Mechanisms of functional restoration after brain injury

The mechanisms accounting for clinical improvement after brain injury are s till a matter of debate. Better knowledge of the recovery process is import ant for it might be influenced by therapy. This article reviews a number of studies devoted to the physiopathology of recovery from aphasia and visuo- spatial neglect after the acute stage, using various methods (cerebral bloo d flow and metabolism measurements, dichotic listening, transcranial Dopple r ultrasonography, functional magnetic resonance imaging) with special refe rence to the contribution of methods using activation procedures.