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Work from home has not only become a need of various corporations after the corona pandemic rather it is considered a fashion and trend nowadays. However, acquiring a reliable and trustworthy place for earning while staying at home is a big challenge. On one hand, the digital world provides a convenient platform for earning while on the other hand, it is full of various scammers and fraudulent people.
Nevertheless, Jeff Lerner is an entrepreneur who has not yet received any negative reviews on any platform. Different video reviews of Jeff Lerner around the web have named him as a tremendous life coach, online training mentor, owner of a spectacular business blueprint, dazzling online entrepreneur, lifesaver, affiliate marketing trainer, influential leader, and millionaire.
The videos are becoming increasingly popular among consumers and Jeff, understanding its significance, uploaded his videos on nearly all platforms and received robust responses.
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Table of Contents - Jeff Lerner Video Reviews - Facebook and Bitchute
The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science Paperback – December 18, 2007
The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science Paperback – December 18, 2007
by Norman Doidge (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars
A revolutionary new field of study called "neuroplasticity" is overthrowing the long-standing belief about the mind as indestructible. In this revolutionary examination of the brain, psychoanalyst and psychiatrist Norman Doidge, M.D. gives an overview of the remarkable scientists that are championing neuroplasticity, as well as the individuals who's lives they've changed. From stroke patients learning how to speak again to the astonishing case of a woman who was born with a brain with only half of it that was rewired to function in a holistic way, The Brain that Changes Itself is going to forever change the way we think about the human brain, human capabilities, and nature.
This book could have been written about me.
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2016
I was born with Cerebral Palsy in 1949. In those days, Neurology was not a medicine. I saw my first neurologist when I was 27 due to seizures. I then had my first ever EEG. At my follow up appointment, this doctor questioned my occupation as a violinist. He said it was impossible for me to play the violin because the right side of my brain did not function properly. I then told him he could come to a symphony rehearsal that following week, he did and was so shocked that he said that I had done the same thing as climbing Mt. Everest. The truth of the matter, instrumental music started in my school in the 4th grade. I really wanted to play and instrument. My grandfather had a violin and that was it. Little did I know that the orthopedist that I saw suggested that I begin something like music for physical therapy for my left arm and hand. I only knew that I could not walk without a brace until I was 16. I was very strong willed and I thought that everyone who was right handed - the left hand did not work. I was very determine and went to college as a Music Education Major with violin being my instrument. I always told people who ask what my walking problem was, that I had to make detours in my brain to my left leg and if I was tired, my brain didn't send the messages. I FELT LIKE THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN ABOUT ME. Today they call what I accomplished as Neuroplasticity. I have been teaching violin for over 42 years and have had many wonderful students along with my Symphony work.
751 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. When I bought it I did not read the description thoroughly. I have been buying numerous books on the brain that appear to be good choices simply because I am fascinated with the subject.
While this book may help someone looking for self-improvement books, this book has no sections specifically focused on how you can improve your own brain. What this book does do is educate you on what has been done scientifically on medical studies and results of individuals who went through transformations to alter their brains. If you are using other book(s) on self improvement processes for your brain this book will reinforce and motivate you to stay with your plan. It will also give you facts about what may work and what doesn't work.
I bought audible version first. The narration is a very good voice. The chapter material kept me interested. It didn't just throw facts at me. It essentially followed through with entire stories about people who dealt with brain issues, scientist experiment results, etc. I do have one warning. Many of the studies from the past cover times where research was done with animals. The information sticks to the facts but you need to be okay with hearing something that occurred when laws, attitudes, etc. were different. This book also goes into the history a little bit regarding PETA being formed.
.... Definitely a great purchase
27 people found this helpful
One of the best books I have read about the brain!
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2019
Very thorough, fascinating insights about how the brain functions and how it adapts normally and under adverse conditions. I loved every part of this book, especially learning what happens when the brain is addicted, for instance to video games and how the brain makes the video game an extension of itself. Also the way the brain remaps itself when an arm or let is removed. The is nothing that this book does not cover, from the results of porn on the brain, and what happens when a person is in love. The book is very well organized and has many fascinating stories about how the brain heals itself and remaps itself time and time again. The book also offers reasons why the brain is able to adapt and evolve!
38 people found this helpful
A message of hope - and hard work - about neuro-plasticity - and the brain that heals itself
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2019
I have been catching up on my reading.
Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain that Changes Itself (Penguin, 427pp. ($18)), was published in 2007, now some twelve years ago. This publication occurred towards the beginning of the era of neuro-hype that now has us choking on everything from neuroaesthetics to neurohistory, from neuromarketing to neurozoology. So pardon my initial skepticism.
However, this book is the real deal. To those suffering from a variety of neurological disorders or issues, extending from major strokes to learning disabilities or emotional disorders, Doidge’s narratives offer hope that hard work pays off. If more authors and editors would have read (and understood!) it, today’s neuro-hype would be a lot less hyped.
Let me explain. There is neural science aplenty in Doidge’s exposition and defense of the flexibility – key term: plasticity – of the brain. There are also plentiful high tech devices (prostheses) that make for near science fiction innovation, except that they are engineering interventions, not fictions.
However, what distinguishes Norman Doidge’s contribution is that, in every case without exception, the neural science “breakthrough” on the part of the patient is preceded by substantial – in some cases a year or more – of hard work on the patient’s behalf to regain lost neural functionality.
Yes, from the point of view of our everyday expectations of what can be attained in six weeks of twice a week rehabilitation, the results are “miraculous”; but upon closer inspection the “miracle” turns out to be 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
I hasten to add that the exact distribution of effort varies. But the point is that, while the “miraculous” is supposed to be uncaused, lots of hard work on the part of the patient, properly directed, is a key determining factor. This in no way detracts from the authentic innovations and corresponding effort on the part of the neural scientists and engineers engaging in the rehabilitation process.
