While a great number of textbooks have been devoted to various medical aspects of childhood epilepsy, none have been as comprehensive and forthright as Neuropsychology of Childhood Epilepsy. Devoted to the neuropsychological description of childhood epilepsy, the editors have uncovered this neurological condition as never before. Divided into three sections, section one may be highly regarded as a necessary introduction to the neuropsychological basis of childhood epilepsy, electro-clinical patterns of various types of epilepsy and brain maturation while section two delves into the characterization of the neuropsychological profile that accompanies focal epilepsies leading to the behavioral and cognitive impairments linked to the transient events that often go unnoticed. Part three covers the medical, surgical and socio-educational management of childhood epilepsy. bsenteeism, learning difficulties, and cognitive dysfunctions may have an impact on a child's self-esteem and upon his or her quality of life. The final part of the volume therefore presents an accurate account of the vast psychological consequences of this disease. This volume is a must read for experimental and cognitive neuropsychologists, medical specialists involved in the care of children with epilepsy and professionals and caretakers dealing with the different aspects of childhood epilepsy alike.

The child is neither an adult miniature nor an immature human being: at each age, it expresses specific abilities that optimize adaptation to its environment and development of new acquisitions. Diseases in children cover all specialties encountered in adulthood, and neurology involves a particularly large area, ranging from the brain to the striated muscle, the generation and functioning of which require half the genes of the whole genome and a majority of mitochondrial ones. Human being nervous system is sensitive to prenatal aggression, is particularly immature at birth and development may be affected by a whole range of age-dependent disorders distinct from those that occur in adults. Even diseases more often encountered in adulthood than childhood may have specific expression in the developing nervous system. The course of chronic neurological diseases beginning before adolescence remains distinct from that of adult pathology - not only from the cognitive but also motor perspective, right into adulthood, and a whole area is developing for adult neurologists to care for these children with persisting neurological diseases when they become adults.

Just as pediatric neurology evolved as an identified specialtyas the volume and complexity of data became too much for the general pediatician or the adult neurologist to master, the discipline has now continued to evolve into somany subspecialties, such as epilepsy, neuromuscular disease, stroke, malformations, neonatal neurology, metabolic diseases, etc., that the general pediatric neurologist no longer can reasonably possess in-depth expertise in all areas, particularly in dealing with complex cases. Subspecialty expertisethus is provided to some traineesthrough fellowship programmes following a general pediatric neurology residency and many of these fellowships include training in research.

Since the infectious context, the genetic background and medical practice vary throughout the world, this diversity needs to be represented in a pediatric neurology textbook. Taken together, and although brain malformations (H. Sarnat & P. Curatolo, 2007) and oncology (W. Grisold & R. Soffietti) are covered in detail in other volumes of the same series and therefore only briefly addressed here, these considerations justify the number of volumes, and the number of authors who contributed from all over the world. Experts in the different subspecialties also contributed to design the general framework and contents of the book. Special emphasis is given to the developmental aspect, and normal development is reminded whenever needed - brain, muscle and the immune system. The course of chronic diseases into adulthood and ethical issues specific to the developing nervous system are also addressed.
*A volume in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series, which has an unparalleled reputation as the world's most comprehensive source of information in neurology.
*International list of contributors including the leading workers in the field.
*Describes the advances which have occurred in clinical neurology and the neurosciences, their impact on the understanding of neurological disorders and on patient care."

The child is neither an adult miniature nor an immature human being: at each age, it expresses specific abilities that optimize adaptation to its environment and development of new acquisitions. Diseases in children cover all specialties encountered in adulthood, and neurology involves a particularly large area, ranging from the brain to the striated muscle, the generation and functioning of which require half the genes of the whole genome and a majority of mitochondrial ones. Human being nervous system is sensitive to prenatal aggression, is particularly immature at birth and development may be affected by a whole range of age-dependent disorders distinct from those that occur in adults. Even diseases more often encountered in adulthood than childhood may have specific expression in the developing nervous system. The course of chronic neurological diseases beginning before adolescence remains distinct from that of adult pathology - not only from the cognitive but also motor perspective, right into adulthood, and a whole area is developing for adult neurologists to care for these children with persisting neurological diseases when they become adults.

Just as pediatric neurology evolved as an identified specialtyas the volume and complexity of data became too much for the general pediatician or the adult neurologist to master, the discipline has now continued to evolve into somany subspecialties, such as epilepsy, neuromuscular disease, stroke, malformations, neonatal neurology, metabolic diseases, etc., that the general pediatric neurologist no longer can reasonably possess in-depth expertise in all areas, particularly in dealing with complex cases. Subspecialty expertisethus is provided to some traineesthrough fellowship programmes following a general pediatric neurology residency and many of these fellowships include training in research.

