I am still reading this book but am well into the 2nd half. Very good reading, amazing discoveries. I am trying out some of what I have read to see if I can get my leg working again. Time will tell, also patience and endurance.

Predating Sharon Begley's groundbreaking book Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves by a few months, Doidge approaches the new brain science from the perspective of topical studies and personal stories. A practicing psychiatrist, he looks at how we can apply the new science to self-image, bad habits and obsessions, acquiring tastes, and even sexual attraction. What's unique and helpful is his discussion of the dark side of brain change. The book also serves as a warning that though we can become more flexible, there is a negative side that can result in stubborn habits and disorders.

Doidge does not deal with the new breakthroughs that are happening as a result of physical therapy and work with victims of the Iraqi war. Just the same, this is a very powerful and illuminating work. It is also a very readable book, not smelling of the ivory tower.

Having had a serious brain injury 17 months ago, and, very fortunately completely recovered, I am more fascinated than ever with the human brain. This book is so informative. It is amazing what the brain does, and so relatively little is still known about it. This guy has come up with a fantastic review of the brain. All power to him. It is so encouraging for someone, like me, who has had a brain trauma.

"LOU"

Our daughter had a serious brain injury in 2003. The content of this book provided us with very contemporary, moreover, encouraging information.

This book is a must for understanding the potential benefits of the changeable brain even for a novice to the idea of "neuroplasticity." Whether you are a patient who could benefit from this book, or whether you are simply curious to explore the term "neuroplasticity," this book will open your eyes to a new level of many possibilities and hopes within human life.

Overview + Summary

For the people who are not familiar with the notion of "neuroplasticity," I will first introduce the meaning of the term as it is defined in the book by the author. In the preface, he explains that "neuro is for `neurons,' the nerve cells in our brains and nervous systems; and that plastic is for `changeable, malleable, modifiable'" (xix). Thus, the idea of "neuroplasticity" refers to the brain that can change its own structure and function as opposed to the commonly accepted view of the brain comprising of many areas that are dedicated to a specific function. For example, Broca's area has an important role in understanding and producing syntactically complex sentences and other language functions. Therefore, a localizationist opposing the idea of "neuroplasticity" would argue that damage to this area would impair its role in language processing and speech production; and further, full recovery would not be possible due to an unchangeable brain.

However, the discoveries that the brain could be shaped to perform more efficiently even after the critical period; and that if certain parts of the brain failed to function properly, other parts could often take over became a breakthrough in neuroscience. The author provides much evidence to support the notion of "neuroplasticity," which was once regarded as a radical idea that was challenged by many neuroscientists. He tells the story of his encounters with different "neuroplasticians," the "practitioners of the new science of changing brains" and the patients they have transformed (xx).

The fascinating story of a woman who falls perpetually due to her lost vestibular system is introduced in the first chapter. To briefly give an insight of her story, it is first necessary to explain the role of the vestibular apparatus. It is the sensory organ for the balance system; and further, it has a strong connection to the visual system. Since she has lost nearly 95% to 100% of her vestibular system, she could not maintain her balance, causing her to fall continuously. Further, her case was considered as hopeless. However, an understanding that the sensory cortex is plastic made it possible for a "neuroplastician" to replace her vestibular apparatus, sending balance signals to her brain from her tongue. Her story is not the only one demonstrating many benefits of the changeable brain. The next chapter illustrates a story of a woman, who was labeled as retarded, but who managed to build herself a better brain, further giving hope to many with learning disorders. In the third chapter, the author introduces another achievement made possible by brain plasticity-- improving people's ability to think by redesigning the brain by training specific processing areas. A "neuroplastician" describes a brain as "a living creature with an appetite, one that can grow and change itself with proper nourishment and exercise" (47). Surely, the assumption that the brain cannot be altered was proven wrong as evident through many works of "neuroplasticians."

From the first three chapters, many benefits of the changeable brain were discussed. However, the author also introduces cases in which "neuroplasticity" could work to cause our brains to be more vulnerable to outside influences. Thus, "neuroplasticity" does not always produce positive consequences. However, he explains that the problematic neuronal networks could be undermined by "unlearning" connections between neurons as opposed to "learning" (117). Further, he demonstrates the importance of the process of "unlearning" through an example of patients from their involvement in porn to understanding and reinforcing their problems by "unlearning". Other chapters give details of stroke patients who have learned to recover either partially or almost fully to be able to lead a normal life, moving and speaking freely again. There is also a story of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, who has taken advantages of plasticity to prevent them from acting compulsively, resulting in a more healthy lifestyle.

The most fascinating story of all, however, is the patient who was born with the left hemisphere missing. Simply, it never developed. Therefore, instead of each hemisphere working together to govern each other, the right hemisphere had learned to take over the left hemisphere. In another words, the right hemisphere has to function on its own without input from the left; and also, process the key functions of the left. However, she leads a normal life without any major difficulties. Her life is a true demonstration how radically the brain can change.

Overall, the central theme of "neuroplasticity" was well presented and developed through the story of the author's encounters with "neuroplasticians" and their patients. The changeable brain, a notion once challenged by localizationists, is the current truth appreciated by many whose lives were touched and transformed. However, the author also points out that the plastic change in the brain also may have negative effects. Therefore, understanding both positive and negative consequences is necessary to fully explore the possibilities of "neuroplasticity."

