Jose Rodrigo Carrillo-Marquez

By José Damián Carrillo-Ruíz, Jesús Quetzalcoatl Beltran, José Rodrigo Carrillo-Márquez, José Luis Navarro-Olvera, Luis García, Francisco Villegas-López and Francisco Velasco

Spasticity is one of the most important and residual signs after pyramidal and para-pyramidal catastrophic lesions after diverse neurological insults, including stroke, brain and spine trauma and post-radiation; infection and immunological diseases affecting nervous system, between others. Spasticity is normally a compensatory motor mechanism that could ameliorate the patients´ disability. Nevertheless, disastrous spasticity is described when the extremities force is diminished in the affected limbs, or when is impossible to wake o to take objects, maximum when hand or foot deformity is exposed. The objective of this chapter is centered in the neurosurgical treatment of spasticity, including brain lesions with specific targets and the spine with its different modalities. This review shows not only the basic aspects in these techniques, but also the option of infusion pumps and deep brain stimulation. To close, a proposal is stablished to determinate the possible path to treat the spasticity in the future.

Part of the book: Frontiers in Clinical Neurosurgery

By Jose Rodrigo Carrillo-Marquez and Jose Damian Carrillo-Ruiz

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to adapt to new stimuli, with the objective to overcome and learn how to deal with novel situations. In this chapter, it will be explained the new neurophysiological mechanism that entitles the processes of brains’ plasticity. The intriguing phenomena that surround cognitive mechanisms will be described on a morphological and molecular scale, aiming to understand some of the brains’ functions. The principal objective is to clarify and explain that neuroplasticity can take place in different complex tasks such as adaptative behaviors, memory, learning, and automatic conducts. Also, the evolutionary advantage of forgetting will be deeply discussed. The work will describe the functioning of the brain when adapting to new circumstances that affect the procedures of memory. It will be explained why applying biotechnology and neurobioethics is crucial for merging basic and clinical sciences.

Part of the book: Neurophysiology