In 1997, Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) therapy (Cyberonics, Houston, Texas) was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of epilepsy refractory to antiepileptic medications. In 2005, VNS received FDA approval for treatment-resistant depression refractory to antidepressants, and Cyberonics recently received FDA approval for the clinical study of VNS for rapid cycling bipolar depression. Many researchers continue to investigate the anxiolytic effects of VNS in human and non-human animal models. The author presents a study of VNS effects on anxiety and the capacity of atropine methyl nitrate to attenuate these effects. The results indicate that VNS decreases anxiety in the laboratory animals tested. These findings provide evidence to support the testing and subsequent use of VNS therapy for the treatment of clinical anxiety in humans. Because many therapies that are effective in the treatment of depression effectively treat anxiety, VNS therapy should be effective and approvable for clinical anxiety. This book can serve as a research tool, training mechanism, or surgical guide to the implantation of the vagus nerve stimulating electrode in the laboratory rat. Hopefully, this resource provides information that facilitates FDA approval of VNS for treatment-resistant anxiety, a chronic, devastating and often debilitating illness.

The word concussion used to be unheard of in youth sports a decade ago. The brain injury was indeed occurring, but coaches and parents were encouraging their youth athletes to "shake it off" after "getting their bell rung". Science and increased awareness about concussion are transforming the way youth parents, coaches, and players pursue athletics. Fear of incurring concussions, as well as incorrect information, is leading some parents to keep their children out of contact sports, such as football and soccer, where concussion is more prevalent. Back in the Game: Why Concussion Doesn't Have to End Your Athletic Career does not dwell on perpetuating fears, but rather, provides the most up-to-date understanding of the condition. This text includes a real-world discussion of what science and medicine knows, what parents and coaches need to understand about concussions, evaluation and treatment, and possible post-concussive issues, like depression. At the heart of this book, the authors delve into these issues, explaining them in a clear and understandable way. The expertise and experiences of noted sports neurologist Jeffrey Kutcher, MD, along with reporting and interviews by award-winning sports journalist Joanne C. Gerstner, makes this book a timely, relevant, and real discussion about concussions in youth sports. Athletes and professional coaches who have participated in the formation of this book include two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Kate Markgraf, former NHL/Team Canada head coach Andy Murray, champion X-Games snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth, along with an array of youth parents, coaches, and athletes from across the country.

ABOUT THE BOOK: It seemed nothing Tracy did for her son would work-testing, counseling, medication, therapy-and violent meltdowns were a daily occurrence. She agonized over What is next? What is to become of my beautiful son? Tracy's struggles were long and hard, but with a mother's determination, a supportive family, and God's love and intervention, she found strength, endurance, and unexpected open doors. To the Land of the Lost is a mom's gripping, true story account of the trials faced while parenting a child who has Asperger's syndrome. The story is gut wrenching and heartbreaking, while at the same time loving, uplifting, encouraging, and inspirational. To the Land of the Lost is a must read for any parent, caregiver, teacher, or friend of someone living with an autism spectrum disorder. **** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tracy M. Maguire lives in Dublin, Ireland, with her three children: Graham, Sophie, and James. Her eldest son, Graham, now almost 19 years old, has Asperger's syndrome. Tracy is passionate about encouraging parents who are raising a child with Asperger's and giving them hope in what can often feel like a hopeless situation.

Sex is everywhere in modern society, yet it remains taboo. We all have questions about sex that are too uncomfortable to ask - how do we get reliable answers? In this go-to guide Drs Grant and Chamberlain use their clinical expertise to answer the questions you wish you could ask about sex. Questions like: Is my sex drive or sex behavior normal? Can someone have too much sex? Or too little? How has Internet dating and pornography changed sex? This go-to guide will help you understand common sexual issues, know when to worry (or not) about different sexual behaviors, and learn how our sex lives adapt to changing technology or in times of crisis. It also provides step-by-step advice for dealing with a range of sexual issues, and practical strategies for strengthening relationships.