Style and Structure

The preface first introduces the idea of "neuroplasticity" to provide readers with some expectations about the content of the book. His central idea of "neuroplasticity" is very well explained through his encounters with many "neuroplasticians" and their patients whose lives they have transformed. Even for potential readers who are not familiar with the term "neuroplasticity," this book could be easily understood as the author thoroughly explains all the technical terms of neuroscience related words he introduces. Further, the author categorizes different cases in eleven different chapters. If readers seek to view a specific case that interests them personally, it is always easy to take a look at contents in the beginning of the book and decide which section to read. Also, the notes and references section at the end of the book include comments on interesting details and articles mentioned in each chapter. Finally, the index at the end lists all the terms used in the book, allowing readers to easily go back to the parts they would like to review.

Interesting Quotes

"'Hardwiring' was another machine metaphor coming from the idea of the brain as computer hardware, with permanently connected circuits, each designed to perform a specific, unchangeable function." (xviii)
"This `unmasking' is generally thought to be one of the main ways the plastic brain reorganizes itself." (9)
"Neurons that fire together wire together." (63)
"Neurons that fire apart wire apart--or Neurons out of sync fail to link." (64)
"Unlearning and weakening connections between neurons is just as plastic a process, and just as important, as learning and strengthening." (117)
"...imagining an act and doing it are not as different as they sound." (203)
Four kinds of plasticity include: "map expansion, sensory assignment, compensatory masquerade, and mirror region takeover." (276) *for more information on each type of plasticity, please, refer to p276.

For Potential Readers

This book is a treasure that one must possess. Readers with different intended purpose of exploring this book will be led to one place--the fascinating world of "neuroplasticity." Because this book is very well organized in both style and structure as described earlier, readers will be at ease throughout the book, appreciating the author's effort to make it more approachable to anyone who may want to learn about the unchangeable brain.

There is no specific way as to direct readers how to read this book. The descriptive content in the beginning as well as the index at the end allow readers to directly go to the specific topics that are of personal interest to them. However, reading the book chapter by chapter is highly recommended.

I bought The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (James H. Silberman Books) after seeing Dr Norman Doige interviewed on TV. The idea that the human brain is capable of change and adaptation well into old age fascinated me and I wanted to learn a bit more about this.

There's no question that Norman Doige is a good and thorough writer who makes sure his claims are backed up by good research. On the down side I felt he laboured too much on his point about neuroplasticity as if the reader constantly needed reminding.

The anecdotes he describes at the beginning of chapters are wonderful and inspiring but the sometimes long and complicated descriptions of research had me flipping quickly through the pages to get to the next chapter.

If I were able to make a request it would be that Dr Doige include a chapter that neatly summarizes some of the practical things we can do to exercise our brains into old age.

Having said all this, The Brain That Changes Itself is an excellent blend of self help and good research that is easily read and absorbed.

This is such a revelation. The book is so easy to read.
What an amazing brain we have been given.
I marvel the older I get at Gods' wonderful creation and how he made us.
And we are learning this with these sorts of discoveries.
A great book and so very easy to read and understand.
Thank you.

I first listened to this book on my audible download and was so impressed I ordered a copy for myself and two copies to share with the counselors that I supervise. I also have been recommending it to a lot of the parents whose children are my clients. I work for children's services in Mental Health. This stuff is exciting.

I was concerned about an effective older age, I found reassurance in this book and techniques to assist. Beside my selfish motives I continue to wonder about the abilities of some to dedicate thier lives to helping others, the discoveries they make and the hurdles people climb.

Received the book in a timely manner and in perfect condition. Unfortunately, I have not had time to read this book.
Probably shouldn't be reviewing but I want the message out of my email!!!

Dr Doigdge does an amazing job of teaching difficult scientific concepts in a manner that made me want to keep reading because I was understanding it. Who would have thought that a nonfiction book about brain plasticity would become a page turner? I hope he writes another book about the brain. As he points out, we are discovering so much about it and at a fast pace.

This book looks like a solid sort of semi academic-y pot-boiler but in fact it is a hugely engaging, eye-popping even,take on how wrong the long held belief of 'localizationism' was (the view that the brain is made up mostly of hard-wired areas fit for only one purpose) for example, claims like, the auditory cortex is only for hearing, the visual cortex is only for seeing and such like.
it turns out that the brain is highly plastic (able to rewire itself over time) given the appropriate stimulus, and when disasters occur in the body or the brain, other parts can be recruited in to do the processing work.

It's a basic truism that we learn far more from failure than success.
Health disasters that befall people can turn out to be very instructive and beneficial for future sufferers.
Even those with very rare conditons can benefit when a seemingly intractable case is handled by an inspired doctor/scientist improvising with unorthodox methods. There is much hope to draw from all this, especially when success is achieved with conditions that the mainstream considers to be irreversible.

Brain plasticity is the coherent theme of the whole book and it is always the focus of every chapter in ever more novel and surprising ways.

I cannot begin to do justice to how Doidge explains this, because he is quite simply brilliant at writing.

