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Brain Injury and Recovery pp 15–28Cite as

Neural System Imbalances and the Consequence of Large Brain Injuries

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Abstract

It is reported that while addressing a group of graduating college students, Dr. Seuss related some advice from Uncle Terwillinger concerning the art of eating popovers. Dr. Seuss noted that it was Uncle Terwillinger’s suggestion that “to eat these things, you must exercise great care. You may swallow down what is solid, . . . but you must spit out what is air!” Given the range of beliefs concerning the consequences of brain injury, it appears that students of recovery of function may also need to heed Uncle Terwillinger’s sage counsel. For example, at one extreme there are those who believe that the organization of the nervous system is quite stable, so that the behavioral consequences of neural injury are determined by whether or not what is spared can function normally. At the other extreme there are those who believe that the nervous system is quite plastic, so that the behavioral consequences of neural injury depend on whether or not neural centers will reorganize and function vicariously. There should be little surprise that such extreme positions have set the boundaries of fertile soil in which considerable debate and controversy can germinate and be nurtured. And understandably so, since the consequences of brain injury will necessarily define the mechanisms of recovery of function as well as how we should best proceed to understand and ultimately facilitate these mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695-7801, USA

    T. E. LeVere

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  1. T. E. LeVere
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department and Neural Sciences Program, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 63130, USA

    Stanley Finger

  2. The Brain Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27695-7801, USA

    T. E. Levere

  3. Programs in Occupational Therapy and Neural Sciences, Departments of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Preventive Medicine, and Psychology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA

    C. Robert Almli

  4. Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, 07102, USA

    Donald G. Stein (Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research) (Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research)

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© 1988 Plenum Press, New York

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LeVere, T.E. (1988). Neural System Imbalances and the Consequence of Large Brain Injuries. In: Finger, S., Levere, T.E., Almli, C.R., Stein, D.G. (eds) Brain Injury and Recovery. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0941-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0941-3_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8256-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0941-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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