Neuropsychiatry

Neuropsychiatry is a medical subspecialty that bridges neurology and psychiatry. It focuses on disorders at the intersection of brain disease and behavior, aiming to understand how neurological conditions affect mood, cognition, and perception, and how psychiatric symptoms influence neurological care.

The field developed in the mid- to late 20th century with advances in neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology. It covers dementia and cognitive impairment in neurodegenerative disease, mood and psychosis in epilepsy or stroke, behavioral changes after brain injury, movement disorders with psychiatric features, autoimmune or infectious brain diseases, and developmental disorders with behavioral symptoms.

Assessment is multidisciplinary, combining neurological examination, neuropsychological testing, imaging, EEG, and laboratory studies with psychiatric evaluation as needed. Management emphasizes integrated care, using medications to address neurological and psychiatric symptoms, psychotherapy, rehabilitation, and, when appropriate, neuromodulation or disease-modifying therapies.

Training varies by country; some clinicians pursue dual neurology-psychiatry certification, while others work in neuropsychiatry clinics. Research focuses on brain–behavior relationships, biomarkers, imaging, and new therapies. The field seeks to reduce diagnostic fragmentation and improve cross-disciplinary collaboration, though boundaries with neurology and psychiatry remain debated.