Each chapter concentrates on a particular narrative or story of how plastic the brain is, the chapters are like high quality Vanity Fair articles and would even stand on their own, expect that there is a sense of progression in the book and later chapters recapitulate findings from earlier ones.

I have a sense that Doidge (who is a psychiatrist I believe) would have spent an enormous amount of time refining this book as it is beautifully crafted, hearteningly articulate and deserves to win a prestigious prize.

my favourites saying from the book is about how plasticity comes about:
"neurons that fire together wire together"

Read it, you're in for a massive treat.

This book looks like a solid sort of semi academic-y pot-boiler but in fact it is a hugely engaging, eye-popping even,take on how wrong the long held belief of 'localizationism' was (the view that the brain is made up mostly of hard-wired areas fit for only one purpose) for example, claims like, the auditory cortex is only for hearing, the visual cortex is only for seeing and such like.
it turns out that the brain is highly plastic (able to rewire itself over time) given the appropriate stimulus, and when disasters occur in the body or the brain, other parts can be recruited in to do the processing work.

It's a basic truism that we learn far more from failure than success. The health disasters that befall people turn out to be very instructive and beneficial for future sufferers when a seemingly intractable case is handled by an inspired doctor/scientist improvising unorthodox methods to attempt a cure or at least alleviation of the symptoms considered by orthodoxy to be irreversible.

Brain plasticity is the coherent theme of the whole book and it is always the focus of every chapter in ever more novel and surprising ways.

I cannot begin to do justice to how Doidge explains this, because he is quite simply brilliant at writing.

Each chapter concentrates on a particular narrative or story of how plastic the brain is, the chapters are like high quality Vanity Fair articles and would even stand on their own, expect that there is a sense of progression in the book and later chapters recapitulate findings from earlier ones.

I have a sense that Doidge (who is a psychiatrist I believe) would have spent an enormous amount of time refining this book as it beautifully crafted, hearteningly articulate and deserves to win a prestigious prize.

my favourites saying from the book is about how plasticity comes about:
"neurons that fire together wire together"

Read it, you're in for a massive treat.

That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. The title comes from a song by Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako's book is remarkably candid, insightful, and wonderfully well-written. The writing just flows.

I was impressed by the various examples presented of the plasticity of the brain and realized that this carefully written book would be helpful to anyone challenged by the effects of aging on one's capabilities. I have benefited from Posit Science's Brain Fitness and Cortex Insight programs and this book encouraged me to continue to exercise my brain to enjoy improvement that comes in small steps.

This book contains all kinds of fascinating theoretical information about the human brain, and how it works and can change itself. But its greatest value for me lies in all the practical ideas it offers on how to learn and teach better. It also extends hope and motivation to anybody who is trying to recover from a loss of body function due to brain damage caused by illness or injury. We have so much more potential for self-healing than we realize, if only we go about it in the right way, and persist, against all odds.

Fascinating possibilities outlined in this book give hope for people with brain challenges. I couldn't put it down and am excited about the hope it offers for so many.

This is a fantastic and challenging read! It breaks old ideas and challenges us to consider new thoughts on how versatile the brain might be. This is a great read for teachers, parents, and anyone who works with really young children. There is great help given to those of us approaching our 50's-60's! My book choice of the year!


Kathleen

This book has changed how I think about my brain. I'll admit I used to believe that we were hard wired in certain areas of the brain and once the brain broke it could never be fixed. I remember hearing that growing up. I also remember that my father had a brain injury and other than getting lost and distracted he was able to do what ever he needed to do. This book explains how it was possible that he was able to do that. It proves that Neuroplasticity is possible and give us methods with which to do it.

I can understand some people might have a reluctance to pick up a book that's about Neurology. It sounds dry and difficult. But the use of cases and stories to explain the evolution of the theories will guide the non-scientist through this breakthrough research on the brain. It's not a difficult read.

He talks about the changes that happen when we age and what we can do to stave off the worst ones. It's not a surprise really we all know people who age well. They follow his suggestion and so retain their faculties into advanced age (whether they knew them or not). He tells the story of several people with severe brain injury and how they have managed to recover in very significant ways.

This book has changed how I think about my brain. I'll admit I used to believe that we were hard wired in certain areas of the brain and once the brain broke it could never be fixed. I remember hearing that growing up. I also remember that my father had a brain injury and other than getting lost and distracted he was able to do what ever he needed to do. This book explains how it was possible that he was able to do that. It proves that Neuroplasticity is possible and give us methods with which to do it.

I can understand some people might have a reluctance to pick up a book that's about Neurology. It sounds dry and difficult. But the use of cases and stories to explain the evolution of the theories will guide the non-scientist through this breakthrough research on the brain. It's not a difficult read.

He talks about the changes that happen when we age and what we can do to stave off the worst ones. It's not a surprise really we all know people who age well. They follow his suggestion and so retain their faculties into advanced age (whether they knew them or not). He tells the story of several people with severe brain injury and how they have managed to recover in very significant ways.

This book is an easy read with relatively large print and fascinating case histories. It discusses the changing brain from the aspect of different disciplines - psychology, neurology, rehabilitation, dream work, etc. Most everyone will find a story that they can relate to a personal experience.

