We possess as a cognitively aware species a high degree of function localization, but we still subscribe to the notion consistent with the model that dysfunction or damage to specific regions of the brain and nervous system may result in specific damage and deficits in behavior and function of individuals. Unfortunately, that is not enough to explain the capacity for plasticity, regeneration, spontaneous recovery, and optimization in neurological terms, and certainly not in its translation in clinical rehabilitation. Among the difficulties we face in the application of rehabilitation science in practice, the need to understand how the nervous system functions is less than understanding how it recovers from dysfunction, how we can effectively evaluate function, dysfunction and recovery, and how to provide a rational basis for making economic decisions about which method or methodology to invest. A neuroanatomical conceptualization is a not an option for rehabilitation practice. It is important to understand that what we are really attempting to achieve both in rehabilitation as well as in understanding the neurological basis of cognitive and motor improvement after trauma or stroke is not which brain area controls a given cognitive function, but how efficiently brain regions cooperate with each other and how novel connectivities may develop.

We possess as a cognitively aware species a high degree of function localization, but we still subscribe to the notion consistent with the model that dysfunction or damage to specific regions of the brain and nervous system may result in specific damage and deficits in behavior and function of individuals. Unfortunately, that is not enough to explain the capacity for plasticity, regeneration, spontaneous recovery, and optimization in neurological terms, and certainly not in its translation in clinical rehabilitation. Among the difficulties we face in the application of rehabilitation science in practice, the need to understand how the nervous system functions is less than understanding how it recovers from dysfunction, how we can effectively evaluate function, dysfunction and recovery, and how to provide a rational basis for making economic decisions about which method or methodology to invest. A neuroanatomical conceptualization is a not an option for rehabilitation practice. It is important to understand that what we are really attempting to achieve both in rehabilitation as well as in understanding the neurological basis of cognitive and motor improvement after trauma or stroke is not which brain area controls a given cognitive function, but how efficiently brain regions cooperate with each other and how novel connectivities may develop.

Brain plasticity is the focus of a growing body of research with significant implications for neurorehabilitation. This state-of-the-art volume explores ways in which brain-injured individuals may be helped not only to compensate for their loss of cognitive abilities, but also possibly to restore those abilities. Expert contributors examine the extent to which damaged cortical regions can actually recover and resume previous functions, as well as how intact regions are recruited to take on tasks once mediated by the damaged region. Evidence-based rehabilitation approaches are reviewed for a range of impairments and clinical populations, including both children and adults.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches has been disappointingly slow. Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury attempts to integrate expertise from across specialties to address knowledge gaps in the field of TBI. Its chapters cover a wide scope of TBI research in five broad areas: Epidemiology Pathophysiology Diagnosis Current treatment strategies and sequelae Future therapies Specific topics discussed include the societal impact of TBI in both the civilian and military populations, neurobiology and molecular mechanisms of axonal and neuronal injury, biomarkers of traumatic brain injury and their relationship to pathology, neuroplasticity after TBI, neuroprotective and neurorestorative therapy, advanced neuroimaging of mild TBI, neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms following mild TBI, sports-related TBI, epilepsy and PTSD following TBI, and more. The book integrates the perspectives of experts across disciplines to assist in the translation of new ideas to clinical practice and ultimately to improve the care of the brain injured patient.

Stroke Rehabilitation: Insights from Neuroscience and Imaging informs and challenges neurologists, rehabilitation therapists, imagers, and stroke specialists to adopt more restorative and scientific approaches to stroke rehabilitation based on new evidence from neuroscience and neuroimaging literatures. The fields of cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging are advancing rapidly and providing new insights into human behavior and learning. Similarly, improved knowledge of how the brain processes information after injury and recovers over time is providing new perspectives on what can be achieved through rehabilitation. Stroke Rehabilitation explores the potential to shape and maximize neural plastic changes in the brain after stroke from a multimodal perspective. Active skill based learning is identified as a central element of a restorative approach to rehabilitation. The evidence behind core learning principles as well as specific learning strategies that have been applied to retrain lost functions of movement, sensation, cognition and language are also discussed. Current interventions are evaluated relative to this knowledge base and examples are given of how active learning principles have been successfully applied in specific interventions. The benefits and evidence behind enriched environments is reviewed with examples of potential application in stroke rehabilitation. The capacity of adjunctive therapies, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, to modulate receptivity of the damaged brain to benefit from behavioral interventions is also discussed in the context of this multimodal approach. Focusing on new insights from neuroscience and imaging, the book explores the potential to tailor interventions to the individual based on viable brain networks.

In the last decade, important discoveries have been made in cognitive neuroscience regarding brain plasticity and learning such as the mirror neurons system and the anatomo-functional organization of perceptual, cognitive and motor abilities.... Time has come to consider the societal impact of these findings. The aim of this Research Topic of Frontiers in Psychology is to concentrate on two domains: neuro-education and neuro-rehabilitation. At the interface between neuroscience, psychology and education, neuro-education is a new inter-disciplinary emerging field that aims at developing new education programs based on results from cognitive neuroscience and psychology. For instance, brain-based learning methods are flourishing but few have been rigorously tested using well-controlled procedures. Authors of this Research Topic will present their latest findings in this domain using rigorously controlled experiments. Neuro-rehabilitation aims at developing new rehabilitation methods for children and adults with learning disorders. Neuro-rehabilitation programs can be based upon a relatively low number of patients and controls or on large clinical trials to test for the efficiency of new treatments. These projects may also aim at testing the efficiency of video-games and of new methods such as Trans Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for therapeutic interventions in children or adolescents with learning disabilities. This Research Topic will bring together neuroscientists interested in brain plasticity and the effects of training, psychologists working with adults as well as with normally developing children and children with learning disabilities as well as education researchers directly confronted with the efficiency of education programs. The goal for each author is to describe the state of the art in his/her specific research domain and to illustrate how her/his research findings can impact education in the classroom or rehabilitation of children and adolescents with learning disorders.

This Handbook of Clinical Neurology volume provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary guide to neuroplasticity. Part I of the book summarizes the basic mechanisms of neuroplasticity. Part II focuses on neuroplasticity in movement disorders. Part III focuses on brain oscillations in neurological disorders. Part IV segues into plasticity in neurorehabilitation. Part V summarizes issues of inflammation and autoimmunity in neuroplasticity. The book concludes with part VI on neuroplasticity and psychiatric disorders. Covers basic mechanisms to clinical treatment of neurological disorders Includes inflammation, autoimmunity, genetics, neurophysiology and more Encompasses stroke, Alzheimer's, movement, and psychiatric disorders Provides tools for enhancing recovery