neurobehavioral
Meaning of neurobehavioral: The bridge word between neurology and psychiatry, covering changes in conduct and mood that trace back to the brain itself.
Definition of neurobehavioral
Neurobehavioral describes anything concerning the link between the physical workings of the brain and a person's behavior, emotion, attention and learning. It is applied to symptoms arising from brain injury or disease rather than from circumstance, to the tests that measure them, and to research on how injuries and substances alter behavior.
Where does the word turn up?
Most often after a brain injury, where irritability, loss of restraint, flatness of drive, poor judgment and blunted awareness of the change itself are grouped together as neurobehavioral effects. It appears in dementia, where wandering, agitation and apathy are described the same way, and in stroke, brain infection, and disease of the frontal lobes. It also anchors a whole field of research on exposures: lead in childhood, alcohol before birth, industrial solvents, and the effects of treatments aimed at the brain, including radiation given for a brain tumor.
How does it differ from the neighboring words?
| Word | What it points to |
|---|---|
| Neurobehavioral | Conduct and emotion traceable to brain function or damage |
| Neurocognitive | Thinking skills: memory, attention, language, planning |
| Psychiatric | A mental health condition defined by its pattern of symptoms |
| Behavioral | The actions themselves, from any cause |
The lines blur in practice. Apathy after a frontal injury is easily read as depression, and the two call for different responses. The distinction that matters is which explanation fits the history, not which word sounds more medical, and a psychological reaction to illness can sit on top of a brain-based change rather than in place of it.
Why is it assessed separately?
Because standard tests can miss it entirely. Someone with damage to the front of the brain may score normally on memory, language and general intelligence testing and still be unable to hold a job, keep appointments or hold back a remark, since initiative, restraint and judgment are what have gone. Insight is often lost along with them, so the account given by the person and the account given by a relative disagree sharply, and assessment leans on structured interview, rating scales and reports from those who see the person daily. Strategies drawn from behavior modification are used alongside treatment of the underlying condition.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
Neurobehavioral changes were documented in the months following the head injury.
Good to know
Neurobehavioral change can coexist with entirely normal scores on memory and intelligence testing, and awareness of the change is often lost as well, so accounts from relatives frequently differ from the account given by the person affected.
Word origin
Where “neurobehavioral” comes from
The prefix neuro- comes from the Greek neuron, meaning nerve or sinew; behavioral is an ordinary English word.