Neurological Assessment in the First Two Years of Life: (176 Clinics in Developmental Medicine)

"Neurological Assessment in the First Two Years of Life" provides an overview of the follow-up of newborns at risk of developing neurological abnormalities. After a brief description of the neurophysiological basis of development in the first years, it offers a comprehensive review of the various methods used for the neurological assessment of young infants. The authors describe how a combined approach of clinical and instrumental investigations provides important diagnostic and prognostic information. The first part of the book reviews the most frequently used clinical neurological examinations and their application in infants with neurological abnormalities. This is followed by a description of the value of neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques in normal preterm and full-term infants in the first two years. The main types of abnormal magnetic resonance findings and of neurophysiological findings (EEG and evoked potentials) in relation to brain lesions are then considered. Other chapters describe techniques to assess specific aspects of cognitive, perceptual and sensory abilities. Special attention is paid to hearing, language and communication and to the development of vision and visual attention, both in normal infants and in those with neonatal brain lesions. The final chapters are devoted to intervention, describing how the identification of specific profiles of impairment can lead to the development of appropriate plans of early intervention.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. Neurophysiological basis of development; 3. Neurological assessment in normal young infants; 4. Classical neurological examination in young infants with neonatal brain lesions; 5. Other approaches to neurological assessment; 6. Magnetic resonance imaging of the infant brain; 7. Diagnostic and prognostic value of electrophysiology; 8. Assessment of the development of the high-risk infants in the first two years; 9. Cognitive development in the first two years of life; 10. Hearing, language and communication; 11. Development of vision and visual attention; 12. Visual function in children with neonatal brain lesions; 13. From observation and rehabilitation; 14. Longitudinal multi-centre follow-up of high-risk neonates: current status and future prospects.; Index.

About the Author :
Giovanni Cioni is the Professor of Child Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Pisa, Italy and the Head of the Department for Developmental Neuroscience at the Stella Maris Scientific Institute. His research focuses mainly in the follow-up of the newborn at risk for a neurological damage, motor and perceptual development and its disorders, neuroimaging and clinical neurophysiology techniques applied to child neurology. Professor Cioni has authored more than 300 scientific publications and 25 book chapters and has won numerous international awards for his research Eugenio Mercuri is Professor of Paediatric Neurology and Psychiatry at the Catholic University of Rome. Professor Mercuri's areas of expertise include congenital muscular dystrophy, outcome measures and assessment tools in neuromuscular disorders. He has published over 130 publications on various topics related to paediatric neurology and neuromuscular disorders.