This book, the first of three volumes, provides a thorough background to the emerging field of neurobehavioral toxicology by looking at current clinical approaches and tests, as well as assessing current clinical research. The analysis of the impact of toxins on the human nervous system is particularly pertinent given the ongoing expansion of pharmaceuticals, industrial hazards, biological warfare and global pollution. A comprehensive introduction to neurobehavioral toxicology, this work will be of interest to practicing neurologists and neuropsychologists, as well as to occupational medicine physicians and medical toxicologists.

This is the final volume in a three-volume work that has addressed the scientific methodologies relevant to clinical neurobehavioral toxicology. Volume I focused on basic concepts and methodologies in Neurobehavioral Toxicology, with Volume II focusing on the peripheral nervous system. Volume III attends to what is known about industrial and environmental chemicals, medicines, and substances of abuse and how these agents affect the central nervous system. All substances have the capacity to be toxic, depending on factors that include the physical properties of the chemical or compound, organism related variables, or interaction between the two. These substances on the other hand and as a result of these same factors might be used therapeutically or even recreationally. The difference between medicine, recreational drug, or poison depends often on a careful balance between adverse and intended effects. How to determine that a specified substance has caused harm is emphasized in the present volume by way of case examples and discussion. Illnesses and behavioral variations that compete with toxicant-induced explanations for findings in a given case, as well as the various controversies that can arise around issues of diagnosis and causal determination, are treated comprehensively in this volume.

This book, the second of three volumes, concentrates on peripheral nervous system disorders. Examining the effects of neurotoxicants on nerve, muscle and the neuromuscular junction, it builds on the scientific principles outlined in volume 1 by looking at the application of the methods discussed, particularly in terms of the evaluation and diagnosis of individual patients and the related process of establishing causation. Neurobehavorial Toxicology, Volume 2 will be of interest to practicing neurologists and neuropsychologists, as well as to occupational medicine physicians and medical toxicologists.

This book, the first of three volumes, provides a thorough background to the emerging field of neurobehavioral toxicology by looking at current clinical approaches and tests, as well as assessing current clinical research. The analysis of the impact of toxins on the human nervous system is particularly pertinent given the ongoing expansion of pharmaceuticals, industrial hazards, biological warfare and global pollution. A comprehensive introduction to neurobehavioral toxicology, this work will be of interest to practicing neurologists and neuropsychologists, as well as to occupational medicine physicians and medical toxicologists.

Containing 50 chapters by some of the most prominent clinical neuropsychologists, the Textbook of Clinical Neuropsychology sets a new standard in the field in its scope, breadth, and scholarship. Unlike most other books in neuropsychology, the Textbook is organized primarily around syndromes, disorders, and related clinical phenomena. Written for the clinician at all levels of training, from the beginner to the journeyman, the Textbook presents contemporary clinical neuropsychology in a comprehensive volume. Chapters are rich with reviews of the literature and clinical case material spanning a range from pediatric to adult and geriatric disorders. Chapter authors are among the most respected in their field, leaders of American Neuropsychology, known for their scholarship and professional leadership. Rarely have so many distinguished members of one discipline been in one volume. This is essential reading for students of neuropsychology, and all others preparing for careers in the field.

Explains the treatments used in brain injury rehabilitation and covers new methods of rehabilitation, including complementary medicine theories.

Although investigated for over 100 years, it is only now that we are beginning to understand how speed of information processing is affected in various clinical populations. Processing speed has a major impact on higher level cognitive abilities and is extremely vulnerable to neurological insult and the aging process. The importance of processing speed with respect to brain function, cognition and overall quality of life is now the focus of a new and exciting body of research in clinical populations. This book provides a scholarly and clinically sensitive review of research on processing speed and its issues in clinical populations. Readers will come away with an in-depth understanding of human information processing speed including its historical development, its relationship to other cognitive functions, the developmental course of the ability across the lifespan, and its impact on everyday life in various clinical populations. Other highlights of the text are its discussion of the speed vs. accuracy trade-off, tools available for measuring processing speed, the unfolding research on genetic contributions to processing speed, and the latest ideas in rehabilitation. With contributing authors who are experts in their fields, Information Processing Speed in Clinical Populations represents a valuable resource for researchers, scholars, and clinicians by providing a concise summary of the existing research on processing speed across an array of disciplines and populations.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) has been identified as an important clinical transition between normal aging and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since treatments for AD are most likely to be most effective early in the course of the disease, MCI has become a topic of great importance and has been investigated in different populations of interest in many countries. This book brings together these differing perspectives on MCI for the first time. This volume provides a comprehensive resource for clinicians, researchers, and students involved in the study, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of people with MCI. Clinical investigators initially defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as a transitional condition between normal aging and the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Because the prevalence of AD increases with age and very large numbers of older adults are affected worldwide, these clinicians saw a pressing need to identify AD as early as possible. It is at this very early stage in the disease course that treatments to slow the progress and control symptoms are likely to be most effective. Since the first introduction of MCI, research interest has grown exponentially, and the utility of the concept has been investigated from a variety of perspectives in different populations of interest (e.g., clinical samples, volunteers, population-based screening) in many different countries. Much variability in findings has resulted. Although it has been acknowledged that the differences observed between samples may be ‘legitimate variations’, there has been no attempt to understand what it is we have learned about MCI (i.e., common features and differences) from each of these perspectives. This book brings together information about MCI in different populations from around the world. Mild Cognitive Impairment will be an important resource for any clinician, researcher, or student involved in the study, detection, treatment, and rehabilitation of people with MCI.

Substance use continues to be a major public health problem, and the ramifications of this are manifold. For instance, at present, on a yearly basis, the total economic cost of substance misuse is literally hundreds of billions of dollars. These costs are related to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, treatment and prevention, reduced job productivity and/or absenteeism, interdiction by the criminal justice, and incarceration. There are many more psychosocial consequences of substance misuse, and these have been well–documented over the past four to five decades; in contrast, with the exception of alcohol, the effects of substance misuse on the brain have received attention only in the past 10 to 15 years. An emerging body of literature has reported on the effects of various drugs on neuropsychological functioning, including benzodiazepines, cocaine, marijuana, MDMA, methamphetamine, nicotine, and opioids. Despite the fact that the neuropsychological consequences of many drugs of abuse are well–documented, to our knowledge, no one had previously published an edited volume that focused exclusively on this issue. Based on this fact, we decided to create a volume that would review the available literature regarding on this topic. Neuropsychology and Substance Misuse: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions explores cutting-edge issues, and will be of interest to clinical neuropsychologists who require the latest findings in this increasingly important area of neuropsychology.