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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
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780670038305 |
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
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 transformedpeople 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.
Review:
"For years the doctrine of neuroscientists has been that the brain is a machine: break a part and you lose that function permanently. But more and more evidence is turning up to show that the brain can rewire itself, even in the face of catastrophic trauma: essentially, the functions of the brain can be strengthened just like a weak muscle. Scientists have taught a woman with damaged inner ears, who for five years had had 'a sense of perpetual falling,' to regain her sense of balance with a sensor on her tongue, and a stroke victim to recover the ability to walk although 97% of the nerves from the cerebral cortex to the spine were destroyed. With detailed case studies reminiscent of Oliver Sachs, combined with extensive interviews with lead researchers, Doidge, a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst at Columbia and the University of Toronto, slowly turns everything we thought we knew about the brain upside down. He is, perhaps, overenthusiastic about the possibilities, believing that this new science can fix every neurological problem, from learning disabilities to blindness. But Doidge writes interestingly and engagingly about some of the least understood marvels of the brain." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"Only a few decades ago, scientists considered the brain to be fixed or 'hardwired,' and considered most forms of brain damage, therefore, to be incurable. Dr. Doidge, an eminent psychiatrist and researcher, was struck by how his patients' own transformations belied this, and set out to explore the new science of neuroplasticity by interviewing both scientific pioneers in neuroscience, and patients who have benefited from neuro-rehabilitation. Here he describes in fascinating personal narratives how the brain, far from being fixed, has remarkable powers of changing its own structure and compensating for even the most challenging neurological conditions. Doidge's book is a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain." Oliver Sacks
Review:
"The power of positive thinking finally gains scientific credibility. Mind-bending, miracle-working, reality-busting stuff, with implications, as Dr. Doidge notes, not only for individual patients with neurologic disease but for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history." New York Times
Review:
"[Doidge] links scientific experimentation with personal triumph in a way that inspires awe for the brain, and for these scientists' faith in its capacity. A valuable compilation of work that seeks to prove the unsung adaptability of our most mysterious organ. Readers will want to read entire sections aloud and pass the book on to someone who can benefit from it." Washington Post
Review:
"Lucid and absolutely fascinating....[Doidge is] able to explain current research in neuroscience with clarity and thoroughness." Chicago Tribune
Review:
"Doidge provides a history of the research in this growing field, highlighting scientists at the edge of groundbreaking discoveries and telling fascinating stories of people who have benefited." Psychology Today
About the Author
Norman Doidge, M.D., is a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst on the faculty at the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Center in New York and the University of Toronto, as well as an award-winning writer. He has presented his scientific research at the White House.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
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Douglas Cobb, June 23, 2007 (view all comments by Douglas Cobb)
Do you know someone who has had a stroke? How about someone with a learning disability? Or, are you interested in maintaining your intellect and mental facilities as you get older? If you've answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D., should interest you a lot. It's like an "Owner's Manual" for the brain, filled with stories of personal triumph against all odds, like recoveries from strokes that people would have believed to be impossible a few short years ago.
Far from being dry and boring, it's filled with engrossing information about advances being made in neuroplasticity--the idea that the brain is not some "hardwired" type of machine, but is plastic, and one part can take over functions of another part that's been damaged. The information is made very pertinent and relevant by giving names and faces to many people who've been helped by neuroplasticians. The Brain That Changes Itself is a great read I highly recommend.
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780670038305
- Subtitle:
- Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Viking Books
- Subject:
- Neuropsychology
- Subject:
- Rehabilitation
- Subject:
- Neuroplasticity
- Subject:
- Life Sciences - Biology - General
- Subject:
- Life Sciences - Anatomy & Physiology
- Subject:
- Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology
- Subject:
- Neurology - General
- Subject:
- Neuroscience
- Series:
- James H. Silberman Books
- Publication Date:
- April 2007
- Binding:
- Hardcover
- Grade Level:
- General/trade
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 427
- Dimensions:
- 9.24x6.38x1.47 in. 1.42 lbs.