This book is an easy read with relatively large print and fascinating case histories. It discusses the changing brain from the aspect of different disciplines - psychology, neurology, rehabilitation, dream work, etc. Most everyone will find a story that they can relate to a personal experience.

Norman Doidge offers an entertaining account of how researchers on the frontiers of neuroscience are creating a better world for all us. The stories he weaves keep our attention on many heroes. These range from researchers who are to be admired for their intelligence and persistence to others who have overcome great difficulties.

Most importantly, Doidge makes significant news readily accessible to those who are seeking better understanding of who they are and they how they might help themselves and others. A brain surgeon colleague was suitably impressed when I prompted him to read this fascinating account of brain science.

This book is a must read for health professionals, educators, mums and dads and all of us over 55. Friends and I have given away numerous copies. The recipients are never disappointed. [BTW, I have never met Norman. I have no shares in the publisher's company nor am I readily given to writing effusive reviews.]

Although I'm not in the field at all, I found this book enlightening and fun to read. The author illustrates his points about brain plasticity through case studies and mini-biographies of groundbreaking researchers and therapists in the field, including the story of a woman born with only half a brain who amazingly adapts. Easy to read and non-technical, the book traces the history of prevailing scientific thought on brain structure and function, makes a convincing theoretical and practical case for plasticity, and shows how powerfully and positively plasticity concepts can be applied to real life situations to rescue "hopelessly" damaged people from their pain and suffering.

For decades now there has been a longstanding feud between biologists and psychologists on how the human brain forms and develops -- otherwise known as the nature versus nurture debate. Evolutionary biology teaches us that genes is destiny, and with his book the Canadian psychiatrist Norman Doidge makes his case for individual agency and cultural influences.

Like Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, & Steel" Dr. Doidge's book is not original research but rather a synthesis and summary from the frontiers of brain science. Supplemented with case studies "The Brain that Changes Itself" is about neuroplasticity, which argues that the brain is "plastic," or organic and malleable. For hundreds of years, thanks to thinkers like Rene Descartes, scientists have thought of the brain as mechanical, certain functions localized to certain sectors in this machine -- over time it rusts, with no chance of regeneration. Thanks to decades of research by a brave few who dared to defy their mainstream bethren and to the invention of brain scans neuroplasticity is now the accepted view.

The good news about neuroplasticity is that the brain you have is the brain you make it. New external stimuli (such as learning a new language) causes new neural connections in the brain (the "neurons that fire together wire together" rule of neuroplasticity). Often when we're learning a new language or skill after some fast improvement in the early stages we reach a plateau where we seem to have no improvement at all. Then after a while we suddenly make a great leap. That's because it takes time (as measured by nights of good sleep) for these neural connections to consolidate themselves but once they do we can move onto the next level. Of course if we don't keep on practising this skill these connections will weaken (the "use it or lose it" rule of plasticity) because space in the brain is, after all, limited.

Individual agency over our brains gives great hope to those who suffer from aging and brain damage. Scientists have developed brain exercises on the computer to help the elderly maintain a sharp and alert mind, and help stroke victims restore once lost cognitive functions.

The bad news is that the brain you have is the brain that you make it, and unfortunately most of us choose the path of least resistance and decide not to use it at all. As Dr. Doidge explains the plastic paradox means that exposing yourself to new stimuli can make the brain flexible but choosing to stay within your comfort zone will also make the brain rigid. Learning is fast and furious when we're kids but as we reach adulthood the brain becomes less plastic, making learning more difficult, and instead of choosing to learn most of us choose merely to rely on our current belief system. And when the world challenges this belief system we choose to ignore the world, and if forced we'll opt to fight the world. Thus, the plastic brain that allows us to learn new languages can also paradoxically make us intolerant and racist.

Indeed, as Dr. Doidge warns us, the individuals that he profiles who have managed to change themselves have done so because they make a honest and hard commitment to change themselves. Dr. Doidge's patients went into psychotherapy (which operates from the principles of neuroplasticity) to discover how trauma created unhealthy neural connections, and how through discussion, self-analysis, and will-power to create new neural connections. But this process is painful and costly and takes many years.

And it's so hard because the brain is so adept at protecting us. When we suffer a physical injury the brain will actually decide on what the appropriate level of pain we feel is. And when we're traumatized when we're young (for example, our mother dies or we're sexually abused) the brain will often decide to not convert this experience into long-term memory, and build defenses to disassociate ourselves from the possible pain of further trauma. The net effect is that our hippocampus -- the area of our frontal lobe that transfers experience into long-term memory, and thus what governs our ability to learn -- will shrink, thereby giving a scientific explanation to why adult victims of childhood trauma seem so adolescent and immature.

Neuroplasticity offers hope though: love. It seems that our neural network will automatically become more flexible in two critical periods of our adulthood: when we fall in love, and when we have children. Presumably it's because in both instances we need to urgently learn a new skillset to match the two most important circumstances we could find ourselves in. So being in love with someone does allow you to change who you are. Of course, being the circumspect doctor, Dr. Doidge reminds us that if we find ourselves in love with the wrong person we can change for the worst as well, seeing our confidence and healthy attitude suddenly shatter.

