About this title: An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives theyave transformedapeople whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, blind people who learn to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, stroke patients learning to speak, ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780143113102ISBN:0143113100
Description: New. Items ship once payments have cleared. Media mail 5-8 days Priority 2-3 days and international orders may be subject to customs clearance procedures which can cause delays. Seasonal delays can occur in postal system. All items ship within 24 hours of receiving payment. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780670038305ISBN:067003830X
Description: Very Good in Good jacket. DJ has marks, edgewear, chipping-Cover has edgewear, bumping, chipping, dents-Few marks on pgs-Edgewear-Slight spine slant. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Date Published: 2007-12-18
ISBN-13:9780143113102ISBN:0143113100
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780143113102. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2007-03-15
ISBN-13:9780670038305ISBN:067003830X
Description: Good. Ex-library copy w/ usual stamps and markings. Some shelf wear on cover, pages in good reading condition. Ships promptly in a padded mailer w/ delivery confirmation. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2007-03-15
ISBN-13:9780670038305ISBN:067003830X
Description: Like New. New, never sold, but has some shelf wear. Excellent condition otherwise. No marks. Hard cover with dust jacket. 111909. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780141038872ISBN:014103887X
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 448 pages. Introduces us to the stories of the brain science and the discipline of 'neuroplasticity'. this title allows you to meet the stroke victim who unable to feed or dress himself learned to move and talk again, and the maverick scientists over turning centuries of assumptions about the brain and it's capacity for renewal. (Paperback) read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 2007-03-15
ISBN-13:9780670038305ISBN:067003830X
Description: Very Good. New, never sold, but has some shelf wear. Excellent condition otherwise. No marks. Hard cover with dust jacket. 111709. read more
Binding: Audio CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridge
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781423367994ISBN:1423367995
Description: Fine. Unused Audio CD! ! Plastic wrapped. Very light shelf wear to box. Orders shipped next business day. Tracking number provided. read more
"This is a remarkable book. I would recommend it for parents of children with developmental delays. For so long we were told that after the age of ten the brain loses it's plasticity. All the neuron connections have been hardened and change was nearly impossible. All of that is not true. My own son has proven it's not true. The part of his brain that affects how we deal with transition, how we problem solve our emotions was affected. Normally if we encounter a problem or disappointment we use past experience to know that it won't last forever and we can reason it out. Go with the flow. My son can't do that. He gets stuck in the present and can spiral into negativity. His brain won't allow him to reason it out and move on. BUT over the last year my son's counselor, husband and I have manually taken him through the steps to reason out problems, emotions, worries and disappointments with helping him use positive thoughts. It takes a lot of energy and time on all our parts but the results really do work. Can you imagine having your brain locked into worry and negativity? Never knowing that there is an alternative."
"At last, a review of the plasticity of the brain, which Moshe Feldenkrais has been espousing for the last 50 years. A wonderful read. A must for all of us, who are interested in maintaining, and yes, improving, our mental function and capacities as we grow older. Doidge describes many case studies of neuroplasticians who improve the lives of clients in many many ways."
"A great book about neuroplasticity, the relatively new concept in neurology describing the ability of the brain to reorganize itself based on the environment around it. More than most lay-science books, "The Brain That Changes Itself" includes a real aspect of personal triumph. There are many cases of people with severe strokes, severe birth defects or injuries who have taken advantage of the science of neuroplasticity, combined with personal drive and will, to make amazing recoveries leading to new treatments for many thought untreatable, and increasing our understanding of the brain. The focus on psychotherapy is a little strong, and the author occasionally makes the kind of psychotherapy jumps that always seem like the therapist imagining things, but in general the cases are based on strong science."
"This book made me reexamine what I believed about human behavior, in particular our ability to change. The author refers to neuroscience and brain studies to argue that every time we engage in a behavior, we create or reinforce pathways in our brain. Intuitively we know that the more you practice a skill, the better you get at it. The better you get at something, the less effort it takes. Brain scans demonstrate this process. The concept is known as brain plasticity, which means the brain's ability to adapt and change.
The technical explanation for this process is summarized in Hebb's law: "Neurons that fire together, wire together." I was surprised to find that Sigmund Freud --who started out as a neurologist before getting into psychoanalysis-- had proposed something very similar. In 1888, Freud stated that when two neurons fire simultaneously, this firing facilitates their ongoing association. This was the notion behind Freud's idea of free association: the concept that seemingly random pairings of words in fact have a neurological basis.
Author Norman Doidge argues that the same process of reinforcing neuron connections that allows the brain to change, is also responsible for the creation of behavioral rigidity: The more we engage in a certain behavior, the more entrenched that behavior becomes. As such, the same process that is responsible for our ability to adapt and change can also makes us more rigid and inflexible. This challenges the notion that we are "hardwired" for certain characteristics or behaviors, and suggests that human behavior is not predestined and inevitable.
The other side of the coin would be the school of thought that favors the notion of genetic predisposition, and questions whether human nature contains innate characteristics, personal inclination or tendencies. Doidge does not address these issues.
The book does not present plasticity as a panacea, and it directly cautions against the notion of human perfectibility (perfectibilité, Jean-Jacques Rousseau), but it does offer optimism concerning the brain's ability to adapt, and it looks at how this can be put to practical use.
Uses of plasticity: Therapy for stroke victims who were previously thought beyond help. Retraining for balance problems. Sight and hearing for the blind/deaf. Therapy for people with learning disabilities. Training the older brain to keep it in shape.
Psychotherapy For dealing with behaviors that we want to change. Aim of therapy when dealing with incidents from the critical period of early life is to make these explicit and retranscribe them as a conscious language-based memory.
The Challenge The author challenges us to look at our own behavior and ask the question: "Am I doing this because it is the best thing to be doing now, or am I doing this because it is what I tend to do in this situation?"
Never again will I say: That's just the way I am, it's in my nature. Rather I now look at my behavior and say: This is what I choose to do. This is what I choose to be."
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