This book integrates neuroscience research on neuroplasticity with clinical investigation of reorganization of function after brain injury, especially from the perspective of eventually translating the findings to rehabilitation. Historical foundationw in neuroplasticity research are presented to provide a perspective for recent findings. Leading investigators synthesize their work with research from other laboratories to provide a current update on neuroanatomic features which enhance enuroplasticity and provide a substrate for reorginaization of function. The capacity for recovery from brain injury associated with focal lesions as compared to diffuse cerebral insult is discussed. Interventions such as environmental enhancement and drugs to enhance reorganizatioin of function after brain injury have been studied in animalmodels and in human studies. Methodologies to study neurophysiological measures, trancranial magnetic stimulation, and computational modeling. Implications of neuroplasticity research for innovations in rehabilitation of persons with brain injury are critically reviewed.

This book provides a superb integration of clinical and research findings on catastrophic brain injury. The clinical chapters address the definition, epidemiology, pathophysiology, and outcome of the most severe closed head injuries that typically result in death or devastating neurobehavioral sequelae. They cover cerebral metabolism following catastrophic brain injury, medical management, pharmacologic treatment for survivors, the impact on the family, and legal and ethical issues. The chapters on experimental research include reviews of recent advances in characterizing neurochemical interactions contributing to secondary brain injury and of experimental studies of the effects of neural transplantation on cognitive performance in animals. A summary chapter synthesizes the clinical and experimental material, provides an update concerning ongoing clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of drugs and hypothermia in the treatment of acute severe head injury, and offers a perspective on future directions of research to mitigate the consequences of severe head injury.

The cognitive and behavioral functions of the frontal lobes have been of great interest to neuroscientists, neurologists, psychologists and psychiatrists. Recent technical advances have made it possible to trace their neuroanatomical connections more precisely and to conduct evoked potential and neuroimaging studies in patients. This book presents a broad and authoritative synthesis of research progress in this field. It encompasses neuroanatomical studies; experiments involving temporal organization and working memory tasks in non-human primates; clinical studies of patients following frontal lobe excisions for intractable epilepsy; metabolic imaging in schizophrenia and affective disorder; neurobehavioral studies of patients with dementia, frontal lobe tumors, and head injuries; magnetic resonance imaging methods for studying human frontal lobe anatomy; theoretical approaches to describing frontal lobe functions; and rehabilitation of patients with frontal lobe damage including their core problem of diminished awareness. Written by a distinguished group of neuroscientists, psychologists and clinicians, Frontal Lobe Function and Dysfunction provides the best current source of information on this region of the brain and its role in cognition, behavior and clinical disorders.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the very important clinical issue of recovery of function after head injury. It emphasizes recent advances in research on the outcome of head injury and provides a critical commentary on methodological problems. The use of clinical neuropsychological procedures, laboratory-based cognitive tasks, psychiatric interviewing and radiological techniques to assess the outcome of head injury is fully discussed. The list of contributors to this book is distinguished, multidisciplinary and international. The volume will be of particular value to neurologists, neurosurgeons and clinical psychologists. With improvements in trauma care, the number of young people surviving head injury with varying degrees of brain damage has increased, so the question of their neurobehavioural recovery is timely.

"The first extensive critical review of the neurobehavioral sequelae of closed head injury ... the book's strengths include breadth of coverage, stringent attention to methodological issues, and objectivity of critical analyses ... clearly written, concise, well-organized." --Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology. "Well-conceived and well-executed. ... Belongs on the shelf of every practicing neurosurgeon, neurologist, psychologist, and psychiatrist." --The New England Journal of Medicine

Despite extensive documentation of post-concussion symptoms following apparently mild head injury, only in recent years has the full magnitude of the problem been appreciated. This book provides the first comprehensive discussion of recent advances in the understanding, treatment, and management of mild head injury. It covers strategies of neurosurgical management in adults and children, neuroimaging and neurophysiological methods of investigation, experimental models, neurobehavioural outcome in adults and children, psychosocial function, sports injuries, and epidemiological aspects. Innovative programs to mitigate disability after mild head injury are reviewed by the physicians and psychologists who have developed these techniques. This thoroughly interdisciplinary book will be of value to neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and psychiatrists.