The woman who lost her sense of balance tells of a woman (Cheryl) whose ability to orient herself in space is “taken out” by an allergic reaction to an antibiotic (gentamicin) administered to treat an unrelated condition. Balance is sometimes considered a sixth sense, for without it the person literally looses her balance and falls over. Thus, Cheryl became the woman perpetually falling. She becomes a “Wobbler.”
While such a condition does not cause a person to die, unless the fall proves fatal, but it destroys the ability to engage in the activities of daily living. Enter Paul Bach-y-Rita, MD, and Yuri Danilov (biophysicist) (p. 3), who design a helmet that transmits orientation data to Cheryl through an ingenious interface that she can hold on her tongue like a small tongue depressor. It transmits a tingling sensation towards the front of the stick if she is bending forward, towards the back of the stick if she is bending backwards, and so on. Who would have thought it? Turns out that the tongue is a powerful brain-machine interface.
After some basic training as Cheryl wore it, she was able to orient herself and not fall over. After awhile, she took the helmet off and found that the ability to orient herself lasted a few minutes. There was a residual effect. With more training, the persistence of the after effect was extended. Finally, after a year of work, she was able to dispense with the helmet. She had “magically” regained her sense of balance. The neural circuits that had been damaged were in effect by-passed and the functionality taken over by other neural areas in the brain based on the training. Cheryl was no longer a Wobbler.
This is the prelude to the narrative of the dramatic recovery of Bach-y-Rita’s own father, the Catalan poet Pedro Bach-y-Rita, who has a massive disabling stroke, leaving him paralyzed in half his body and unable to speak.
After four weeks of rehabilitation based on pessimistic theories that the brain could not benefit from extended treatment, the father, Pedro, was literally a basket case. Enter brother George – Pedro’s other son. Now George did not know that rehab was supposed to be impossible, and took the father home to the house in Mexico. They got knee pads and taught him to crawl – because it is useful to crawl before one walks, which Pedro eventually did again after a year of effort. Speech and writing also returned after much effort copying and practicing phonetics.
Pedro returned to teaching full time at City College in New York (p. 22) until he retires years later. After Pedro’s death, a routine autopsy of his brain in 1965, showed “that my father [Pedro] had had a huge lesion from his stroke and that it had never healed, even though he recovered all these functions” (p. 23).
The take-away? What modern neural science means when it asserts that nerve cells do not heal is accurate. But “plasticity” means that the brain is able to produce alternative means of performing the same messaging and functional activity. “The bridge is out,” so plasticity invents a detour around the damaged area. Pedro walks and talks again and returns to teaching.
Conventional rehab usually lasts for an hour and sessions are three times a week for (say) six weeks. Edward Taub has patients drill six hours a day, for ten to fifteen days straight. Patients do ten to twelve tasks a day, repeating each task ten times apiece. 80 percent of stroke patients who have lost arm functionality improve substantially (p. 147). Research indicates the same results may be available with only three hours a day of dedicated work.
In short, thanks to plasticity, recovery from debilitating strokes is possible but – how shall I put it delicately? – it is not for the faint of heart. Turn off the TV! Get out your knee pads?
So when doctors or patients say that the damage is permanent or cannot be reversed, what they are really saying is that they lack the resources to support the substantial but doable effort to retrain the brain to relearn the function in question – and are unwilling to do the work. The question for the patients is: How hard are you willing to work?
The next case opens the diverse world of learning disabilities. Barbara Arrowsmith looms large, who as a child had a confusing set of learning disabilities in spatial relationships, speaking, writing, and symbolization. Still, she had a demonstrable talent for reading social clues. She was not autistic, but seemingly “retarded” – cognitively impaired. She had problems with symbolic relationships, including telling time.
With the accepting and tolerant environment provided by her parents, who seemed really not to “get” what was going on, Barbara set about to cure herself. She (and her parents) invented a series of exercises for herself that look a lot like what “old style” school used to be: A lot of repetitive exercises, rote memorization, copying, and structure. Flash cards to learn how to tell time. There is nothing wrong with the Montessori-inspired method of letting the inner child blossom at her or his own rapid rate of learning, except it does not work for some kids. Plasticity demonstrates that “one size fits all” definitely does notfit all.
The result? The Arrowsmith School was born, featuring a return to a “classical” approach:
“[…] [A] classical education often included rote memorization of long poems in foreign languages which strengthen the auditory memory […] and an almost fanatical attention to handwriting, which probably helped strengthen motor capacities […] add[ing] speed and fluency to reading and speaking” (pp. 41–42).
This also provides the opportunity to take a swipe at “the omnipresent PowerPoint presentation – the ultimate compensation for a weak premotor cortex.” Well said.
Without having anything wrong with their learning capabilities as such, some children have auditory cortex neurons that are firing too slowly. They could not distinguish between two similar sounds – e.g., “ba” and “da” – or which sound was first and which second if the sounds occurred close together (p. 69):
“Normally neurons, after they have processed a sound, are ready to fire again after about a 30-millesecond rest. Eighty percent of language-impaired children took at least three times that length, so that they lost large amounts of language information” (p. 69).
The solution? Exploit brain plasticity to promote the proliferation of aural dendrites that distinguish relevant sounds and sounds, in effect speeding up processing by making the most efficient use of available resources.
Actually, the “solution” looks like a computer game with flying cows and brown bears making phonetically relevant noises. Seems to work. Paula Tallal, Bill Jenkins, and Michael Merzenich get honorable mentions, and their remarkable results were published in the journal Science(January 1996). Impressive.
Though not developed to treat autism spectrum disorders, such exercises have given a boost to children whose sensory processing left them over-stimulated – and over-whelmed, resulting in withdrawal and isolation. Improved results with school work – the major “job” of most children – leads, at least indirectly, to improved socialization, recognition by peers and family, and integration into the community (p.75). Once again, it seems to work.
