Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, by Scott A. Huettel, Allen W. Song and Gregory McCarthy. 2004. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc. 492 pp., $79.95.

Imaging the human brain at work was revolutionized by the discovery of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the early 1990s. Prior to this, functional brain mapping was limited to a handful of medical centers capable of conducting positron emission tomography (PET) scans of regional cerebral blood flow. With the discovery of the endogenous blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast method in 1992, fMRI “democratized” the field by expanding the number of medical centers capable of functional brain imaging. Today, over a thousand peer-reviewed fMRI articles are published each year, many in high profile scientific journals that receive additional attention by the popular press. This explosion of scientific research is relatively easy to understand: fMRI can be conducted on the majority of the 6,600 MRI scanners installed in the US alone, the technique is completely noninvasive since it does not require injection of MRI contrast agents or radiopharmaceuticals, and, as an added benefit, fMRI provides a unique combination of high spatial and temporal resolution. Not surprisingly, fMRI is the imaging technique of choice for mapping cognitive and emotional systems in the healthy brain. More recently, fMRI has been applied to clinical populations to identify the brain mechanisms governing recovery of function from stroke and head trauma, detect early brain changes in neurodegenerative conditions, and measure the effects of psychoactive medications on neurodevelopmental disorders, as examples. fMRI provides a complementary method for testing neuropsychological models of brain function derived from other methods (lesion, electrophysiology).

Vascular Dementia: Cerebrovascular Mechanisms and Clinical Management. Robert H. Paul, Ronald Cohen, Brian R. Ott, and Stephen Salloway (Eds.). 2004. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 356 pp., $145.00, £91.00 (HB).

Interest in how vascular factors contribute to dementia is ascendant, propelled by a number of factors. One is the widespread use of MRI, which is a highly sensitive (if not always specific) test for cerebrovascular lesions. A second is a string of epidemiological reports revealing that Alzheimer's disease shares many of the well established risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (Skoog & Gustafson, 2003). Recent autopsy studies using cohorts obtained outside of the potentially winnowing influence of the Alzheimer's disease centers have reminded us that vascular lesions are common in patients with dementia (Neuropathology Group of the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study, 2001). The Nun study report suggesting that infarcts create an additive or greater effect on mental function in concert with AD pathology (Snowdon et al., 1997) received particularly wide exposure and helped revive interest in combined effects of AD and ischemic lesions. Finally, the discovery that polymorphisms of the apoE gene, long of interest in cardiovascular disease, strongly modify the risk of AD suggested the possibility of shared pathophysiological mechanisms between AD and vascular dementia (Panza et al., 2004; Strittmatter & Roses, 1995). The volume Vascular Dementia, edited by Paul, Cohen, Ott and Salloway, is thus a timely resource for those interested in the numerous issues surrounding the role of vascular factors in dementia.

Cognitive and Behavioral Rehabilitation: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice. Jennie Ponsford (Ed.). 2004. New York: Guilford Press. 366 pp., $50.00 (HB).

The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 90 million people, or 1.5% of the world population, are in need of rehabilitation services at any given point in time (WHO, 2003). Many of these individuals are at risk for long-term disability due to brain injury and disease. They range from the young, who increasingly survive early brain insults, to older adults, whose independence and every day functioning may be threatened by the onset of neurologic impairments. As medical advances improve survival rates and longevity, the number of those in need of cognitive and behavioral rehabilitation services to enhance functioning is likely to grow. This situation raises pressing questions, such as, who will get better with what rehabilitation treatment, and why?