• Written by a renowned team of scientists and clinicians, this reference
• reviews various forms of plasticity in synaptic and nonsynaptic transmission
• discusses engineering approaches for mechanisms of plasticity and the development of new therapies based on these principles
• describes the advantages of PET to evaluate the role of neural plasticity in recovery from brain injury
• reviews cell death mechanisms relevant to spinal cord injury
• proposes a new framework to recognize the mechanisms of estrogen action
• provides a broad outline of rehabilitation approaches that have been utilized to promote the recovery of motor function following stroke
• considers the use of stem cell implants to treat Huntington's disease

This reference provides a clear understanding of the basic mechanisms of synaptic transmission and information processing and illustrates potential clinical applications for the recovery of lost function as a result of gene defects, injury, or disease-relating the most recent advances in the design of new therapeutics, the treatment of neurological disease and age-related loss of cognitive function, rehabilitation therapy, and neural engineering and computation.