I'm not sure how Dr. Doidge would view my summary of his book, because I've taken great liberty in summarizing it. It's a pithy book and there's really a lot of refreshing and insightful material in the book but I'm not happy about the writing style -- which seems rushed and choppy to me -- and the organization, which hurts the clarity and effectiveness of the book. I've read quite a lot on the workings of the brain so I could follow through most chapters but I think a novice will have a particularly hard time reading this book. For a great introduction to how the mind works I suggest watching the BBC documentary series "The Human Series," hosted by Robert Winston -- possibly the greatest documentary series ever made.

This is a fantastic book - well written and easy to read and understand; great case studies;a must for anyone with any interest in the brain; anyone who has aged parents or friends and is looking for some help in understanding how to keep the brain alert or even how to reconfigure it!

Very interesting and instructing about the wonderful brain we've got.
A must for all therapists around the world.

I'm a big fan of Oliver Sacks, and a fellow Sacks fan recommended this book. But in my humble opinion, Doidge makes his fascinating subject amazingly dull. I agree with another reviewer who said this book reads like a sales pitch. The personal stories are rambling, repetitive, and unscientific. I left my half-read copy on an airplane to lighten my carry-on luggage.

I am, and always have been, fascinated by the brain, and the plasticity of the brain is nothing new. This idea has come up in many books about the brain over the past several years, and is pretty much common knowledge. I find the author contradicts himself in several places, making the point of the plasticity of the brain in one part, then stating the old behaviorists' mantra, basically, you are the product of your upbringing (I think this is contradictory because people are flexible enough to become the person they choose to become, not that they are destined to become something because they had a bad childhood). I'm halfway through the book, and it seems to me the author has the goal of pushing Fast ForWord and the products from Posit Science. With a little research, one can find both companies were founded by Dr. Merzenich, and they are very costly. The Fast ForWord program is only available to schools for a hefty sum, and the brain exercises by Posit Science cost $400 for one user (that was the least expensive version). If people suffering from autism, Asberger's, and other spectrum disorders, could be helped by these kinds of programs, don't you think they would be made more affordable in order to help as many families as possible? I think the book, The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, sums it up (although unintentionally)on page 234: "...the month after the Science publication (in 1996), Merzenich (et al)...raised enough private financing to form Scientific Learning Corp., the first company dedicated to making money from neuroplasticity." Merzenich-and his research and products- is nearly the main focus of the book. That is why I think this book is just another sales pitch for a high-priced program. Apparently only the wealthy should be helped, perhaps? Or maybe this is another way to prey on the fears of the elderly, those who fear dementia.

02/Aug/2008

Now, this is marvellous book - relevant and interesting to me in my work as a professional Coach & Supervisor since 1985 ... It's a real must read :-) !

Claus B. Hansen

As a special education teacher this book has been an amazing eye-opener to helping anyone learn new skills, especially adults. But teaching learning disabled students and otherwise impaired children brings a lot of insight into what this book is all about. I loved it and plan to reread it, taking notes as I go. There is a lot that can be done, clearly, and we can never think that someone is limited in what he can learn.

Psychiatrist Norman Doidge describes some of the recent advances in neuroscience related to the subject of neuroplasticity. He discusses work by several researchers and clinicians such as A. V. Ramachandran, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, and others who have discovered some of the ways the brain re-wires itself, generates new connections, adapts to change, and establishes entrenched habits.

Sensitive people might wish to be informed that there are a few descriptions of physical and sexual violence.

Several topics of direct, practical use, include the following:
-- effective methods for brain rejuvenation
-- the use of visualization to improve actual performance
-- some ways to by-pass and re-wire the connections which are associated with entrenched habits

Fascinating and useful.

You think not? I am a physician injured in Iraq and suffering from TBI-traumatic brain injury. I cannot practice medicine now, even though I can write and think, I cannot multi-task. So, The US Army tries outdated 'therapy' that is geared for perhaps a high school education and not applying nor helping my problems at all. Enter this book. The Posit Science website (among many listed in this book) has learning programs to rebuild deficits. So, I went, asked, and now will start this therapy as they donated the program to an Army psychologist here. So all those reviewers who think this is a commercial-infomercial book can kiss mine, as they are actively trying to HELP. Those professionals locked into the hard-wired brain theories had taken my hope away; this book has opened up my horizons to HEAL--as I always believed I WAS capable. The other reviews tell all about whats in it, so just BUY it and help someone you know who has all but given up improving their mental capacity or physical disability! This book is a GIFT to the world. PERIOD. Worth the cheap price tenfold.

I read the good reviews about this book with skepticism, but I still decided to buy this book, and I couldn't have made a better decision. If you have, or know anyone with any kind of head injury this book will provide inspiration, hope, and helpful suggestions for you. I already know alot about the brain from reading and talking to doctors, but i still learned alot of important information (that I wish I had known sooner) from this book. I have a traumatic brain injury from a car accident, and since I bought this book, I have been doing brain exercises because this book explained so well exactly how the brain functions and what I need to do to improve it. Ironically, even before I acquired a head injury, I have always been an avid reader of neurology, and let me tell you, this book is truly one of the most accurate, interesting, and groundbreaking books on neurology I have read. It has been a year since my car accident, and I am reaching the point where the modern view says I won't see much more improvement with my head injury, but thanks to this book, I know what exactly to do to continue to see more improvement... and I am seeing more improvement. This book has truly been a blessing for me.

a must read book for those interested in the latest knowledge of how the brain functions and the stories make it fun reading.