State of the art reviews by experts in the fields of neuroscience, immunology, microbiology/infectious diseases and pharmacology addressing the convergence of the immune system (neuroinflammation) and the loss of neurons (neurodegeneration). Many of the diseases that are discussed in the book are of epidemic proportion, e.g., Alzheimer s disease, Parkinson s disease, stroke, viral encephalitides and substance abuse. In addition to discussions of the involvement of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in these disorders, scientific reviews are presented on the cells and mediators that participate in defense of and damage to the nervous system. With rare exception, no or inadequate treatment exists for the diseases discussed in this book. An underlying premise of the book is that understanding of their shared pathogenic mechanisms will lead to improved therapies. Given the rapid evolution of the field of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, readers will find this book to be the most timely and authoritative reference on the subject of each of its chapters."

We have arrived to a new normal - life after COVID-19. How do we help those with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities and those on the autism spectrum return to school or adult services? It has been a long haul at home! Both the children and the adults are used to the home environment and routines. Some students have been out of their school/adult program since March. It is now time to go back to the normal school/work routine, but what does that "normal" mean? Schedules are different, structure is not the same and learning has been interrupted, yet hopefully maintained. How do parents prepare their child to transition back to school? How do we get started? This workbook will give you strategies that you should be putting in place prior to your child going back to school or to their adult services placement. Each strategy will be explored in depth with examples to follow so that you and your child will be prepared for a successful first day when returning to school or adult program.

This volume presents several machine intelligence technologies, developed over recent decades, and illustrates how they can be combined in application. One application, the detection of dementia from patterns in speech, is used throughout to illustrate these combinations. This application is a classic stationary pattern detection task, so readers may easily see how these combinations can be applied to other similar tasks. The expositions of the methods are supported by the basic theory they rest upon, and their application is clearly illustrated. The book's goal is to allow readers to select one or more of these methods to quickly apply to their own tasks. Includes a variety of machine intelligent technologies and illustrates how they can work together Shows evolutionary feature subset selection combined with support vector machines and multiple classifiers combined Includes a running case study on intelligent processing relating to Alzheimer's / dementia detection, in addition to several applications of the machine hybrid algorithms

People with neurological disorders may experience significant problems, isolation, detachment, and passivity while dealing with environmental requests. They constantly rely on caregivers and family assistance, which can create negative outcomes on their quality of life. An emerging way to overcome these issues is assistive technology-based interventions (AT). AT-based programs are designed to fill the gap between human/individual capacities or skills and environmental requests. These technologies can also bring about independence and self-determination and provide people with neurological disorders an active role, positive participation, and an enhanced status in being able to achieve functional daily activities by reducing the roles of their families and caregivers. The positive impacts of this technology are an important area of research, and its usage for neurological disorders is critical for the assessment and recovery of patients. Assistive Technologies for Assessment and Recovery of Neurological Impairments explores the use of AT-based programs for promoting independence and self-determination of individuals with neurological disorders. The chapters discuss AT-based interventions in detail with the specific technologies that are being used, the positive effects on patients, and evidence-based practices. This book also focuses on specific technologies such as virtual reality (VR) setups and augmented reality (AR) as valid ecological environments for patients that ensure methodological control and behavioral tracking for both assessment and rehabilitation purposes. This book is essential for occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, neurologists, caregivers, psychologists, practitioners, medical professionals, medical technologists, IT consultants, academicians, and students interested in assistive technology interventions for people with neurological impairments.

This special issue is among the first volumes to examine the topic of early development in children with neurogenetic disorders associated with intellectual disability. It includes discussions of theoretical issues regarding the emergence of behavioural profiles during early development, as well as comprehensive accounts of early development in specific disorders such as Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Williams syndrome, and sex chromosome disorders. In addition, several contributions examine the latest clinical applications of this work for diagnosis, treatment, and education.

