The Changing Nervous System: Neurobehavioral Consequences of Early Brain Disorders

This book provides an integrated review of current research on neural plasticity and reorganization after early cerebral insults. Addressing both animal studies and a variety of diverse clinical populations, including children with congenital brain malformations, focal lesions, autism, and pervasive developmental disorders, this book summarizes many of the major advances on neural plasticity made in these areas over the past several years. Characterized by a broad historical perspective including contributions from some of the earliest researchers on environmental factors and brain organization, the book advances the reader form the laboratory to application in several human populations. Many of the components of the book explicitly address relationships of animal and human models, showing that the laboratory and the clinic are overlapping settings, not isolated chambers as they are often perceived. The understanding of neural plasticity and both biological and environmental factors that influence brain reorganization after early cerebral insult has major implications for treatment. The book outlines many of the potential applications for treatment of early brain disorders. The contributors include basic neuroscientists, cognitive neuroscientists, and clinician-researchers who work together to bridge gaps among disciplines. The book should facilitate collaborative research and applications in the critical areas of neural plasticity and brain reorganization. Advancement of knowledge of factors that prevent and enhance brain reorganization after early cerebral insult is a key to unraveling the mysteries of the developmental disorders characteristic of children and which influence their development through adulthood.

Table of Contents:
Part I SHAPING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM 1: Philip G. Nelson, Roger Davenport: Wiring the Brain: Activity Dependent and Activity Independent Development of Synaptic Circuits 2: Mark R. Rosenzweig: Effects of Differential Experience on Brain and Cognition Throughout the Life Span 3: William T. Greenough, James E. Black, Anna Klintsova, Kathy E. Bates, Ivan Jeanne Weiler: Experience and Plasticity in Brain Structure: Possible Implications of Basic Research Finding For Developmental Disorders Part II MECHANISMS OF REORGANIZATION 4: Craig H. Bailey: Structural Changes Underlying Long-Term Memory 5: Asaf Keller: The Role of Intrinsic Circuitry in Motor Cortex Plasticity 6: Bertram R. Payne: Immature Visual Cortex Lesions: Global Rewiring, Neural Adaptations, and Behavioral Sparing Part III NEURODEVELOPMENTAL COURSE OF EARLY BRAIN DISORDERS 7: H. Julia Hannay, Jack M. Fletcher, Michael E. Brandt: The Role of the Corpus Callosum in the Cognitive Development of Children with Congenital Brain Malformations 8: Maureen Dennis, C. Ross Hetherington, Brenda J. Spiegler, Marcia A. Barnes: Functional Consequences of Congenital Cerebellar Dysmorphologies and Acquired Cerebellar Lesions of Childhood 9: Barry Gordon, Dana Boatman, Ronald P. Lesser, John Hart, Jr.: Recovery from Acquired Reading and Naming Deficits Following Focal Cerebral Resection 10: Elizabeth Bates: Plasticity, Localization and Language Development 11: Dorothy M. Aram: Neuroplasticity: Evidence from Unilateral Brain Lesions in Children 12: Marian Sigman and Norman Kim: Continuity and Change in the Development of Children with Autism 13: Eric Courchesne, Rachel Yeung Courchesne, Karen Pierce: Biological and Behavioral Heterogeneity in Autism: Role of Pleiotropy an Epigenesis Part IV INTERVENTIONS 14: Susan J. Landry: Issues in Developing Effective Interventions 15: Michael M. Merzenich, Gabrielle Saunders, William M. Jenkins, Steven Miller, Bret Peterson, Paula Tallal: Pervasive Developmental Disorders: Listening Training and Language Abilities Part V CONCLUSIONS 16: Bennett A. Shaywitz: Development, Learning, and Neuroplasticity: Where We Are Now

Review :
"The book is well written and illustrated. The editors have done and admirable job of modifying the text to include appropriate references to material in other chapters." --Annals of the Royal College of Physicins and Surgeons of Canada "This book provides a useful review of the mechanisms of neural plasticity and reorganization that underlie such recovery and describes many examples. It is a must for anyone interested in current research on neural plasticity and its application to the problems of early damage to the nervous system. All the chapters display a commendably high standard of writing, which make them not only interesting but also easy to read." -- John Stein, Trends in Neuroscience