I have a general professional interest in psychology and brain science, which often leads me to be frustrated by the tendency towards reductionism and exaggeration. This book looked promising to me because the author is advertised as a psychoanalyst--something that usually does not mesh well with neuroscience. I was intrigued to see how Freud might think about modern psychology's biological determinism. On that score, I found The Brain That Changes Itself reasonably satisfying; the chapter on how neural plasticity can help us understand the impact of psychotherapy was among the best in the book. I very much appreciate the emphasis on how experience (including talk therapy) and culture, not just genes and drugs, shape the brain. That is something that is easy to miss in viewing the pretty brain scans of contemporary popular science. I also found the appendix on how culture works through neural plasticity interesting, although I don't find it helpful to define culture as Doidge seems to--something akin to cultivation and taste (a definition that leads to a problematic hierarchy of cultures based on somewhat arbitrary criteria). It is, however, important to recognize that culture and the brain have a reciprocal relationship.

My main concern with the book is that much of the argument seems to imply that the brain is infinitely malleable with the right exercises and effort. Though Doidge does note at points that plasticity is not infinite, he also seems to endorse the very American cultural script that individuals have total control over everything that happens to them. If babies are properly stimulated they will all be geniuses! If ADHD children go through the proper attentional exercises they will suddenly excel! If the elderly go to brain gyms they will never lose their memory! These, unfortunately, are primarily openings for marketers rather than scientific realities. Of course we have some control, and the key findings of neural plasticity research have been helpful in supporting that, but there are some things that are not just about effort--but also about care and community. Overall, I did find this book interesting and worth reading, but also found myself worried about what seemed to me strategic exaggeration.

This book gives new hope to many people who would be left to face a very limited life. Well written and accessible to non-professionals.

I ordered this book on recommendation from a friend because I suffer from brain damage due to a stroke. Not only has the information made me hopeful about a possible resolution for my problems, it would be fascinating for anyone who has an interest in science and anatomy. The medical world is still in its infancy as far as understanding the way the brain works. This author uses anecdotes to convey complex concepts which makes the information accessible to the layman.

If you have a choice of book or audio, book might hold your attention, although it was a bit too anecdotal for me. Heavy on the personal histories, light on the science behind the miracles.
PN

On the first audio disk of this series (I bought the audiobook)
there is a story about a woman whose vestibular apparatus in her
inner ear was destroyed by a destructive antibiotic. The woman
could not even stand up she was so affected by not having any
sense of balance. With a very simple (conceptually anyway)
electronic device that fed back accelerometer signals to an
area on her tongue she was able, not only to link her brain
into this machine outside her body speaking in mechanical
codes to her own brain, but eventually the feedback allowed
her inner neurons to silence the noise she was hearing inside
and cure herself altogether. She no longer needs the external
device.

This is just one of the many different examples in different
dimensions that illuminates many newly discovered aspects of the
human brain. This book is full of them. Not only that but reading
between the lines gives one many ideas of how this kind of information
will change the world and an idea of the magnitude of the tragedy
that has been caused by human ignorance and dogma about the brain.

This story is one of many that completely turns around the ideas
most of the world has had for centuries about the nature of the
human being. In my mind that makes this book one of the most
important and most eye opening books I have ever or will ever
read.

This book ought to be required reading for every human being,
because it is only in redefining what we are for ourselves
that the human mental world will change for the better to enable
us to meet the challenges of the future for all life on planet
Earth.

Bravo ... 5/5 stars!!!

This book begins as promised, delivering a few stories of the 'recovering against all odds' variety, while explaining in not overly technical terms the neuroscience - or in some cases the likely neuroscience - behind these recoveries. In fact the first hundred pages or so I feared I'd stumbled upon an Oprah Winfrey style, inspirational love-in. The author will begin 'Jimmy had [inserting debilitating condition here] and was hopeless and suicidal until he stumbled upon [insert one of Doidge's hero doctors], who began working with Jimmy on [insert program plug here].' Then Jimmy's symptoms miraculously begin to recede and everyone weeps for joy. But whenever the reader is beginning to feel they're reading an infomercial cleverly disguised as a book, the author, to his credit, will delve back into some of the fascinating experiments relating to brain plasticity, or some of the historical science which informed the general consensus in the field of neuroscience.

The book then veers off alarmingly into the demented world of sadomasochists (to the mortification of thousands of Oprahmatons, I like to imagine), where the author somewhat dubiously attempts to tie brain plasticity together with nauseating sexual fetishes, which the he unfortunately decides to ennumerate in detail. Luckily this section is not too long.

His fawning descriptions of the men at the frontiers of neuroscience read almost like an escort agency for science geeks' advertisment, bordering on obsequiousness, which contributes to the lingering suspicion that you are reading some of subtle tract of propaganda. And while the author's unbridled optimism appears a little too abundant to be considered scientific, the brain is still mysterious enough that some of the more incredible claims are believable, and the book as a whole is well worth reading, if only to discover the neurological justification for the incredible power of the human brain.

