BOOK REVIEWS
SECTION EDITOR: OLAF STÜVE, MD, PhD
Niedermeyer’s
Electroencephalography,
Basic Principles, Clinical
Applications, and Related
Fields, 6th ed
edited by Donald L. Schomer, MD, and
Fernando H. Lopes da Silva, MD, PhD,
1275 pp, with illus, $229, ISBN-13
978-0-78178-942-4, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins, 2011.
Despite the advent of modern neu-
roimaging, electroencephalography
(EEG) has retained its usefulness for
the evaluation of brain masses and
headaches, and it is indispensable for
the proper management of paroxys-
mal episodes and for the surgical
evaluation of intractable epilepsy. Re-
cent research has dug up more trea-
sures concerning EEG (eg, ultrafast
and ultraslow potentials, direct cur-
rent potentials, and high-frequency
oscillations), and there are ongoing
attempts at increasing the accuracy
of source localization and auto-
mated seizure detection. Moreover,
intraoperative neurophysiologic
monitoring has become, to a large ex-
tent, a part of the EEG specialty.
Other emerging techniques, such as
magnetoencephalography, transcra-
nial magnetic stimulation, and the
brain-computer interface, have deep
roots in EEG. Thus, the modern elec-
troencephalographer has much more
to master today than in years past.
The sixth edition of Niedermeyer’s
Electroencephalography successfully
addresses these needs and contin-
ues to be one of the electroencepha-
lographer’s most valuable refer-
ences. Since 1982, subsequent
editions have kept the reader up to
date with the forefront of standard
clinical and investigational EEG. The
contents of the current edition con-
tinue to be concordant with the
book’s title, with adequate empha-
sis on EEG basics, clinical applica-
tions, and related fields (including,
among others, fast frequencies,
evoked potentials, source localiza-
ARCH NEUROL / VOL 68 (NO. 11), NOV 2011
©2011 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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tion, and automated EEG reading).
The editors of this edition have done
a remarkable job organizing the book
and making it easier to navigate. The
chapters are arranged to fit nicely in
9 parts, which is comforting to the
reader, facilitating prompt access to
needed information.
One part of the book contains ac-
tivation methods, artifacts, and nor-
mal EEG patterns. Separate chap-
ters deal with normal EEG findings
in separate age groups, from neo-
nates to the elderly. Another part is
devoted to EEG in common neuro-
logical disorders, including tu-
mors, stroke, headaches, dementia,
anoxia, and metabolic derange-
ments. A third part deals with EEG
in epilepsy. Like the normal EEG
part, separate chapters in this part
are appropriately devoted to differ-
ent age groups. There are useful
chapters on convulsive and noncon-
vulsive status epilepticus, where
EEG characterizations are com-
bined with pathophysiological and
epidemiological backgrounds, which
helps the reader to better integrate
the information and understand spe-
cific patient presentations. This part
also contains a well-written chap-
ter on anticipation of seizures based
on EEG. The chapter on nonepilep-
tic episodes covers some psycho-
genic and physiologic etiologies and
is appropriately brief in an EEG
book. The remaining 5 parts con-
stitute the other half of the book.
These are devoted to complimen-
tary techniques (including an out-
standing chapter on intracranial
monitoring that contains many use-
ful intracranial EEG samples), drug
effects, evoked potentials, neuro-
cognition, and computer-assisted
analysis.
All the chapters are written by
members of an international fac-
ulty who are leading experts in EEG
and related fields. The book is very
well organized and easy to navi-
gate. Most chapters are highly read-
able and contain very informative il-
lustrations. The writing is excellent
and often succinct, and the head-
ings and subheadings help the reader
WWW.ARCHNEUROL.COM
1481
keep track of the enormous amount
of data. The book has a companion
Web site that allows navigation
through the fully searchable text and
figures. This facilitates access to the
book from computers and portable
electronic devices, enhancing its
usefulness for the contemporary
electroencephalographer.
Prose 夝夝夝夝
Illustrations 夝夝夝夝
Science 夝夝夝夝
Usefulness 夝夝夝夝
Mohamad Z. Koubeissi, MD
Author Affiliation: Department of
Neurology, Case Western Reserve
University, University Hospitals Case
Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Correspondence: Dr Koubeissi, De-
partment of Neurology, Case West-
ern Reserve University, University
Hospitals Case Medical Center,
11100 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH
44106 (mohamad.koubeissi
@uhhospitals.org).
Financial Disclosure: None re-
ported.
Progenitor Cell Therapy
for Neurological Injury
edited by Charles S. Cox Jr, MD, 255
pp, with illus, $189, ISBN 978-1-
60761-964-2, New York, New York,
Humana Press (Springer Science +
Business Media), 2011.
In the United States, the incidences
of traumatic brain injury and spinal
cord injury are in the tens of thou-
sands, and the incidence of ische-
mic injury is even higher (ie, in the
hundreds of thousands). Fre-
quently, patients are left with signifi-
cant disability, drastically reducing
their quality of life because they are
dependent on caregivers and are un-
able to work. Fueled by dramatic ad-
vances in the field of stem cell re-
search, efforts to discover avenues for
tissue protection and repair follow-
ing a traumatic event have exponen-
tially increased over the past 2 de-
cades. Needless to say, much progress