Background Issues related to the field of mental health and justice require a multifactorial understanding of the possible causes of such issues. Objective To conduct an integrative literature review of controlled studies describing forensic neuropsychological assessment. Methods The articles were compiled and analyzed in two phases: 1) first, we retrieved all papers in PubMed by the keywords “Forensic Neuropsychology” and generated a growth curve for the subject and a cluster-based thematic distribution of publications. 2) We then conducted a curated analysis of all relevant papers indexed in Medline, PubMed and ISI, between 2000 and 2012. Results The evolution of the field during the last 15 years reveals an unstable growth pattern and three main thematic clusters. In terms of our curated analysis, a total of 390 articles were pre-selected, resulting in the selection of 44 fully-relevant studies, which comprise four main categories: cognitive damage in forensic psychiatric patients; imitation of cognitive damage; civil capacity, penal liability and violence risk; and validation of neuropsychological assessment tools. Discussion Two aspects appeared as the most relevant in this study: growth in the use of neuropsychological assessment as a diagnostic tool in the forensic context; and the necessity to enhance conformity in assessments.

Assuntos relacionados à saúde mental na corte vêm demandando crescente participação de psicólogos. Sob este mote, apresentamos uma aplicação de um assessment neuropsicológico em um caso de reversão de aposentadoria por invalidez. Trata-se do caso de um juiz de 35 anos, que chegou à nossa Unidade de Tratamento Forense Psicológico e Psiquiátrico, no Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade de São Paulo. Para suprir a demanda, inicialmente conduzimos uma entrevista clínica e, em seguida, aplicamos uma bateria neuropsicológica, a partir da qual foi revelada a inexistência de limitações do desempenho cognitivo, as quais recomendariam a reafirmação do afastamento do profissional. Tal como revelado, o uso adequado do assessment neuropsicológico mostra-se uma importante ferramenta em contexto forense, auxiliando o esclarecimento de aspectos funcionais do diagnóstico, em vários contextos psicopatológicos.

Issues related to mental health in relation to court matters have increasingly required the participation of the psychologist. We present the use of forensic neuropsychological assessment in a case of retirement reversal. Incapacity was attested due to disability resulting from depression of a 35-year-old attorney, and the case was forwarded from the courts to the Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology Unit at the USP Clinical Hospital. A clinical interview and application of cognitive tests was conducted. Despite the depression, significant cognitive losses that would prevent return to his professional assignments were not detected. The neuropsychological assessment has been shown to be an important tool in the forensic context, as it assists with diagnostic value for clarification of functional aspects in the various psychopathological areas in terms of disabilities or potentialities.