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.

About the Author

Sarah A. Raskin, PhD, is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Dr. Raskin has published numerous articles investigating neuropsychological functions and cognitive rehabilitation for people with a variety of disorders, including brain injury and Parkinson's disease. She has a particular interest in assessment and treatment of prospective memory. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Brain Injury Association of Connecticut and facilitated a brain injury support group for 15 years. Dr. Raskin is coauthor, with Catherine A. Mateer, of Neuropsychological Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and creator of the Memory for Intentions Test, a standardized clinical measure of prospective memory. In addition, she is currently funded for work investigating the cognitive and neurophysiological effects of alcohol use in college students.

Reviews

"Neuroplasticity and Rehabilitation is unique in integrating the current evidence regarding use-dependent neuroplasticity, cognitive reserve, and neuropsychological interventions. Raskin and her colleagues point out that the same mechanisms underlying experience-based neural plasticity also contribute to recovery of function after brain damage, and demonstrate how this informs rehabilitation research and practice. I can envision this book serving as a standard text for the next generation of researchers and clinicians hoping to address the restoration of cerebral function. It will be of substantial interest to anyone who wants to understand the translation between neuroscience research and clinical practice."--Keith D. Cicerone, PhD, ABPP-CN, Director of Neuropsychology, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, Edison, New Jersey

"This book brings together two intimately related areas of science that rarely overlap. Raskin has assembled an impressive team of experts who combine critical knowledge of brain reorganization and repair with applied rehabilitation science, providing a long-overdue conceptual integration. This thought-provoking book is a 'must read' for students; for scholars, who may have expertise in the basic science but not in clinical application; and for clinicians. The book is truly translational in nature. I highly recommend it for graduate studies in neuroscience, medicine, and the allied disciplines that collectively make up the emerging field of the rehabilitation sciences."--John DeLuca, PhD, ABPP, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School; Vice President for Research, Kessler Foundation, West Orange, New Jersey

"This is a comprehensive book incorporating the latest research on neuroplasticity in diverse areas of cognitive function. It serves as an authoritative guide to how clinical practice can effectively incorporate significant new findings about brain plasticity and learning. It will be equally appropriate and useful for graduate students, experienced clinicians, and researchers in the field."--Wayne A. Gordon, PhD, Jack Nash Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York

"The take-home message of Neuroplasticity and Rehabilitation is not only that our brains are more plastic than we ever expected, but also that we are learning how to influence this plasticity through informed treatment to achieve truly meaningful rehabilitation outcomes. From animal studies to sophisticated human trials, the book gathers a wealth of information from eminent experts. This book is absolutely essential reading for basic neuroscientists as well as for rehabilitation professionals at all levels of care. Understanding how and why the study of neuroplasticity can inform treatment choices will allow clinicians to make cutting-edge clinical decisions. These decisions may range from individual treatments, such as choice of physiotherapy intervention following stroke, to the design of holistic rehabilitation programs for survivors of severe acquired brain injury. The future of rehabilitation has now been linked inextricably to the growing field of neuroplasticity."--Jill Winegardner, PhD, Director of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

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Book Information
ISBN 9781609181376
Author Sarah A. Raskin
Format Hardback
Page Count 351
Imprint Guilford Publications
Publisher Guilford Publications
Weight(grams) 640g