Note From the Editor-in-Chief

Abstract

To child neurologists, William M. Landau is probably best known for his eponymic Landau-Kleffner syndrome described in 1957 as a ''syndrome of acquired aphasia with convulsive disorder in children'' in collaboration with Frank R. To clinical neurophysiologists, Landau is known for his meticulous description of the nerve and muscle activation mediating the plantar reflexes that are evaluated daily by clinicians to assess the status of corticospinal tract functioning. [8][9][10][11] Landau served for many years as the Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, which over the years trained many prominent neurologists (including numerous child neurologists mentored by the iconic Philip Dodge 12 ). As the quintessential skeptic, Landau took up the task of confronting ''conventional wisdom'' in a series of ''Neuromythology'' 13-28 articles published in Neurology (the official organ of the American Academy of Neurology), which were then reprinted in book form. 29,30 The Journal of Child Neurology has also often championed controversial issues, 31-48 such as the valuation of published materials, peer review, ethics in publishing, and professional witness testimony, with some of these articles even being penned by Landau. 46-48 Thus, it seemed appropriate to publish this provocative critique by Landau 49 in the same issue as an article providing an analysis of the peer review process in neurology. 50 Presumably, correspondence from readers will challenge both of these articles.Roger A. Brumback, MD