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EditorialNeurorehabilitation: Neural Plasticity and Functional Recovery

Toshiyuki Fujiwara,1 Nam-Jong Paik,2 and Thomas Platz3

1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo,Tokyo 113-8421, Japan2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University BundangHospital, 173-82 Gumi-Ro, Bundang-Gu, Seongnam 13620, Republic of Korea3BDH-Klinik Greifswald, Centre for Neurorehabilitation, Intensive Care, and Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Universität Greifswald,Karl-Liebknecht-Ring 26a, 17491 Greifswald, Germany

Correspondence should be addressed to Toshiyuki Fujiwara; [email protected]

Received 4 April 2017; Accepted 4 April 2017; Published 20 April 2017

Copyright © 2017 Toshiyuki Fujiwara et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Neurorehabilitation plays an important role for neuralplasticity and functional recovery following neurologicaldisease. Neurorehabilitation is based on rehabilitationmedicine, neuroscience, and neurophysiology. This specialissue focused on the efficacy and mechanism by whichneurorehabilitation can induce neural plasticity andfunctional recovery.

Articles published in this special issue covered neuroreh-abilitation following stroke, spinal cord injury, and otherneurological disorders.

T. Fujiwara et al. reviewed the neurorehabilitation usingelectromyography- (EMG-) controlled neuromuscular elec-trical stimulation for upper extremity motor functionfollowing stroke. This review showed that application ofwearable EMG-controlled NMES for 8 hours in daytimeimproved both arm and hand function and can induceplastic change in intracortical interneuron and spinalreciprocal interneuron.

J. Fu et al. reviewed the functional recovery induced bythe exercise after spinal cord injury. Therapeutic exercisecan induce reshaping of the skeletal muscle, physiologicalchange of spinal motor neuron, and remodeling of themotor cortex.

Neurophysiology and neuroimaging are great tools forrevealing neural plasticity induced by neurorehabilitation.

Neuroimaging studies in this special issue revealed novelfindings of cortical reorganization following spinal cordinjury, facial nerve palsy, hearing loss, and aerobic exercisein older adults.

Neurophysiological studies in this special issue revealedneural activity related to reduction of gait speed inParkinson’s disease and functional recovery of hemiplegiafollowing stroke.

Advanced neurophysiological and neuroimagingtechniques provided new insight into the functional recoveryin neurological disorders.

We hope this special issue provides further knowledge ofneurorehabilitation.

Toshiyuki FujiwaraNam-Jong PaikThomas Platz

HindawiNeural PlasticityVolume 2017, Article ID 3764564, 1 pagehttps://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3764564

https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3764564

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