As a psychoanalytically trained medical doctor, one of Doidge’s interests is in addiction in its diverse forms, including alcohol and Internet pornography. For example, Doidge approvingly quotes Eric Nestler, University of Texas, for showing “how addictions cause permanent changes in the brains of animals” (p. 107). This comes right after quoting Alcoholics Anonymous that there are “no former addicts” (p. 106). Of course, the latter might just be rhetoric – “don’t let your guard down!” Since this is not a softball review, I note that “permanent changes in the dopamine system” are definitely notplasticity. A counter-example to Doidge’s?
Doidge gets high marks for inspirational examples and solid, innovative neural science reporting. But consistency?
A conversation for possibility – that is, talk therapy – which evokes the issues most salient to being human – relationships, work, tastes, and loves – activate BNGF [brain-derived neural growth factor], leading to a proliferation or pruning back of neural connections. This is perhaps the point to quote another interesting factoid: “Rats given Prozac [the famous antidepressant fluoxatine] for three weeks had a 70 percent increase in the number of cells in their hippocampus” [the brain area hypothesized to be responsible for memory translation in humans] (p. 241). This is all good news, especially for the rats (who unfortunately did not survive the experiment), but the devil, as usual, is in the details.
On a positive note, Freud was a trained neurologist, though he always craved recognition from the psychiatric establishment [heavens knows why – perhaps to build his practice]. In a separate chapter including a psychoanalytic case (“On Turning Our Ghosts into Ancestors,” an unacknowledged sound byte from Hans Loewald, psychoanalyst), Doidge’s points out in a footnote that having a conversation with a therapist changes one’s neurons too. The evidence is provided by fMRI studies before and after therapy (p. 379). This is the real possibility for – get ready, welcome to – neuropsychoanalysis.
Like most addictions – alcohol, street drugs, gambling, cutting – Internet porn is a semi-self-defeating way of regulating one’s [dis-regulated] emotions. The disregulated individual may usefully learn expanded ways of regulating his emotions, including how to use empathy with other people to do so. Meanwhile, the plasticity of addictive behavior turns out to be more sticky and less flexible than the optimistic neuro-plasticians (if I may coin a term) might have hoped.
Doidge has an unconventional, but plausible, hypothesis that “we have two separate pleasure systems in our brains, one that has to do with exciting pleasure and one with satisfying pleasure” (p. 108). Dopamine versus endorphins? Quite possibly. Yet one doesn’t need neuropsychoanalysis to appreciate this.
Plato’s dialogue Gorgias makes the same point quite well (my point, not Doidge’s). Satisfying one’s appetites puts one in the hamster’s wheel of endless spinning whereas attaining an emotional-cognitive balance through human relations, contemplation, meditation, or similar stress reducing activities provide enduring satisfaction. The tyrant may be able to steal your stuff – your property, freedom, and even your life – but the tyrant is the most miserable of men. The cycle of scratching the itch, stimulating the need further to scratch the itch, is a trap – and a form of suffering. Suffering is sticky, and Freud’s economic problem of masochisms looms large and still has not been solved.
Doidge interweaves an account of a breakthrough psychoanalysis with a 50 plus year old gentleman with a narrative of Eric Kandel’s Nobel Prize winning research. Kandel and his team published on protein synthesis and the growth of neural connections needed to transform short- into long-term memory. While it is true that humans are vastly more complicated than the mollusks in Kandel’s study, the protein synthesis is not.
Thus, another neural mechanism is identified by which Talk Therapy changes your brain. Mark Solms – founding neuropsychoanalyst – and Oliver Turnbull translate Freud’s celebrated statement “where id was ego shall be” into neural science: “The aim of the talking cure […] from the neurobiological point of view [is] to extend the functional sphere of the influence of the prefrontal loves” (p. 233).
Even if we are skirting close to the edges of neuro-hype here, it is an indisputable factoid that Freud, the neurologist, draws a picture of a neuronal synapse in 1895 (p. 233). At the time, such a diagram was a completely imaginative and speculative hypothesis. Impressive. Freud also credibly anticipates Hebb’s law (“neurons that fire together wire together”), but then again, in this case, so did David Hume (in 1731) with his principle of association.
Meanwhile, back to the psychoanalysis with the 50-something gentleman who has suffered from a smoldering, low order depression for much of his life. Due to age, this is not considered a promising case. But that was prior to the emerging understanding of plasticity.
This provides Doidge with the opportunity to do some riffing, if not free associating, of his own about trauma, Spitz’s hospitalism, and psychopharmacology. “Trauma in infancy appears to lead to a supersensitization – a plastic alteration – of the brain neurons that regulate glucocorticoids” (p. 241). “Depression, high stress, and childhood trauma all release glucocorticoids and kill cells in the hippocampus, leading to memory loss” (p. 241). The result? The depressed person cannot give a coherent account of his life.
The ground breadking work of Rene Spitz on hospitalism – of children confined to minimum care hospitals (anticipating the tragic results in the Rumanian orphanages after the fall of the USSR) – is invoked as evidence of the damage that can occur. When the early environment is sufficient to keep the baby alive biologically but lacks the human (empathic) responsiveness required to promote the emotional well-being of the whole person, the result is similar to acquired autism – an overwhelmed, emotionally stunted person, struggling to survive in what seems to the individual to be a strange and unfriendly milieu.
I summarize the lengthy course of hard work required to produce the result of Doidge’s successful psychoanalysis. The uncovering of older, neural pathway gets activated and reorganized in the process of sustained free association, dream work, and the conversation for possibility in the psychoanalytic “talking cure”. Through an elaborate and lengthy process of working through, the patient regains his humanity, his lifelong depression lifts, and he is able to enjoy his retirement.
So far neural plasticity has been a positive phenomenon and a much needed source of hope and inspiration to action. However, plasticity also has a dark side. For example, if one loses a limb due to an amputation, the brain takes over what amounts to the now available neuronal space on the neural map. One’s physical anatomy has changed, but the brain seems plastically committed to reusing the neural map of the body for other purposes.
