Kleim JA, Neural Plasticity: Foundation for Neurorehabilitation. Arizona: Tanas Publishing, 2012; 184 pp, ISBN. $39.99 (e-book), $49.99 (e-book and teaching slides). Available online athttp://www.tanaspub.com
Purpose: This electronic book (e-book), the first book published by Tanas Publishing, provides a comprehensive summary of basic principles underlying neural plasticity as they relate to neurorehabilitation. The author's stated purpose is to enhance understanding of the key neural and behavioral signals that drive neural plasticity so that more effective neurorehabilitation approaches can be developed and implemented in clinical practice. Central themes of the book are that neural plasticity and functional changes are associated with neurorehabilitation, and that therapists need to better understand how to specifically apply and advance interventions to optimize neural plasticity.
Audience: The author states that the book is intended for clinicians (therapists) working in neurorehabilitation. It could be very useful for any health professional working with people with neurologic injury of any age, as well as faculty and students seeking to understand how evolving knowledge about neural plasticity can relate to rehabilitation after nervous system injury.
Organization/Structure: Access to the e-book is managed by following a link provided by the publisher; the e-book is then downloaded as a pdf file onto a computer. The book is organized into 2 main sections: Section I: Fundamentals of Neural Plasticity, and Section II: Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation. Section I (Chapters 1-5) includes a historical perspective regarding neural plasticity as well as definitions of key terms (Chapter 1); a summary of relevant animal and human studies that demonstrate the variety of changes in neuron structure and function underlying plasticity (Chapters 2-4); and an overview of brain organization that highlights the concepts of redundancy and interconnectivity as they relate to functional reorganization after brain injury (Chapter 5). Section II (Chapters 6-12) focuses on application of the information presented in Section I to clinical practice. Chapter 6 includes a discussion of recovery versus compensation at both the behavioral and neural levels, whereas Chapter 7 presents strategies that can be used in rehabilitation to exploit key neural and behavioral signals that drive plasticity. In Chapter 8, factors that are known to influence plasticity and functional outcome (development, aging, sex, genotype, experience, residual functional anatomy after damage to the central nervous system, and timing of intervention postinjury) are addressed. Maladaptive plasticity is discussed in Chapter 9. Finally, Chapter 10 includes the author's ideas regarding changes in the approach to neurorehabilitation that are needed to effectively apply the expanding knowledge of neural plasticity to clinical practice.
Information: Overall, this e-book provides a thorough summary of current literature from both animal and human studies related to neural plasticity, with an appropriately heavier emphasis on human studies. A major strength is the translation of these studies to neurorehabilitation; throughout the second half of the book, the author provides several thoughtful and useful examples of current and possible future applications of this evolving body knowledge for practicing clinicians. The text is written from the first-person perspective, interspersed with objective and clear reporting of relevant scientific studies. Overall, the text is well written and easy to follow. Included are over 170 illustrations, many of which are animated and include audio explanations; these are highly effective at enhancing understanding of the concepts presented in the text and are spaced well throughout the text. Selecting the "Click to activate" option on an animation consistently allows access to every animation, although each animation can only be viewed once without closing and reopening the textbook. After the final chapter, an extensive glossary and reference list are included. Bookmarks allow the reader to easily move from the beginning of one chapter to another, and options exist to view the text either as a single page or as 2 pages simultaneously. On the publisher's website, it states that the information included in the e-book will be updated annually, but there is no clear explanation of the mechanism for receiving updates, or any associated costs.
Summary: This textbook is a unique and necessary addition to the field of neurorehabilitation. The author has struck a nice balance, presenting key scientific studies in an easy to understand manner, and identifying their application and relevance to clinical practice. This e-book is a useful reference for entry-level physical therapy students, and a key source of information for advanced clinicians practicing in neurorehabilitation.
Kathleen Gill-Body, DPT, MS, NCS, FAPTA
Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton, Massachussetts
E-mail: [email protected]