I am half way through the book so I may modify this review in the end:

I had to mention that the content of the book is great, and I love the subject and think the concepts will be revolutionary very soon. The author does a great job engaging the reader and making what can be an otherwise overly complex simple to understand (unlike Wider than the Sky, a great book but like reading an SAT language test).

The only problem is the way the author continues to push products and brands like I'm watching an infomercial. Seriously it has testimonials like "Bob saved his live with this product and you can too!"

I would rate the book 5 stars if the content wasn't product-oriented but made references in a footnote or appendix.

Cheers.

I've been reading other recent books about amazing recent neurological work. This one stands out for the degree to which it puts that work in a broader and more useful perspective on what it all means for everyone's future ways of learning, training and healing. Doidge even makes me see finally why psychiatry still holds Freud in such high esteem, and how what is supposed to go on in psychotherapy can be understood in much the same positive way as we view the effects of psychoactive drugs and cognitive behavioral therapies that have demonstrable success. "Plasticity" is Doidge's key concept and he uses it well to link conventional wisdoms of learning to biologically-based refinements on them. More than anything I've read recently, this book tells me we're discovering the mechanisms behind how genes and experience combine, and that clinicians are actually putting these discoveries to work. Take Me With You When You Go

Weaves themes and theses with just the right amount of empirical data to make brain science interesting and readable. Only downer: I think he downplayed the problem of animal cruelty in doing brain research. Doidge becomes uncharacteristically polemical at times.

The BRAIN that changed ITSELF is a unique book that in clear and concise terms explains the remarkable healing and reparative properties that our brain possesses. It can be read and understood equally well by both the medical specialist and the general public. It is detailed and yet is an easy to read book that reveals what is being re-discovered about how our brain can heal itself.

It refutes most of medicine's long held tenets that the brain has highly specialized nerve cells that are located in certain physical areas. And if an area is severely damaged, those damaged cells frequently die and the function that they performed is lost forever or severely diminished. This book reveals that the contrary is true! The brain in fact is filled with neuronal stem cells that appear to be able to reproduce themselves almost indefinitely without any appearance of aging. These new nerve cells are then able to "rewire" the damaged area. The degree of healing and "rewiring" will vary with the healer's understanding of this process and what is the correct paradigm that needs to be applied for optimal physical and mental rehabilitation therapy.

In its simplest form the average, intelligent, curious and imaginative lay person could be of the greatest assistance to a receptive physician in offering suggestions as to how therapy might be approached.

It reviews how the somehow forgotten and yet precise brain research done years ago, which could not be explained or understood at that time due to limitations in technology has been re-discovered and proven by our new capabilities in dynamic brain imaging.

It gives new hope to anyone that has sustained brain damage and who has been told in recent times that nothing further could be done for them. This also includes many types of memory problems and mental decline due to aging.

I am chagrined and sad to say that too many of those in the practice of medicine today are unaware of some of these practical developments in our understanding of the brain's plasticity and due to many reasons may not have the time or be open to hear from their better informed patients what this book has to say.

In addition to this book I would also highly recommend the PBS program: The Brain Fitness Program by Dr. Michael Merzenich. As well as Dr. Doidge's brain training program - "Brain Fitness Program 2.0." A second program - "Insight" - is designed to help a person to increase the speed that their brain can process things (data) that are occurring around them as it is happening. Both of these programs will help an individual of any age improve their memory and awareness of their surroundings.

Patrick J. Donley, MD

This book could easily be mistaken for a self-help book. It may serve that purpose for some readers, but it is actually more of a science documentary about the amazing learning powers of the human brain, complete with fascinating and well-written interviews of a number of influential brain scientists, and comprehensive end notes. Doidge is an excellent writer, making his complex subject matter very understandable and down-to-earth by adding personal touches here and there. He manages to do this without being obtrusive or annoying as some authors with an agenda do. His agenda is pretty simple: don't believe the saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." He details a wide variety of cases where one would assume that the brain is finished learning and improving, but - surprise! - it learns. He explores the concept of "brain plasticity," meaning its ability to be molded like plasticine modeling clay that never hardens. Here are some examples, each of which takes up most of a chapter:

Paul Bach-y-Rita developed devices that allow the blind to see again via their tactile sense, and to restore the sense of balance to people who have damage to their vestibular system. Accelerometers send tiny electrical stimuli to the patient's tongue, training them to walk gracefully without falling again.

Michael Merzenich developed auditory training systems that speed up processing in the brains of dyslexics and autistic children, and it seems, in anyone who goes through the course. This allows them not only to read and write better, but to listen and communicate better.

Jeffrey Schwartz developed cognitive training, based on brain scans of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, that allows patients to "shift the gear" out of their brain-lock by practicing new thoughts, and new actions, instead of repeating compulsions.

Edward Taub developed "constraint-induced therapy" for people paralyzed by stroke. By constraining the good limb and forcing patients to use the affected limb, new brain circuits can be called into service to replace lost brain tissue and restore movement and sensation.

For someone whose arm has been amputated, using the affected limb is not an option...or is it? V. S. Ramachandran helps patients who have pain or other annoying feelings coming from their phantom (imagined) limb, by having them practice moving their good arm next to a mirror that somehow tricks the brain into thinking the phantom limb can move, too. After enough mirror-box training with symmetrical orchestra-conductor movement commands to their phantom and real arms, the phantom problems vanish.