The limb is no longer there, but it hurts, cramps, burns, itches, because the neural map has not been amputated. However, the patient suffers – sometimes substantially – because one cannot massage or scratch a limb that does not exist. Yet the pain LIVEs in the neural system – and that makes it real.
Pain is the dark side of plasticity. Pain is highly useful and important for survival. It protects living creatures from dangers to life and limb such as fire or noxious substances. We have a painful experience and learn to avoid that which caused the pain.
Yet pain can take on a life of its own. Anticipating pain can itself be painful. Once pain is learned it is almost literally burned into the neurons and it takes considerable work (and ingenuity) to unlearn – to extinguish – the pain.
“Our pain maps get damaged and fire incessant false alarms” (p. 180). V. S. Ramachandran has performed remarkable work with understanding that most recalcitrant of phenomena, phantom limb pain. Ramachandran’s is deservedly famous for many reasons. But his simple innovation of the mirror box really requires an illustration. It is literally done with a mirror.
Illustrating mirror box therapy with an intact limb being reflected so as to create the appearance that the amputated limb is present: the individual experiences the presence of his missing limb
The subject with the missing hand is presented with a reflected image of the good, intact hand, which in reflection looks just like the missing hand. The subject experiences the limb as being a part of his body. (That in itself is a remarkable effect – the neural “socket” is still there.) In effect, the individual gets the hand back as something he owns. He is able to experience closing his missing hand by closing the good hand. This relieves cramps and stiffness.
In other experiments, the lights are turned off and various areas of the body are touched. The area that was once the [now missing] hand is used to map sensations on another area of the body, for example, one’s face. Scratching an itch on the phantom limb by scratching just the right spot on one’s face becomes possible because the neural map of the missing limb has been taken over and is now being used to map a different part of the anatomy
Doidge ends with a flourish:
“V. S. Ramachandra, the neurological illusionist, had become the first physician to perform a seemingly impossible operation: the successful amputation of a phantom limb” (p. 187). He did this by changing the brain – in effect deconditioning (deleting) the representation of the phantom limb from the brain. Thus, the promise and paradox of plasticity.
15 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2014
We have all heard the phrases: “mind over matter” and “I think therefore I am.” Many of us are also aware of the debate surrounding the mind-body connection or disconnection. The separation of mind/body is evident in our medical system where you see certain specialists for “medical” issues and others for “mental health” issues. One of the lovely things about this book is the theme of blending together the mind and body.
Dr. Norman Doidge shares many different stories through this book showing how the mind and body work together, how we learn, how we unlearn, and how to recover from brain damage. The one word that covers the content of this book is neuroplasticity which is defined as the brains ability to adapt and change its function depending on situation and “rewire” itself should it become damaged.
There are stories of individuals ridding themselves of phantom limbs, recovering from strokes to a degree that was thought impossible, living with half of a brain, curing incurable vertigo, recovering from deep depression, successfully treating learning disabilities, and more. Each story is about a real person – their struggles and triumph, and the practitioners who helped them. There are also cautionary tales about habits and chronic pain conditions.
I would warn the reader that there is discussion of invasive experimentation on animals, and the fact that the material is quite dense at times. All in all, this is a book that can be read cover to cover or story by story while being picked up and set down several times – this is how I read it. The material is interesting enough, and important enough to take one’s time with.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding how the brain works.
112 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2014
Everyone who has a brain should read this book!! It is life changing! This book will empower. It will make you think about what you are doing with your brain and what kind of information, experiences, and conversations you are putting into it. We are what we think!
For people who have suffered any kind of brain trauma this book is especially helpful and hopeful. Neuroplasticity is how we remap our brains after an injury. Family members of a brain injury survivor will gain a lot of understanding about how to support and encourage their loved one.
Lastly, this book is very well written. Doidge is a great storyteller! He starts out each chapter with a story about someone and utilizes that as a vehicle to explain the science, research, and neuroplasticity. The book is also well read. (With the exception that the narrator mispronounces amygdala a few times!) I own both a print and audiobook version.
67 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2015
This is one of the best books that I have read! I really recommend this book to anyone dealing in chronic pain or any disability. This book will make you realize that anything is possible in this life. A man that had a stroke and only had 10% of his brain, was able to regain all of his movement, memory, and speech. Please, read this book. I have recommended this book even to my doctors.
40 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2018
I really like this book. If you have any kind of brain disorder and you thought was incurable, no hope, irreversible this book gives you hope.
I don't know if it is a hypothesis or a theory, but he says the brain is constantly changing and adapting, when scientists used to think that the brain stopped developing at age 18-19. Now they've been able to successful treat people with strokes, movement disorders, brain damage, even mental illness. One woman was told her condition was permanent but they cured her. There are scientists all over the US that are working on this, and It gave me some ideas on how to treat my own movement disorder. I just ordered his other book the Brain's way of healing.
2 people found this helpful
Fascinating how a brain can essentially repair itself
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2021
This book is one of many books I've read about neuroplasticity and applications to improve cognitive and PHYSICAL functions. It's fascinating how the brain compensates and rewires itself when damaged from accidents or disease progression. Be it a stroke, accident or disease (Parkinson's), this easy-to-read book provides insights and research supported means to IMPROVE YOUR LIFE by changing your brain. I've learned more from this book than any other book I've read. EXCELLENT!
One person found this helpful
Norman Doidge delayed medical school to help his father, ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2015
Norman Doidge delayed medical school to help his father, who had suffered a stroke. He went then on to school to get his rehadilitation certificate then on to medical school. He retained his interest in rehabilitation, focusing on the brain which changed itself, or showed plasticity. He traveled the world looking for people who had worked to change their brains to overcome the source of their issues. His stories are inspiring. One is about a woman who was born with half a brain and trained herself to do those brain functions which she needed to do as a teacher, choosing carefully because of having room in half a brain whereas most people have a whole brain. [Whether they use it or not...]
