Brain damage has the potential to alter a person’s thoughts, behaviors, mental capacity, and reasoning skills. When judgment, impulse control, and reactivity are affected, the potential mitigating impact of such injuries may be significant. Cognitive impairments may be pronounced enough that courts can visually appreciate the significance of their mitigating impact.
The Forensic Panel’s expert neuroradiologists investigate the context of clinical findings and neuropsychological assessment to assess the presence or absence of such neurological impairments on computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), (SPECT), and positron-emission tomography (PET). Moreover, if brain damage is present the forensic neuroradiologist can play a role in assessing the cause of the brain damage – whether it is disease-related or acquired by injury – and the symptoms typically attributable to such brain damage.
The forensic neuroradiologist, working in concert with a neuropsychologist, can aid the court in determining the prognosis of the defendant as well, particularly if brain imaging reflects irretrievable structural brain damage. The visual evidence of brain scans, however, can be as irrelevant as it can be undeniably significant.
Through peer-review, the experts at The Forensic Panel enable critical oversight to ensure that only interpretations that are firmly grounded in strong neuroradiology research are reflected in conclusions.
Because neuroimaging is so compelling yet so easily misunderstood and even manipulated, The Forensic Panel engages these inscrutable questions with an integrity that enables the court to have more confidence in assessing the relevance of this evolving scientific discipline.