Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly

by Jose Leon-Carrion (Editor), Margaret Giannini (Editor)

Overview

It is important to understand the relationship between the brain, cognition and behavior when providing care to the elderly. Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly provides a comprehensive overview of this significant relationship, one of the most important topics concerning medical and behavioral gerontology today. It provides insight into how the aging brain affects memory and language, as well as motor, emotional, and executive functioning.

Beginning with a historical view of aging and healthy living, this practical and informative book describes the most important neurobehavioral issues such as information processing, motor function, language and communication. It also provides essential information on neurobehavioral disorders such as depression, sleep disorders, epilepsy, apraxia, dementia and stroke. Furthermore, it offers an ultimate guide to medical and neuropsychological geriatric assessment and evaluation. A resource for all professionals working with elderly people, Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly points out new directions in research methods for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780849320668
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/27/2001
Pages:	482
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

José León-Carrión, Ph.D., is Professor of Neuropsychology and Director of the Human Neuropsychology Laboratory at the University of Seville, Spain. He is involved with several rehabilitation programs, including the Center for Brain Injury Rehabilitation (C.RE.CER) in Seville, an interdisciplinary center for neurorehabilitation. He is also Vice President of the International Brain Injury Association (IBIA) and President of the Academy for the Advancement of Brain Injury Rehabilitation. Professor León-Carrión is a member of the Euroacademy for Multidisciplinary Neurotraumatology and the European Brain Injury Society. He has served as President and Chair of the Second World Congress on Brain Injury and has participated in conferences worldwide. He is also the Executive Director of the Revista Española de Neuropsicología. Professor León-Carrión is a member of several journal editorial boards. He is recognized for international books and articles related to assessment and rehabilitation of brain injury and for textbooks in neuropsychology. Margaret J. Giannini, M.D., F.A.A.P., is the immediate past Deputy Assistant Chief Medical Director for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed Dr. Giannini as the first Director of the National Institute of Handicapped Research, now known as the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Dr. Giannini was a founder and director of the Mental Retardation Institute of New York Medical College, the first and largest facility for the mentally retarded and the developmentally disabled of all ages and etiologies in the United States and the world. She established one of the first university-affiliated facilities at New York Medical College. Dr. Giannini is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She is the recipient of many national and international awards in recognition of her professional and humanitarian services and achievements. She has chaired more than 35 international conferences on rehabilitation and developmental disabilities in many countries, including Israel, Spain, China, Russia, Argentina, India, and Egypt. She has published extensively and she lectures nationally and internationally. She is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The American University of Rome, Italy.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION. FUNDAMENTALS The Psychology of Aging: An Historical Perspective. Gerontology as a Specialty Medicine. Neurobehavioral Epidemiology of Aging. Neuroanatomy of Functional Aging. COGNITION AND BEHAVIOR IN THE ELDERLY. Information Processing in the Elderly. Memory and Executive Dysfunction in the Elderly: The Role of the Frontal Lobes. Motor Functions and Praxis in the Elderly. Normal and Pathological Language in the Elderly. Emotional Disorders in the Neurologically Deteriorating Older Adult. Aging, Sleep, and Neuropsychological Functioning Outcomes. NEUROBEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT. Neuropsychological Assessment in the Elderly. Minimal Cognitive Impairment. Evaluation of Intervention Programs for the Elderly: Enhancing Validity. ADVANCES IN TREATMENT. Neuropharmacology for Older Adults. Dementia in Primary Care. Neurobehavioral Syndromes in Patients with Cerebrovascular Pathology. Treating Depression in the Elderly. Advances in the Prevention and
Treatment of Age-Related Organic Memory Disorders. Anticonvulsant Drugs and Cognitive Functions in Elderly Patients with Epilepsy. Advances in the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases: Multiple Sclerosis. Vitamin, Mineral, Antioxidant, and Herbal Supplements: Facts and Fictions.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Daniel B. Hier, MD (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description: This is a multiauthored collection of 21 reviews covering major aspects of geriatric behavioral neurology.
Purpose: The editors have sought to collect in a single book critical information on the behavioral neurology of the elderly. The material is presented largely in an overview or introductory level that is suitable for new entrants into the field.
Audience: This book is aimed at neurologists, neurospsychologists, geriatricians, and psychiatrists who care for the elderly with neuropsychiatric conditons. The emphasis is clearly on cognitive rather than psychiatric disorders, although both are covered.
Features: This well-written book has a clearly European flavor as many of the contributing authors are from Spain. The remainder are from the United States, Italy, and Colombia. Early chapters in the book cover geriatrics and gerontology as well as the epidemiology and neuroanatomy of aging. The middle third of book reviews cognitive disorders in the elderly and their diagnosis and assessment. The final third of the book deals with management and assessment.
Assessment: This book is clear and well-written. It provides an excellent introduction to the epidemiology, nature, description, and assessment of cognitive disorders in the elderly including disorders of memory, language, sleep, motor function, and emotional function. American readers will find the chapters on treatment less helpful as they reflect European approaches to treatment that are unfamiliar or inconsistent with American approaches.

Doody's Review Service

"This book is clear and well-written. It provides an excellent introduction to the epidemiology, nature, description, and assessment of cognitive disorders in the elderly including disorders of memory, language, sleep, motor function, and emotional function."
- Daniel B. Hier, MD, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine

From the Publisher