At first one thinks that is a mechanism that can save our world, changing violent, unempathetic, psychotic people to those who care about the world and the people in it. But then comes the realization that it is only the very attentive and self-disciplined people who can create and follow the routines that would lead to brain change.
A WORTHWHILE BOOK TO READ AND PONDER.
7 people found this helpful
From the United States
From the United States
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2019
I do feel this is a must read for everyone, for it not only satisfies intellectual curiosity but also has practical use for daily life. My mom has some temper problem, when I based on this book gave her an description on her problem, she was surprised how accurately I’m addressing the issue. I also offered her solutions based on what the book suggests, and she felt it would be a great help. Also what happened to my grandma is consistent with the book. Once given a cane, my grandma felt her left leg was getting worse and worse, even to a point of not moving. Then she threw away the cane, now her left leg miraculously rejuvenated. I also suggested her when watching tv, tune the volume to 15 instead of 25(very loud to others). I noticed her hearing is not as good as before, based on the book, this could help her improve her hearing.
It’s a very engaging book. I can’t put it down once picking it up. If you are curious about brain and never systematically study brain science or similar subjects, this is a good start.
Neuro plasticity (spelling?) is real.
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2021
I was wheeled into Kaiser’s special physical therapy wonderful facility, and because of neuro plasticity and the great PTs there, I walked out 3 weeks later. This book is the real deal.
3 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2018
this is a book about brain plasticity. parts of it are fairly technical. it is presented in the academic style, driving home the points and documenting. there are some very disturbing parts. a lot of case studies. this is not a book of a lot of stories that are going to make you glad you are not worse off, but the science narrated discussion of cutting edge insight. I am brain injured and it has been a good thing for me to understand things I had suspected (brain will recircuit itself to overcome damage)(or behaviors)
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2021
We are "fearfully and wonderfully made". Our brains can actually be helped to improve. Anxiety can be improved. There is a gut health brain connection. Our brains can be helped by improving gut health and doing other things. With our doctor's approval there are some aspects of health that we can help ourselves with. The area of the brain is one of them- some will be helped and some will not- but it is certainly worth trying.This book was fascinating.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2015
I got the ebook version. I added the audio, so that I could listen to it in bed. The information is invaluable. The writing is very good. The audio presentation is also very good. The oration is a man's voice in an easy-to-listen-to and clear, tenor range.
Someone I know had a brain injury, and has empirically validated, through recovery, the thesis of the book, that the brain is plastic and can do amazing, new wiring and rewiring.
This book, the way I see it, is more than academic; it is inspirational!
3 people found this helpful
Stunning, Highly Readable Further Accounts Of Breakthroughs In The Brain
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2016
Stunning writing from Norman Doidge in his second book on new discoveries and therapies for our brains. As with his first book the writing is lucid and compelling with highly informative background stories to ground-breaking therapists. At every turn these discoveries challenge conventional medical teaching from a few decades ago which visualised the brain more as a computer control centre for the body. Certain areas of the brain controlled specific functions and activities. Injuries and strokes permanently affecting these areas would result in long term loss of those functions. Also we were taught the brain could not repair itself lacking stem-type cells to facilitate this. Nobel Prize winning discoveries have shown the limited understanding of this approach. These stories give hope and new therapeutic possibilities to many of the debilitating and challenging medical issues many face. The brain and body are revealed as a much more integrated unit. Read this to blow your mind, to be open to even more dramatic possibilities for our future.
I have read some comment that these changes could be explained by the placebo effect. Either this comment was not based on reading the book, or from not fully engaging with its content. There is no way placebo effects could explain the pervasive and dramatic changes ground-breaking therapists are bringing with mental, to physical to sound-based and other exercises.
9 people found this helpful
Great book for feeding an ever-changing and growing MIND
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2018
Can't say enough good things about this book, or the author! Opens up a wide variety of new synaptic connections which will continue to multiply long after reading. Doidge gives each standalone chapter its own due weight, in a highly-readable, well-researched, engaging and provocative format. You'll feel brilliant afterwards, engage others in inspiring exchanges, and...CONTINUE to change and grow.
READ THIS BOOK!!!
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2015
This book is fascinating. It tells about how theories of old that said that if parts of the brain were damaged or dead, are wrong. Studies and experience has shown that the brain regenerates itself, and creates new synapses that unite to compensate the parts of the brain that have been damaged. This relates to strokes, mental illnesses, many other brain conditions. It is very enlightening and gives hopes for oneself or loved ones who we fear have Little chances of improvement. I have actually seen this work in my mother, who had lost her speech and movements, and then starts to recover them gradually. Amazing science. The topic is the neuroplasticity of the brain. It is not doomed into place, but changes and rejuvinates itself, as never before known.
The Braint that changes itself
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2014
Wonderful in depth study of the research and pioneering work that Norman Doidge carried out. The original research on brain plasticity was frowned on by the medical profession and it took a lot of courage to perservere. Doige has outlined the people who helped with the breakthroughs in brain plasticity- including Barbarba Arrowsmith and Joseph Cohen. Doidge has written individual chapters about functions of the brain and shown how the research has revealed that the brain can be stimulated to be changed. this in turn has helped people and children with Aspergers, autism, brain injuries, Brain limitations cased by disease. Doidge has bravely pioneered new ground by experimenting and stumbled on many findings that have changed the future of medical science. This area is now being explored for Alzheimers patients and others- it presents new rays of hope. (Its worth knowing that there are CD's and MP's with the exact wording of the book for those who can't read a text.)
4 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018
The brain is self-programming biology. Further advances in understanding the brain will unlock unimaginable advances in technology and neurosciences. The future will be very connected. I imagine a mass consciousness connected through thought paralleling the internet. While the internet is information filtered a neuronetwork would allow instantaneous knowledge.
