Ben Schmand studied psychology and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He obtained a master’s degree in clinical and experimental psychology in 1978. During the next 20 years he practiced as a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist in several general and psychiatric hospitals in Holland. In parallel with this clinical work, he held research positions at the Universities of Amsterdam and Utrecht, and at the Free University in Amsterdam.

He obtained a PhD in 1991 at the University of Utrecht with research on cognitive disorders and mental effort in schizophrenic patients. Subsequently he participated in the Amsterdam Study of the Elderly, a population-based study on aging and dementia. In 1997 he joined the neurological department of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. In 2003 he was appointed to his current position. He is a member of the Netherlands Institute of Psychologists and the International Neuropsychological Society.

With few exceptions his research has always involved applied neuropsychological topics such as development of new neuropsychological tests, improving the efficiency of neuropsychological assessment, delineating the cognitive profile of neurological and psychiatric diseases, and neuropsychological (side) effects of medical treatments. His recent and current research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, meningitis, substance abuse, schizophrenia, and the validity of mental symptoms in chronic conditions like painter’s disease. With respect to Parkinson’s disease he is also involved in research on cognitive and behavioral side effects of stereotactic treatments, deep brain stimulation in particular.