This revision will be the Twelfth Edition of "Merritt's Neurology", first published in 1955. Houston Merritt, from Columbia, a 'father' of modern neurology, was the original author, and then passed the editorial torch on to Lewis Rowland, one of his residents, for the Seventh Edition. Dr. Rowland edited the next four editions but with this Twelfth Edition, will bring on Timothy A. Pedley, Chair of the Department of Neurology at Columbia, as a co-editor and as his successor. Most of the contributors are Columbia-trained. This edition will debut at the Neurological Institute of New York's centennial in the fall of 2009. The book presents the latest neurologic findings in a crisp clinical focus that incorporates recent advances in the molecular biology of neurologic disease. Essential references direct the reader to more information.