Easy to read. Well written. Lots of facts.
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2020
This book brings to the concrete what it may be complicated in easy words to understand. Great discussion about neuroplasticity, based on actual research/facts that might bring hope to many.
One person found this helpful
Enlightenment to the Science of Learning
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2019
I am a researcher in education policies. The changing society has prompted me to look into learning, rather than stay at credentials as aims of education. Hence, I turned to understanding the findings of Science of Learning. In this respect, this book proves an enlightenment to me. In my many keynotes around the world, I often start my "Science of Learning Made Simple" by referring to this book, which I consolidated into a motto: "Human brains are plastic. It's human activities that shape the development of the brain." This is refreshing to many who believe that knowledge is like a liquid poured into human brains. Kai-ming Cheng, Professor Emeritus, University of Hong Kong
Incredible info for everyone interested in improving their skills!
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2014
When I went to nursing school the commonly held belief was that once you reached adulthood your brain could not repair or replace or grow new connections. I am happy to say that that is absolutely false! Norman Doidge addresses different researchers studying various challenges from strokes to phantom limb pain to people born with only one hemisphere of their brain, explaining the miracles of recovery that have occurred. I bought a copy of this book for everyone in my family so that they, too, can start improving their memory, minimizing their pain, breaking undesirable neuronal connections and building new beneficial ones. This research is so exciting and can bring hope to so many.
2 people found this helpful
book is nearly perfect condition
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2014
What can you say, this book arrived in great shape and sooner than I expected, and I am enjoying reading it already. I intend to make use of it to make significant changes in my brain, believe it or not. If I can change my brain to be able to accomplish things that I had thought were beyond my ability, I am going after those first. I am well educated already, but this opens up the possibilities of making new strides to help me accomplish a lot more endeavors, all you have to do is read about how much Paul Bach-y-Rita accomplished in his short life of 72 , even at my age in the latter years of life. I love teaching myself new practices, even if they are thought to be impossible to accomplish in the minds of many. I cant stop reading this book.
2 people found this helpful
A "must read" for stroke victims and educators.
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2020
I got this book to help me understand my husband's stroke. It gives so much hope. Also as an educator I have found it so helpful. Great book!
One person found this helpful
Phenomenal introduction to neuroplasticity
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2015
Not an overly scientific book as this book was written for the masses instead of the clinicians. This book will literally blow your mind with tangible information on how the brain can physically and literally change itself. Different parts of the brain operate different parts of the body, but can change over time based on the proper recipe. This is not a self help book, but an informative deep dive on neuroplasticity. You'll be interested in the topic at a deeper level after completing this engaging read, and Dr. Doidge provides many many resources at the end of the book. Highly recommended!
7 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2013
I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to understand with interesting stories of people's challenges. My son was born with severe brain damage and Dr.Doidge's book reminded me of the many types of activities we use to help him to be able to live a "normal" life. His story could have easily been included in this book. Because of the stories, this book is very inspirational. It gives you hope that there is something out there to help one overcome physical and mental challenges without using a lot of medication. I particularly like the chapters on imagination,thought, pain and the brain's connection to them. However, I was a little squeamish when he discussed the use of animals for research. Because of this book, I'm now playing brain science games and enjoying them. Good book!
One person found this helpful
Fascinating and Filled with Possibility
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2015
This is a pass-it-on kind of book. The idea of neuroplasticity - that the brain can keep on learning and make new neural pathways is an amazing breakthrough. Doidge makes the information accessible but doesn't dumb it down. Besides the compelling stories of patients who had remarkable recoveries the stories of the pioneer scientists is equally dramatic. Made me want to think something new and expand my own brain's capabilities.
2 people found this helpful
The Game-Changing Possibilities of Neuroplasticity
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2014
This is a fascinating and detailed book on the power of neuroplasticity from a neuroscientist/psychoanalyst. It's not a how-to, but it will inspire you with the possibilities, such as overcoming OCD, depression, and bad habits. Research shows that people who learn about neuroplasticity are more successful, happier, and even healthier; apparently because when we understand that change is possible, we work harder to create the change we want.
18 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2012
This is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. I don't usually read non-fiction but this book was fascinating. I enjoyed the personal stories that were contained in each chapter and it helped me to appreciate the saying "use it or lose it".
After reading the book, I recommended it to a number of my friends, especially the ones with children, as it really helps you to appreciate the need to exercise and challenge your mental faculties. I think this is an essential read for anyone working with young children (especially those who deal with special needs children), as well as physiotherapists. The author does an excellent job of highlighting the potential our brains have to heal and to function despite injuries or disabilities.
As much as I loved this book, I must admit that it does get a bit tedious towards the last 1/4. Nevertheless, it is a really great book, and I would definitely recommend it.
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017
The book gave examples in the author's experience that showed and proved the plasticity of the brain. Important to me as I had a cavrenoma and brain surgery (6 years ago) as a result. I came to believe that it was possible to improve beyond my current situation. The people that worked with me after my brain surgery were not able to tell me that I would get totally better. They knew from other studies that stroke victims could get much better, but my situation had not been tested.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2020
What I liked most about the way the author is that he presents the content in a simple way, without "dumbing down" the content. A perfect balance of depth and range, enabling new readers into this area to receive a good introduction and overall understanding. The book never gets boring, as you change from chapter to chapter, it feels like you are discovering new things about your brain, about yourself even. This is a book to read more than once - and that it will also make you want to further read into the subject.
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013
This book has opened my eyes to the immense plasticity and possibilities of our brains. I was moved to tears by the example in the first chapter of the woman who had been completely incapacitated for years by a lack of balance due to a previous, unrelated treatment and had been told to go home and deal with it. In her first session with an experimental scientist, she could stand unassisted. The book continues the way it starts, with the most miraculous and amazing examples of people who had been given up by mainstream medicine, making full recoveries or incredible rehabilitation improvements. I recommend this book to my biology, education and nursing students as an example of our fantastic capacity to adapt and not to take current knowledge as an end.
