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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology pp 1–2Cite as

Functional Compensation

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Synonyms

Functional adaptation

Definition

Functional compensation refers to the process by which individuals who have suffered damage to the central nervous system (CNS) resulting in permanent injury compensate for deficits in various domains of functioning through the adaptive implementation of behavioral, cognitive, or physical strategies designed to enhance residual skills or to introduce alternative skills. Functional compensation uses residual structures to achieve recovery, emphasizing a behavioral rather than a neural model (Heilman and Valenstein 2003). Instead of, or in complement to, rerouting neuronal connections, an individual with CNS damage independently develops, or is assisted in learning, new solutions to problems using existing structures. Functional gains can be long term in nature, with adaptation to the environment occurring in an ongoing capacity after initial injury, at times influenced by advances in assistive technology, even while structural gains may have...

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References and Readings

  • Department of Veterans Affairs. (2004). Traumatic brain injury. Washington, DC: Department of Veteran’s Affairs Employee Education System.

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  • Heilman, K. M., & Valenstein, E. (Eds.). (2003). Clinical neuropsychology (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • National Center for Telehealth & Technology. (2015). Web-based applications: A guide for clinicians. Washington, DC: Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

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  • O’Neill, B., & Gillespie, A. (Eds.). (2015). Assistive technology for cognition: A handbook for clinicians and developers. New York: Psychology Press.

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  • Robertson, I. H., & Murre, J. M. J. (1999). Rehabilitation of brain damage: Brain plasticity and principles of guided recovery. Psychological Bulletin, 125 (5), 544–575.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedics & Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    Lindsey Duca

  2. Spinal Cord Injury Clinic, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, 3801 Miranda Ave. (128), Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Jon Rose

Authors
  1. Lindsey Duca
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  2. Jon Rose
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lindsey Duca .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG (outside the USA)

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Duca, L., Rose, J. (2016). Functional Compensation. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_400-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_400-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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