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The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books)

by Norman Doidge

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books) Cover

Synopses & Reviews

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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 theyve transformed people 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, children with cerebral palsy learning to move with more grace, depression and anxiety disorders successfully treated, and lifelong character traits changed.

Using these marvelous stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love, sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.

Synopsis:

An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. In this revolutionary look at the brain, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., provides an introduction to both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed. From stroke patients learning to speak again to the remarkable case of a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, The Brain That Changes Itself will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.

About the Author

Norman Doidge, M.D., is a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst on the faculty of the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research in New York and the University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry. He is a four-time recipient of Canada's National Magazine Gold Award.

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
salger, August 16, 2009 (view all comments by salger)
I have recommended this book to dozens of friends. From my perspective, to be bold, this book should change your life. At minimum, it will change the way you think about the way you structure even the most mundane of your everyday activities. It's a fascinating bit of storytelling about the science behind the great capacities of the human mind. There is much to discover here.
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crowyhead, March 1, 2008 (view all comments by crowyhead)
This is an absolutely fascinating book about how neurologists have discovered in the past thirty years or so that the human brain is much, much more resilient and plastic than it was believed to be for a long time. Neurologists used to think that everyone's brain map was basically the same, with functions like sight or hearing in pretty much the same place, and that if those sections of the brain were damaged, then the function they controlled would be permanently impaired. This didn't explain, however, people who were born with sections of their brain missing, yet still were able to live normal or almost normal lives, nor did it explain why some people who suffered strokes were able to regain skills that should have been lost forever. Doige profiles some of the most innovative neurologists in the field, and discusses case histories of individuals who exemplify the brain's plasticity.

There was only one section of the book where I felt Doige was dodging some issues. In the chapter on sexuality, he discusses the role that neuroplasticity might feature in the case of fetishes or addiction to pornography. He stops short, however, of the risky topic of what neuroplasticity might mean in the case of sexual orientation. I understand that this is a controversial topic and that he (and other researchers) might want to avoid it, but it struck me as rather disengenuous to gloss over it completely.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780143113102
Subtitle:
Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
Author:
Doidge, Norman
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Subject:
Neuropsychology
Subject:
Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology
Subject:
Neurology - General
Subject:
Neuroscience
Copyright:
Series:
James H. Silberman Books
Publication Date:
December 2007
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
427
Dimensions:
843x556x95 89

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