14 people found this helpful
A must read for all brain damaged individuals and their caregivers.
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2019
My husband suffered brain cancer and had a portion of his brain removed and a larger portion rendered useless by radiation. I will be looking for a neurologist that can help reorganize the lost functions to other parts of his brain. I’m sure there’s much more “storage” available if we only knew how to reprogram it!
The new science of neuroplasticity at it's best!
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2020
The concept of neuroplasticity is exciting and has many great implications for future healing. This book is full of interesting stories and examples of how neuroplasticity can be applied.
Incurable Degenerative Neurologic Disease - Not!
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2009
This book is fascinating and incredibly valuable for anyone with any number of neurological disorders. I have MS, a condition which the conventional medical wisdom says is incurable and degenerative, with little or no hope of improvement if you have the progressive variety, or once you reach the progressive stage. For several years, I was progressing down this road, when through a series of happy chance events, I started regularly engaging in activities which challenged the limits of my impinged abilities. These activities included long walks, physical therapy, Pilates, crossword puzzles, sudoku, etc. Much to my delight, my condition has been slowly improving over the 5 years since I started this routine. The cumulative improvement over 5 years has been dramatic.
When I read this book and learned about neuroplasticity, I think I found the reason behind my recovery. As the author of this book would put it, I have been rewiring my brain. By repeatedly forcing the brain to attempt to send messages down damaged axons, I forced it to find other paths through which the messages could travel. This offers a far more optimistic prognosis for many neurological disorders, than the conventional medical wisdom.
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2018
A close family friend was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. This book hit home and proved to be very edicational and inspirational.
As a mold nerd, I loved the read and passed it on to a friend to spread the knowledge.
Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2020
This is a very interesting book based on the adaptibility of the brain. It is told through stories of people being successful with sometimes severe brain changes.
More Science Books Should Be This Inspirational
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015
This book is fantastic, and I count it among the best books I have read. I'd not heard of it, but my wife recommended it to me. The book dispels (through science and anecdote) the myth that the brain is unchanging after early adulthood, and shows quite concretely that not only is the brain plastic, but the advantages of that. It's a rare tome that provides both rigourous science and the joy and inspiration in the triumph of people who have learned one of history's most useful lessons.
Eye opening and life changing - a great read
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2018
Helped me to understand so many of life's experiences -- from the many cases of mental illness I've seen to my Dad's stroke to my wife's brain surgery.
Uplifting to realize that our brain doesn't have to atrophy, and that the symptoms of ageing brains can be reversed.
An easily accessible book on new knowledge in neurology.
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2013
Previously it was thought that the brain was static and could never change. Dr. Doidge reports on many instances where the brain has changed completely, overcoming illness, injury and even congenital anomalies. The book is an obvious buy for aging baby boomers who are working to retain their faculties, stroke victims who need to teach a different part of the brain to do normal movements, and many others. It is also a book for medical and nursing professionals, and teachers who come in contact with people who have neurological differences. Lastly it is for anyone wanting to learn about new knowledge of the human body.
Neuroplastisity - The Next Big Thing
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2008
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.
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2018
Had a stroke and the information in this book inspires hope and give me confidence that I can change the outcome
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2011
This book is nothing short of amazing! I've nearly finished reading it and as a mother of an autistic child, it has changed mine and my child's life. I was hurried into reading this book because of a disjointed conversation with my son, asking why he cant talk properly and why he doesn't feel clever even though I tell him he is. Although I didn't have the answers at the time, this book gave them to me. It gave me insight into children/adults who also have this awareness and a plan moving forward. Since starting reading it a couple of weeks ago, I've pulled my son out of kindy and started 'mum school'. Using exercises from the Arrowsmith school, as outlined in the book, and starting the Fast Forword program, plus some other exercises the book touched on, I and many others in my child's life are seeing big changes already. It is amazing how plastic the brain is to work this fast. Improved attention, better eye contact, more social, better vocalisation in just a week. It is a must read for any mother or father with a child of intellectual disabilities.
4 people found this helpful
Breakthrough Subject - Nice historical and narrative treatment
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2014
I bought this book to follow up on addiction theories.
Much broader subject than I expected. A whole new way of seeing the brain and (therefore) myself!
Bridges zen theory to neuroscience. OF COURSE we can change our minds and OF COURSE the world we see is created by our minds. This book just rubs our noses in the fact and gives dozens of amazing examples of how we can make use of the inherent plasticity of our brains.
See also Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2013
I highly recommend this book. Doodle writes about the fascinating brain, which affects every single one of us (like it or not!) in a way that is easy for a layperson to understand and enjoy. He makes it very clear how our brains are dynamic structures, at every age. Years ago most of us were taught the opposite and therefore believed we were stuck with our patterns of thought and behavior. Now we understand more about recovering from a stroke or brain injury as well as modifying ingrained habits and patterns of thinking. This book gave me hope, and some sense of empowerment over my aging brain! Pair this read with "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain"
by John J. Ratey, Eric Hagerman (With)
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2021
This is one of my favorite books ever!!! I have given it as a gift to several people. It's mind blowing and hopeful. I can't recommend it enough!!
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2018
If you love learning about the human body and its capabilities, then you have got to read this book. It will change the way you view human beings and open your eyes to how intelligent the human body and mind is to adapting to new circumstances
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2018
What a marvelous book. I had seen the documentary and really enjoyed that. Decided I wanted to know more. Glad I did because there is so much more in this book. Very easy reading. Could not put it down. Like reading a great mystery. It had me from the start.
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2020
Very informative and eloquently written book. Never imagined the power of the brain and neuroplasticity. The stories are so fascinating.
