The second edition of the book "Neuroplasticity and its Dark Sides" stresses some less well-known aspects of neuroplasticity, namely that there are two kinds of neuroplasticity, one that is beneficial to a person and one that may be harmful. It also discusses that there are functions that can easily be changed through activation of neuroplasticity while other functions are more difficult to change or more or less "hard-wired." Activation of neuroplasticity is essential for learning new skills and adapting to changing demands, but neuroplasticity can also create symptoms and signs of common and widespread diseases such as chronic neuropathic pain and severe tinnitus. Such maladaptive neuroplasticity is also the primary cause of other plasticity disorders such as spasticity, and it may be involved, together with other factors such as the immune system, in the development of diseases such as fibromyalgia, the chronic fatigue syndrome and probably many other disorders. Understanding these dark sides of neuroplasticity is vital for treatment of many common diseases. Reversing such bad plastic changes would be an ideal treatment of many disorders if it could be done efficiently and with little adverse side effects. Another less well-understood property of neuroplasticity, namely that not all brain systems are plastic is also discussed in the book. The fact that attempts to change sexual preferences have been unsuccessful indicates that there are functions of some neural circuits that cannot be changed or are difficult to change. This means that there are neural circuits that are not plastic, but "hard-wired." Long-term memory and a person's personality are other examples of common functions that are stable during a person's life indicating that some very complex circuitry in the brain may be less plastic than earlier assumed. The failed success in the treatment of posttraumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) is another example of functions that are difficult to change. The book provides a comprehensive description of the basis for neuroplasticity in general. The ability to change the efficacy of synapses and the change in protein synthesis are discussed in detail. The role of "maladaptive plasticity" in the development of many disorders of the nervous system and how the understanding of neuroplasticity can benefit diagnosis and treatment of many diseases of the nervous system are other themes of the book.
About the Author: Dr. Aage R. Møller has a medical degree (cand med) and doctoral degree (D. Med. Sci.) from the Karolinska Institut (School of Medicine) in Stockholm, Sweden where he spent 13 years in the position of "Docent" (Assistant Professor). After that he immigrated to the USA 1978 to take a position at the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and later at the Department of Neurological Surgery as (tenured) Professor of Neurological Surgery. After 19 years in Pittsburgh doing research and teaching Dr. Møller 1978 moved to Dallas, Texas, for a position at The University of Texas at Dallas with an Endowed (Margret Fonde Jonsson) Professorship in Cognition and Neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. He was named Founders Professor, 2013. He teaches several courses in the Neuroscience Program of the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and he was named Distinguished Lecturer in Cognition and Neuroscience 2012. Dr. Aage Møller is the (single) author of seventeen professional books on sensory science, pain and intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring. He is an editor or co-editor of nine published books, author or co-author of more than 200 articles in refereed journals, and the author of 105 book chapters. He founded the international journal, 'Hearing Research, ' 1976 he was editor-in-chief from 1976 to 2005. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tinnitus Research Initiative Foundation, an international organization based in Regensburg, Germany, and the United States. He is especially interested in neural plasticity and its role in creating symptoms of diseases such as some forms of tinnitus and chronic neuropathic pain. Other books published by this author: 1.Møller, A.R. (2010) Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring, 3rd Edition, Springer, 403 pages. 2.Møller, A.R. (2012) Hearing: Anatomy, physiology, and disorders of the auditory system, 3rd Edition, 415 pages. San Diego Plural Publishing, Inc. ISBN-13: 978-1-59756-427-4, ISBN-10: 1-59756-427-3. 3.Møller, A.R. (2014) Sensory Systems, 2nd Edition. Aage R. Møller Publishing, Dallas, 417 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1478175872, ISBN-10: 1478175877. 4.Møller, A.R. (2014) Pain: Its Anatomy, Physiology and Treatment, 2nd Edition, Aage R. Møller Publishing, Dallas, 405 pages ISBN-13: 978-1499206470, ISBN-10: 149920647X.