The main selling points of this volume are:

the comprehensive nature of the reviews of early development in neurogenetic disorders provided by top researchers in the field of developmental disabilities research.

innovation in the application of new approaches to this population, such dynamic systems theory and the developmental trajectory approach to studying these populations place this volume on the cutting edge of theoretical work in this area

this volume also addresses the implications of emerging behavioural phenotypes in neurogenetic disorders from many angles-the biological issues related to diagnosis, psychiatric issues related to comorbid conditions such as autism and autism spectrum disorder, and educational issues related to targeted intervention

My book titled "Alzheimer's Unmasked" is the culmination of over 7 years of self-funded, full-time research that started in 1998. The initial goal was to identify what causes the neurodegenerative disease known as Alzheimer's dementia. What advances this disease from mild cognitive impairment, to moderate cognitive impairment, and finally to the end stage of severe cognitive impairment, which terminates in death. Alzheimer's dementia completely destroyed my mother's cognitive functions over a 10 year period of time. She died in May of 1999. My research was unproductive until this disease started to affect me. Using a 3 year process of elimination diet and testing on myself, I was able to isolate what caused my Cognitive impairment. It took a couple more years of research before I was able to understand the mechanisms involved. Trace minerals, by themselves will not reverse Alzheimer's, but, I have found that by using them in conjunction with a restricted diet that removes certain chemicals in the foods I eat, I have completely restored my cognitive functions back to normal. If you are looking for answers as to what causes this Alzheimer's disease and what to do about it, you will want to read "Alzheimer's Unmasked."

The difference that being female makes to the diagnosis, life and experiences of an autistic person is hugely significant. In this widely expanded second edition, Sarah Hendrickx combines the latest research with personal stories from girls and women on the autism spectrum to present a picture of their feelings, thoughts and experiences at each stage of their lives.

Outlining the likely impact will be for autistic women and girls throughout their lifespan, Hendrickx surveys everything from diagnosis, childhood, education, adolescence, friendships and sexuality, to employment, pregnancy, parenting, and aging.

With up-to-date content on masking, diagnosis later in life, and a new focus on trans and non-binary voices, as well as a deeper dive into specific health and wellbeing implications including menopause, PCOS, Hypermobility/Ehlers-Danlos, autistic burnout, and alexithymia, this is an invaluable companion for professionals, as well as a guiding light for autistic women to understand and interpret their own experience in context.

This book focuses on advances in our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of brain iron uptake, iron homeostasis and iron metabolism in the pathophysiology and pharmacology of CNS disease models. Dysregulation of brain iron homeostasis can lead to severe pathological changes in the neural system. Iron deficiency can slow down the development of the neural system and cause language and motion disorders, while iron overload is closely related to neurodegenerative diseases. Although some current books include chapters on iron metabolism and certain neurodegenerative diseases, this is the first systematic summary of the latest discoveries regarding brain iron metabolism and CNS diseases. By providing novel and thought-provoking insights into the mechanisms and physiological significance of brain iron metabolism and related diseases, the book stimulates further new research directions. It helps graduate students and researchers gain an overall picture of brain iron metabolism and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, and also offers pharmaceutical companies inspiration for new treatment strategies for CNS diseases.

This handbook provides a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of a wide range of developmental and clinical issues in pragmatics. Principally, the contributions to this volume deal with pragmatic competence in a native language, in a second or foreign language, and in a selection of language disorders. The topics which are covered explore questions of production and comprehension on the utterance and discourse level. Topics addressed concern the acquisition and learning, teaching and testing, assessment and treatment of various aspects of pragmatic ability, knowledge and use. These include, for example, the acquisition and development of speech acts, implicatures, irony, story-telling and interactional competence. Phenomena such as pragmatic awareness and pragmatic transfer are also addressed. The disorders considered include clinical conditions pertaining to children and to adults. Specifically, these are, among others, autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, and Alzheimer's disease.