Includes bibliographical references and index.

The changing face of intervention in infants with cerebral palsy / Roberta Shepherd -- Corticospinal tract development and activity-dependent plasticity / Janet Eyre -- Re-thinking the brain : new insights into early experience and brain development / Mary P. Galea -- Functional effects of neural impairments and subsequent adaptations / Adel Abdullah Alhusaini -- The syndrome of deforming spastic paresis : pathophysiology, assessment and treatment / Nicolas Bayle, Jean-Michel Gracies -- Skeletal muscle changes due to cerebral palsy / Richard L Lieber, Lucas R. Smith -- Early muscle development in children with cerebral palsy : the consequences for further muscle growth, muscle function, and long-term-mobility / Martin Gough, Adam P. Shortland -- Early diagnosis and prognosis in cerebral palsy / Giovanni Cioni, Vittorio Belmonti, Christa Einspieler -- Effects of motor activity on brain and muscle development in cerebral palsy / Diane L. Damiano -- The consequences of independent locomotion for brain and psychological development / David I. Anderson ... [et al.] -- Training lower limb performance in early infancy : support, balance and propulsion / Roberta B. Shepherd -- Treadmill training in early infancy : sensory and motor effects -- Caroline Teulier, Marianne Barbu-Roth, David I. Anderson -- Very early upper limb interventions for infants with asymmetric brain lesions / Roslyn Boyd, Micah Perez, Andrea Guzzetta -- Constraint-induced therapy and bimanual training in children with unilateral cerebral palsy / Andrew M Gordon -- Interactive technologies for diagnosis and
.treatment in infants with cerebral palsy / Jens Bo Nielsen

This is a thought-provoking book which introduces a new way of thinking on the development and use of interventions. Relevant to current practice, it advocates early, targeted activity that is focused on increasing muscle activation, training basic actions and minimizing (or preventing) mal-adaptive changes to muscle morphology and function. The authors present recent scientific findings in brain science, movement sciences (developmental biomechanics, motor control mechanisms, motor learning, exercise science) and muscle biology. This knowledge provides the rationale for active intervention, underpinning the need for an early referral to appropriate services. The book features methods for promoting relatively intensive physical activity in young infants without placing a burden on parents which include assistive technologies such as robotics, electronic bilateral limb trainers and baby treadmills. This book begins by specifying the guidelines for training and exercise, outlining the rationale for such intervention. It goes on to cover the fundamentals of neuromotor plasticity and the development and negative effects of limited motor activity on brain organization and corticospinal tract development. Neuromuscular adaptations to impairments and inactivity are discussed along with the General Movement assessment that can provide early diagnosis and prognosis, facilitating very early referral from paediatric specialists to training programs. The book ends with a section featuring various methods of training with the emphasis on preventing/minimizing muscle contracture, stimulating biomechanically critical muscle activity and joint
.movement