There are accurate descriptions of basic science research highlighting different aspects of brain plasticity, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation by Alvaro Pascual-Leone, and adult neurogenesis by Fred Gage.

Doidge describes a few of his own psychotherapy cases that take advantage of brain plasticity, and reviews a number of concepts from Freud that remain useful today in getting patients to change unhealthy thought patterns and behaviors.

This is the best book on brain plasticity that I know of, a topic that is often given marginal coverage in otherwise good neuroscience textbooks. He has done a good job of gathering and explaining a spectrum of examples showing that this is what the brain, especially the human brain, does well: change itself. Important historical context is included, showing us how the notion of functional remodeling in the brain has met with much resistance in the neuroscience community for decades. The interviewees Doidge chose are neuroscience pioneers that I often speak of in neuroscience courses I teach at Georgia Tech.

My only criticism with the book is the inclusion of some material in the chapter on sexual attraction and love, about deviant sexual behavior. Not for kids, or the squeamish. It seems out of place, as if the editors felt it would boost sales by giving it an NC-17 rating. He did not have to appeal to our prurient side, since the book has so much else to offer.

Readable by lay people and scientists alike, the index and end notes allow this book to serve as a starting point for further reading on all of its topics.

Norman Doidge , zelf psychoanalist, psychiater, onderzoeker, schrijver en dichter beschrijft in The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science de laatste inzichten uit de school van neuro or brain plasticity . Met deterministische en Darwinistische inzichten over de hard wired aard van onze hersenen wordt afgerekend met veel praktijkvoorbeelden, gekoppeld aan spraakmakende onderzoeken. De jarenlang gepropageerde paradigma's rondom de stricte indeling van de hersenen in gebieden die vastomlijnde taken (gehoor, spraak, visueel geheugen, motoriek, plezier, etc.) uitvoeren of 'waarnemen', blijken niet langer houdbaar. Het boek brengt je bij vrouwen met verstoorde evenwichtsorganen, kwieke senioren, een schaakspelede Nathan Sharansky in Russische gevangenissen, sexuele aantrekkingskracht en liefde. Uitgebreid staat Doidge stil bij hoe een pornografische verslaving echt werkt, en waarom cold turkey afkicken daarvan helpt. Mensen die na uitvalsverschijnselen, hersenbloedingen of verlammingen weer leren spreken en bewegen. Wonderen, verricht door de neuronen, zenuwbanen en elektrische circuits in ons lichaam en voornamelijk hersenen, daarbij geholpen door bijzondere therapieën met spiegels, alternatieve toediening van elektrische pulsen. Het blijkt mogelijk zorgen, obsessies, dwangmatige handelingen en slechte gewoonten te verminderen of geheel opzij te zetten zonder magie of repressie.

Pijn, ons voorstellingsvermogen, maar ook leervermogen en een bijzondere vrouw die opgroeide met slechts haar rechterhersenhelft. Twee appendices beschrijven de wederkerigheid tussen cultuur en hersenen en plasticiteit versus de vooruitgangsleer. The Brain that Changes itself heeft terecht veel lovende kritieken gekregen en nodigt uit tot hernieuwd lezen.

This is a book that my men's book club enjoyed. I also enjoyed the book, but found the author to be a bit of true believer - if what he claims is true most every case of autism, paralysis, tinitis, and other neurological disorders can be fixed by taking advantage of the new understanding that the brain can create new routes and perhaps new nerves. The range of impact of this approach is staggering and will have implications for many years to come. The topics covered include sexual attraction, social skills, 'itches' of amputated limbs, fetishism, spatial reasoning, stroke recovery, feelings from phantom limbs, pain of phantom limbs, pornography addiction, cognitive decline, OCD, and even blindness. As you can tell, I found the information of various cases exciting and offering great promise, but I also found the lack of a balanced presentation by the author to be disconcerting.

Simply put, this is one of the most informative, intelligent, easy to understand and highly beneficial books I have ever read in my entire lifetime. The reviews summarize the important points, I can only add that you will be thankful from the very first moment you pick up this book and hold it in your hands until you read the very last word.

This book really was revelatory for me. Facing mid-age (I'm now 54), it was inspiring to learn about new developments in neuroplasticity that change the way we look at the mind-brain-body connection and what's possible when hereditary or environmental forces affect the brain's neuronal system.

The author, Dr. Norman Doidge, has a lucid writing style and does an excellent job of making complex experiments and new therapeutic approaches accessible to the lay reader. These pioneering scientists are putting rehabilitative medicine on its tail. If you think you knew what's going on in this field, think again. The creative leap in Dr. Moseley's use of illusion and imagination, or the epic difference that even a slight change in a physical therapy exercise can make in rewiring the motor map of the brain are astounding. It also says volumes on how we approach education as well as emotional and personality disorders.

Everyone should read this book while they still have the capacity to understand and appreciate its import. In the increasingly likely event in an aging population that you or a family member may be the unfortunate victim of a stroke, degenerative brain disease, or sudden accident, it may well mean the difference between a near-full recovery and the assisted living door.