Pediatric Neuropsychology
Pediatric Neuropsychology
George W. Hynd, W. Grant Willis
New York, NY: Grune & Stratton, Inc., 355 pp., 1988
Let me first state this is an excellent book. It is comprehensive and it provides an overview of the recent literature on a variety of brain-behavior relationships in the developing brain of children. If one reads the foreward by Kinsbourne and the preface by the authors, it becomes obvious that research in the field of neuropsychology as applied to children is substantial. It has a good data base and is important for all practicing child psychologists.
The book is descriptive and classifies the large number of disorders and syndromes known to exist in children, and cites the relevant neuropsychological deficits they demonstrate.
The first chapter discusses the pediatric patient, the DSM-III classification and professional issues relevant to the education of neuropsychologists. Chapter two provides a very good review of the structural development of the CNS from the growth of the neural tube at gestation to the fusing of the six fontanelles and myelination processes.
Chapter three discusses the motor and sensory systems as reviewed in neurological textbooks but adds developmental information; for example, that “the sensory systems develop prenatally in a distinct autogenetic sequence: somesthesis, vestibular sense, audition and vision.”
Chapter four reviews anomalies or neurological development from megalencephaly to Dandy-Walker malformation and chapter five the various neuropsychological theories of brain organization.
The next section (chapters 6, 7 and 8) reviews the examination techniques used to assess children including neurological, neuropsychological and neuroradiological procedures. These are up-to-date and present a very good review of the contributions to diagnosis each procedure can provide.
The major portion of the book (chapter 9 to 16) reviews childhood neurological diseases and disorders including: genetic and chromosomal causes, epilepsy, developmental problems such as ADD, brain injury, neoplasms, CNS infections, neuromuscular diseases and neurocutaneous syndromes.
The book is an excellent review of the pediatric literature dealing with the description and classification of neurological and neuropsychological problems of children with a wide variety of disorders. Treatment is briefly discussed in several chapters. However, it is somewhat limited. From a theoretical point of view it remains outstanding. It is appropriate for a student in a graduate course, particularly for those interested in neuropsychology. I would recommend this book for anyone involved in pediatric neuropsychology.