American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Psychiatry and Neurology
Neurology (see also Psychiatry, below)
A neurologist specializes in the evaluation and treatment of all types of disease or impaired function of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, and autonomic nervous system, as well as the blood vessels that relate to these structures. The disorders include: stroke, brain and spinal tumors, muscular dystrophy, headache and other pain, meningitis, encephalitis, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders, multiple sclerosis, and effects of systemic diseases, like high blood pressure and diabetes, on the nervous system.
Specialty Areas
Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology Child neurologists diagnose and treat similar disorders in infants, children, and adolescents. They also have special competence in genetic and metabolic problems, malformation, retardation, and other neurodevelopmental problems of childhood.
Subspecialties
Brain Injury Medicine
Brain Injury Medicine is a subspecialty focused on the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of individuals with acquired brain injury. These physicians provide a high level of care for patients with brain injury and their families in hospital and post-acute settings, and over the continuum of care to facilitate the process of recovery and improve medical and functional outcomes.
Clinical Neurophysiology
A neurologist, child neurologist, or psychiatrist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous system disorders using a combination of clinical evaluation and electrophysiologic testing such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction studies (NCS), among others.
Epilepsy
A neurologist or child neurologist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of adults and children with recurrent seizure activity and seizure disorders. Specialists in Epilepsy (epileptologists) possess specialized knowledge in the science, clinical evaluation, and management of these disorders.
Neurocritical Care
The medical specialty of Neurocritical Care is devoted to the comprehensive multisystem care of the critically ill patient with neurological diseases and conditions.
Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
A child neurologist or pediatrician who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of chronic conditions that affect the developing and mature nervous system such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and chronic behavioral syndromes or neurologic conditions.
Neuromuscular Medicine
A neurologist, child neurologist, or physiatrist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of disorders of nerve, muscle or neuromuscular junction, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), peripheral neuropathies (e.g., diabetic), various muscular dystrophies, congenital and acquired myopathies, inflammatory myopathies (e.g., polymyositis), and neuromuscular transmission disorders (e.g., myasthenia gravis).
Pain Medicine
A neurologist or child neurologist who specializes in Pain Medicine diagnoses and treats patients experiencing problems with acute, chronic and/or cancer pain in both hospital and outpatient settings and coordinates patient care needs with other specialists.
Sleep Medicine
A neurologist or child neurologist with demonstrated expertise in the diagnosis and management of clinical conditions that occur during sleep, that disturb sleep, or that are affected by disturbances in the wake-sleep cycle. This specialist is skilled in the analysis and interpretation of comprehensive polysomnography, and well-versed in emerging research and management of a sleep laboratory.
Vascular Neurology
A neurologist or child neurologist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of vascular events affecting the brain or spinal cord, such as ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, spinal cord ischemia, and spinal cord hemorrhage.
Psychiatry (see also Neurology, above)
A psychiatrist specializes in the evaluation and treatment of mental, addictive, and emotional disorders such as schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance-related disorders, sexual and gender identity disorders, and adjustment disorders.
Subspecialties
Addiction Psychiatry
A psychiatrist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of individuals with alcohol, drug, or other substance-related disorders and of individuals with the dual diagnosis of substance-related and other psychiatric disorders.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
A psychiatrist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of developmental, behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders of childhood and adolescence.
Clinical Neurophysiology
A psychiatrist, neurologist, or child neurologist who focuses on the evaluation
and treatment of central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous system
disorders using a combination of clinical evaluation and electrophysiologic testing such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS), among others.
Consultation Liaison Psychiatry
A psychiatrist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders and symptoms in complex medically ill patients. This subspecialty includes treatment of patients with acute or chronic medical, neurological, obstetrical, or surgical illness in which psychiatric illness is affecting their medical care and/or quality of life; such as HIV infection, organ transplantation, heart disease, renal failure, cancer, stroke, traumatic brain injury, high-risk pregnancy, and COPD, among others. Patients also may be those who have a psychiatric disorder that is the direct consequence of a primary medical condition, or a somatoform disorder or psychological factors affecting a general medical condition.
Forensic Psychiatry
A psychiatrist who focuses on the interrelationships between psychiatry and civil, criminal, and administrative law. This specialist evaluates individuals involved with the legal system and provides specialized treatment to those incarcerated in jails, prisons, and forensic psychiatry hospitals.
Geriatric Psychiatry
A psychiatrist who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of mental and emotional disorders in the elderly.
Pain Medicine
A psychiatrist who specializes in Pain Medicine diagnoses and treats patients experiencing problems with acute, chronic, and/or cancer pain in both hospital and outpatient settings and coordinates patient care needs with other specialists.
Sleep Medicine
A psychiatrist with demonstrated expertise in the diagnosis and management of clinical conditions that occur during sleep, that disturb sleep, or that are affected by disturbances in the wake-sleep cycle. This specialist is skilled in the analysis and interpretation of comprehensive polysomnography, and well-versed in emerging research and management of a sleep laboratory.
