Advances in Stroke Rehabilitation.

The stated purpose of this book is to present the work of "researchers and clinicians who have made significant contributions over the past decade to the rehabilitation of individuals with stroke." Eighteen individuals contributed to the text. The 13 chapters are divided into four sections entitled "Medical Advances," "Biofeedback," "Treatment of Speech-Language and Cognitive Disorders," and "Psychosocial and Vocational Rehabilitation." The appendix contains three assessments of depression in individuals with brain damage.

Three chapters on medical advances cover the medical management of ischemic stroke, the medical aspects of early rehabilitation, and the role of the brain's right hemisphere in language and affective behaviors. The principles of physical therapy, briefly described as part of early rehabilitation, are a mixture of motor performance and motor learning treatment philosophies. With two exceptions, references in each of these chapters pre-date 1991.

Section 2, entitled "Biofeedback," encompasses intervention strategies that are based on motor learning theories, on the concept of learned nonuse of the involved upper extremity, and on electro-myographic feedback. The three chapters provide overviews and interesting perspectives of these content areas.

Assessment and treatment of aphasia, motor-speech disorders, and visual neglect are presented in section 3. Descriptions of the response styles to perceptual retraining may provide physical therapists with some insights into individuals with neglect problems. The fourth section, on psychosocial and vocational rehabilitation, addresses, treatment of poststroke depression and intervention strategies with spouses. The book concludes by covering the employment potential of individuals who have had a stroke.

The detail of the content within the chapters is uneven due to variation in the scope of the topic areas. Potential readers should be aware that the material is aimed at a multidisciplinary audience. This precludes identification, except chapters therapy-specific applications, except chapters 4 through 6. These chapters share a coauthor who coordinates the coverage. Due to the focus on electromyographic biofeedback and forced-use intervention, however, this section does not fully explore the range of types of biofeedback that can be used with this population.

This text would have limited usefulness in an entry-level physical therapy curriculum. Physical therapy practitioners looking for general information on the specific topics included may find the material interesting. Readers should be aware that advances in significant content areas of stroke rehabilitation, such as occupational therapy, are not a part of this text.