Introduction to a special issue on military neuropsychology: Serving those who serve.

OBJECTIVE

The military has a long history with neuropsychology and its precursors. From developing intelligence tests during World War I, to developing early capacity and personality assessments during World War II, to forward deploying for the evaluation and treatment of frequent concussive brain injuries during more recent conflicts, clinical neuropsychology has been at the forefront of military selection, healthcare and research. The objective of this special issue is to provide an overview of the latest clinical research relevant to military neuropsychology-some contributors address assessment and treatment issues that are relevant to current practice and others foretell the future of our field.

METHOD: We solicited papers from established researchers and issued a general call for papers for the special issue on military neuropsychology.

Results

We received submissions from several authors, eleven of which are included in this issue. These submissions cover assessment and treatment issues, as well as healthcare utilization and return to duty issues. Two apparent themes are the importance of assessing, treating, and attending to comorbidities following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and future assessment techniques moving beyond traditional cognitive performance assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

The issue highlights the importance of research in clinical neuropsychology to the practice and advancement of military neuropsychology.