The 1st Congress of the Colombian Society of Neuropsychology took place between September 21 and 23, 2017, with the aim of disseminating scientific advances made in Colombia in the field of neuropsychology, as well as promoting the creation and development of networks of professionals to strengthen the discipline in the country.
The Congress of Neuropsychology was hosted by the Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla, Colombia) and attended by more than 900 people, including guest speakers. Participants came from different countries of the world such as Mexico, Spain, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, etc. Likewise, many of them came from different Colombian cities other than Barranquilla such as Bogota, Cali, Neiva, Bucaramanga, Santa Marta and Cartagena, among others.
Dr. Carlos José De los Reyes Aragón served as the president of this first Congress of Neuropsychology. Both the organizing committee and the scientific committee were made up of people from different cities in Colombia. More than 15 organizations from different countries were present as sponsors of the event, including important Colombian universities, scientific societies, research centers and private companies, including NeuronUP.
185 academic presentations at the 1st Congress of the Colombian Society of Neuropsychology
At an academic level, there were five pre-congress courses on dementia, sports neuropsychology, pediatric neuropsychology, neuropsychological assessment reports, and normalization and validity of neuropsychological tests in the Colombian population.
Likewise, eight keynote presentations and eighteen parallel lectures were held by well-known experts such as Fernando Maestú, Juan Carlos Arango, Donald Stuss, McKay Sohlberg, John DeLuca, Adriana Strutt, and Patricia Montañés.
In addition, 42 oral paper presentations were accepted, along with 80 poster presentations and 32 symposium presentations. In other words, 185 academic presentations took place during this congress.
Presence of the most important professionals in neuropsychology worldwide
Fernando Maestú had the honor of opening the 1st Congress of the Colombian Society of Neuropsychology with his keynote speech “Conectoma: a new way of understanding the functional organization of the brain”.
On Friday, September 22, the most important presentations were given by Canadian Donald Stuss with his paper “The organization of the functions of the frontal lobes”, the American McKay Sohlberg with her keynote “Towards and integrated model of cognition rehabilitation with a focus on functional outcomes”, and another American, John DeLuca, with his talk “Are we getting tired of the effects of fatigue on cognitive performance?”.
Speakers
- Dr. Donald Stuss (Canada)
- Dra. Mckay Sohlberg (USA)
- Dr. John DeLuca (USA)
- Dr. Fernando Maestú (Spain)
- Dr. Juan Carlos Arango Lasprilla (Spain)
- Dra. Adriana Strutt (USA)
- Dr. Guido Masciliano (Argentina)
- Dr. Alberto Rodríguez (Ecuador)
- Dr. Christine Salinas (USA)
- Dr. Diego Rivera (Spain)
- Iñigo Fernández de Piérola (Spain)
- Elvira del Valle (Spain)
- Dr. Arne Dietrich (Lebanon)
- Dr. José Torres (Spain)
- Dra. Xóchitl Ortiz (Mexico)
- Dr. Javier Galarza (Mexico)
- José Alvarez (Mexico)
- Dra. Patricia Montañés (Colombia)
- Dra. Lina Álvarez (Colombia)
- Dr. Mauricio Medina (Colombia)
- Dra. Isabel Suárez (Colombia)
Oral presentations
| Main theme | Number of presentations |
| Attention and Memory | 3 |
| Executive functions | 5 |
| Language and aphasias | 2 |
| Neuropsychological evaluation | 2 |
| Neuroimaging | 4 |
| Geriatric neuropsychology | 1 |
| Neuropsychology of neurodegenerative disorders | 4 |
| Experimental neuropsychology | 2 |
| Pediatric neuropsychology | 10 |
| Neuropsychology and addictions | 3 |
| Neuropsychology and brain injury | 3 |
| Neuropsychology and education | 1 |
| Neuropsychological rehabilitation | 1 |
| Others | 1 |
| Total presentations | 42 |
Poster Presentations
| Main Theme | Number of posters |
| Attention and memory | 3 |
| Executive functions | 12 |
| Language and aphasias | 5 |
| Perception and agnosias | 1 |
| Neuropsychology and brain injury | 13 |
| Neuropsychological rehabilitation | 4 |
| Pediatric neuropsychology | 2 |
| Neuropsychology and education | 5 |
| Neuropsychological evaluation | 4 |
| Experimental neuropsychology | 1 |
| Neuroimaging | 2 |
| Neuropsychology and addictions | 4 |
| Neuropsychology and psychiatric disorders | 4 |
| Family and caregivers | 2 |
| Geriatric neuropsychology | 3 |
| Neuropsychology of neurodegenerative disorders | 4 |
| Neuropsychology and rare diseases | 6 |
| Others | 5 |
| Total Posters | 80 |
Symposium sessions
- Executive functions and addictions.
- Challenges and new approaches to the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases.
- Successful Evidence in Pediatric Neuropsychological Intervention.
- Significant experiences of neuropsychological evaluation in Cali, Colombia.
- Executive functions in school-age children.
- Neuropsychology and genetics: case studies.
- Neuropsychology of Executive Functions.
- Implications of the concept “Neurocognitive Disorder” in young adults: Discussion of clinical cases.
Each symposium session was composed of 4 presentations for a total of 32 talks.
Gala dinner
On a social level, the congress organized different informal events including dinners and lunches for the speakers in which agreements were reached for various research projects, internships and other collaborative work that will undoubtedly contribute to the development of neuropsychology in Colombia.
On the evening of Friday, September 22, a gala dinner attended by 150 people was held. At the gala, there was a performance of traditional dances of the Caribbean region of Colombia, including a Carnaval de Barranquilla themed dance.
Cali 2019: 2nd Congress of the Colombian Society of Neuropsychology
Finally, at the closing ceremony, the next congress venue was presented, which will be held in Cali in 2019.
