s intellectual functioning prior to known or suspected onset of brain disease or dysfunction. More generally, this term is used to describe a process in neuropsychological evaluations in which an individuals’ level of neuropsychological functioning that existed prior to the onset of known or suspected neurological dysfunction is determined.

Historical Background

Establishing a premorbid level of intellectual functioning is necessary for deficit measurement, which is a central tenet for neuropsychological evaluation. Deficit measurement is the process for determining if a change in functioning has occurred that is greater than would be normally observed, or is due to measurement error. This change is typically inferred as a neuropsychological deficit reflecting brain dysfunction. A common premorbid estimate of cognitive function used in deficit measurement is predicted...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of South Florida College of Medicine, 3515 E. Fletcher Ave, 33613, Tampa, FL, USA

    Mike R. Schoenberg & Patrick Marsh

  2. British Columbia Mental Health and Addiction Services University of British Columbia, PHSA Research and Networks, Suite 201, 601 West Broadway, V5Z 4C2, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Rael T. Lange

  3. Division of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, T2N 1N4, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Donald H. Saklofske

Authors
  1. Mike R. Schoenberg
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  2. Rael T. Lange
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  3. Patrick Marsh
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  4. Donald H. Saklofske
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Professor of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VCU, 980542, Richmond, Virginia, 23298-0542, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation Research Center, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, 07052, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  4. Independent Practice, 564 M.O.B. East, 100 E. Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, PA, 19096, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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Schoenberg, M.R., Lange, R.T., Marsh, P., Saklofske, D.H. (2011). Premorbid Intelligence. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_2140

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_2140

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3

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