Since the infectious context, the genetic background and medical practice vary throughout the world, this diversity needs to be represented in a pediatric neurology textbook. Taken together, and although brain malformations (H. Sarnat & P. Curatolo, 2007) and oncology (W. Grisold & R. Soffietti) are covered in detail in other volumes of the same series and therefore only briefly addressed here, these considerations justify the number of volumes, and the number of authors who contributed from all over the world. Experts in the different subspecialties also contributed to design the general framework and contents of the book. Special emphasis is given to the developmental aspect, and normal development is reminded whenever needed - brain, muscle and the immune system. The course of chronic diseases into adulthood and ethical issues specific to the developing nervous system are also addressed.
*A volume in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series, which has an unparalleled reputation as the world's most comprehensive source of information in neurology.
*International list of contributors including the leading workers in the field.
*Describes the advances which have occurred in clinical neurology and the neurosciences, their impact on the understanding of neurological disorders and on patient care."

The child is neither an adult miniature nor an immature human being: at each age, it expresses specific abilities that optimize adaptation to its environment and development of new acquisitions. Diseases in children cover all specialties encountered in adulthood, and neurology involves a particularly large area, ranging from the brain to the striated muscle, the generation and functioning of which require half the genes of the whole genome and a majority of mitochondrial ones. Human being nervous system is sensitive to prenatal aggression, is particularly immature at birth and development may be affected by a whole range of age-dependent disorders distinct from those that occur in adults. Even diseases more often encountered in adulthood than childhood may have specific expression in the developing nervous system. The course of chronic neurological diseases beginning before adolescence remains distinct from that of adult pathology - not only from the cognitive but also motor perspective, right into adulthood, and a whole area is developing for adult neurologists to care for these children with persisting neurological diseases when they become adults.

Just as pediatric neurology evolved as an identified specialty as the volume and complexity of data became too much for the general pediatician or the adult neurologist to master, the discipline has now continued to evolve into somany subspecialties, such as epilepsy, neuromuscular disease, stroke, malformations, neonatal neurology, metabolic diseases, etc., that the general pediatric neurologist no longer can reasonably possess in-depth expertise in all areas, particularly in dealing with complex cases. Subspecialty expertise thus is provided to some trainees through fellowship programmes following a general pediatric neurology residency and many of these fellowships include training in research.

Since the infectious context, the genetic background and medical practice vary throughout the world, this diversity needs to be represented in a pediatric neurology textbook. Taken together, and although brain malformations (H. Sarnat & P. Curatolo, 2007) and oncology (W. Grisold & R. Soffietti) are covered in detail in other volumes of the same series and therefore only briefly addressed here, these considerations justify the number of volumes, and the number of authors who contributed from all over the world. Experts in the different subspecialties also contributed to design the general framework and contents of the book. Special emphasis is given to the developmental aspect, and normal development is reminded whenever needed - brain, muscle and the immune system. The course of chronic diseases into adulthood and ethical issues specific to the developing nervous system are also addressed.
*A volume in the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series, which has an unparalleled reputation as the world's most comprehensive source of information in neurology.
*International list of contributors including the leading workers in the field.
*Describes the advances which have occurred in clinical neurology and the neurosciences, their impact on the understanding of neurological disorders and on patient care."

This book is devoted to the neuropsychological description of childhood epilepsy, a neurolo- cal condition that constitutes one of the most prevalent forms of chronic and disabling childhood illnesses. Indeed, one child out of 20 experiences one or more seizures before the age of 5, and one in a hundred develops epilepsy as a chronic disorder. Approximately half of these children with epilepsy display academic difficulties and/or behavioral disorders. Moreoever, it is now believed that a sizable proportion of children with learning disability suffer from undiagnosed epilepsy. While a great number of textbooks have been devoted to various medical aspects of chi- hood epilepsy (diagnosis, genetics, etiology, drug and surgical treatment, etc.), there have been no comprehensive accounts of the cognitive consequences of this condition. Advance of medical knowledge has shown that childhood epilepsy should not be considered as a single disorder but encompasses a whole range of different conditions that exhibit specific clinical EEG and outcome characteristics. It is not becoming apparent that these various clinical entities have different cognitive expression that yet need to be specified. The purpose of this book is to provide a complete up-to-date analysis of this multi-faceted pathology.

Much has been written about the cognitive function of children with epilepsy but despite there being extensive study of the neuropsychological status of adults with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy, it has been more limited in children. Although cognitive development in children is influenced by similar factors to adults, the role of early damage, modification of cerebral organisation and interruption of the learning process are also likely to be important. Devoted to cognitive function and dysfunction in children with temporal lobe epilepsy, this book highlights those domains that demand further research and those for which immediate established techniques for a better global care can be undertaken.

Having appeared in the 1930s in Montreal, standardised neuropsychological evaluation has become an essential tool in the clinical diagnosis and evaluation of surgical epileptic patients. Nevertheless, despite great progress over the last 20 to 30 years in the diagnosis and medical treatment of epilepsy, clinical neuropsychology still remains largely associated with surgical epilepsy, particularly surgery of the temporal lobe. Clinical neurology has still not managed to clear a way in the daily practice with patients with all types of epilepsy despite significant advances in cognitive neuroscience and a large number of clinical studies on epilepsy and cognition. How is it that there are only rarely major advances in the field of clinical neuropsychology? It has long been time for this question to be asked, and for an attempt to be made to bring about changes. This was the aim of the Toronto workshop and the result of this book. Every approach was debated, providing important elements to reflect on and allowing a great forum for exchanges. This book includes the communications from the main participants and comments from some others on specific subjects.