Recovery from Brain Damage

Abstract

It has been known for ages that some form of spontaneous recovery usually follows a disabling injury. In the past, this was generally attributed to ‘the healing power of nature’ (Hippocrates’ vis naturae medicatrix) or to supernatural forces [1]. Scientific inquires have revealed the nature of many of these recovery processes, and we have learned, to some extent at least, to understand and influence the course of injury and disease. In the case of a fractured bone, for example, physical and physiological processes have been elucidated quite accurately, and several treatments have been developed that facilitate healing of the fracture and recovery of a person’s functionality. But clearly, in many other cases, in particular when there is damage to the brain, restoration of function is often incomplete or insufficient, and we are failing to grasp all the relevant factors that are involved in the process [2, 3]. This chapter reviews neural plasticity from a clinical point of view and specifically focuses on the brain’s potential to reorganize the neural circuitry for language functions at the macroscopical level (i.e. in terms of brain areas and white matter pathways).