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2021
This book provides helpful information. It helps you understand important concepts about the brain and its ability to make change
A book about an area that is little known to general readers, interesting and easy
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2020
Written from the author's own experience and other firsthand experience, which makes it a very believable book. The style is very lucid, makes it easy to understand.
one of the best books I've read
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2012
I keep buying this book over and over again because I keep giving away my copies to friends.
Doidge strikes the perfect balance between technical detail and accessibility. In other words, you don't need to be a neuro-scientist to understand what he's talking about, but it's also not over-simplified.
Apart from some of the directly applicable things I learned from this book, I'd say the best thing this book offers is a sense of hope and optimism.
We all have things about ourselves we think would be impossible to change - limits we'd like to overcome but perhaps have come to accept are unchangeable.
With story after story of people rewiring their brains - for example, a man who regains complete mobility, even climbing mountains after a stroke completely destroys his motor cortex - you can't help feeling that remarkable changes are possible.
Cannot recommend this book enough.
Inspiring reading for those dealing with brain injuries and disabilities ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2015
Inspiring reading for those dealing with brain injuries and disabilities. How realistic it is, I can't answer yet. We are only 6 months out from a serious brain injury. From what I am learning, many patients will never achieve the level of function described in this book. But it gives a lot of hope, and without that, recovery will be even more limited. Note: the book is not about brain injury per se but some of it applies to brain injuries.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2019
This is a great book to learn about how the brain works, very well written definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about it.
Neuroplasticity: rewiring the injured brain
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2013
I came across this book by accident one evening almost seven years ago while wandering through a bookstore, still in a state of shock after my youngest daughter's traumatic brain injury. Visiting hours were over in the ICU for the night and I couldn't sleep. I remember seeing the bright green cover out of the corner of my eye, read the the jacket and immediately bought it. Dr.Doidge recounts stories of survivors of brain injury, often demonstrating remarkable recoveries, and explains the science of neuroplasticity, literally the brain's ability to rewire and make new connections. It was a revelation to find that the brain is not fixed and immutable, and the book offered us so much more hope for my daughter's recovery than the doctors did at that point. The information in this book has literally changed our lives and helped direct so much of our rehabilitation efforts. This will be the fourth copy I have purchased - I pass it on to other families with brain injury survivors. A basic understanding of neuroplasticity can inspire hope and recovery after brain injury. I highly recommend it to survivors, families and healthcare professionals
17 people found this helpful
A Guided Tour of Neural Plasticity
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2009
As the title implies, "The Brain That Changes Itself" is an extensive and thoroughly enjoyable look at the history of neural plasticity, albeit from the point of view of a staunch supporter. I found the book to be very well organized, and Doidge's arguments to be very cohesive. The book chapters are filled mostly with stories and case studies regarding a common theme in the study of neural plasticity.
Doidge begins by relating the story of Paul Bach-y-Rita's research and efforts to debunk the widely held localizationist theories of the 20th century. He presents some more dramatic case studies such as Cheryl who used her tongue to learn to stand after a debilitating brain injury or Barbara, a seemingly retarded woman, who ended up with advanced degrees and a successful research career (these stories are every bit as interesting as they sound). Doidge relates again and again how massive and usually debilitating brain injuries were overcome by physical and mental therapies.
Following his analysis of catastrophic brain injuries and defects, Doidge gives examples of more everyday plasticity. He relates how common disorders such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia can be attributed to (often minor) traumas and incidents during the critical childhood period. He talks about several schools which have had great success rehabilitating victims of those and other disorders through concentrated and prolonged efforts to retrain the brain. He also gives examples of how plasticity can affect even our emotions or sexual tastes.
In the final chapters, Doidge relates what he calls the "paradox of plasticity." He explains that, while plasticity can be used to treat crippling injuries, it can also be responsible for equally crippling mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder. He explains how rewired neural circuitry can create phantom pain in amputated limbs, reinforce bad habits into addictions, and give rise to compulsive behavior. He further delves into the field of psychoanalysis and reveals the power of thought. He describes many cases where psychoanalysis and new ways of thinking provoke measurable changes in the structure of the brain. He relates one study where a group of people were able to strengthen their finger muscles just by imagining daily finger exercises. As Doidge puts it: "...But now we can see that our "immaterial" thoughts too have a physical signature, and we cannot be so sure that thought won't someday be explained in physical terms. While we have yet to understand exactly how thoughts actually change brain structure, it is now clear that they do, and the firm line Descartes drew between mind and brain is increasingly a dotted line."
Finally, for those that make it past the last chapter, the appendices and notes section actually contains a wealth of interesting information. Doidge annotated and explained all of the case studies and references that he uses in the preceding chapters, and included some interesting additional arguments about the nature of culture and its effects on the brain.
As with any book that isn't a textbook, "The Brain That Changes Itself" is filled with opinions. Fortunately, many of these opinions are well supported, but readers new to the field could benefit from some time spent in the notes section. Overall the writing style is casual, easy to follow, and very engaging. I particularly enjoyed Doidge's heavy use of case studies to prove his points. Most of the case studies were tremendously interesting, and I regard them as one of the book's best features. I would say that this book is a good read for any audience, but less interesting for those that already have an extensive background in neuroscience. As a final note, I would highly recommend the Kindle version of this book. Unlike some electronic books I have read, the formatting was great, there were no typos, and the book was organized in such a way that I didn't waste time constantly scrolling or flipping pages back and forth.
8 people found this helpful
Actually usable insights can be derived
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2017
Actually usable insights can be derived from the material of this book. Weather you want to make your brain a bit more creative, analytical, fit, overcome anxieties or don't get "angry" on other's for them not being fast enough or having different flow of thought.
Book keeps scientific (ideas backed with measurements) attitude, for it I give it all stars.
I'm pushing 70 and it's nice to know that even in old age one's brain ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2016
I'm pushing 70 and it's nice to know that even in old age one's brain will not necessarily turn to mush. It seems that everything I learned when young on neurons and the brain was wrong. If you are ignorant of these ongoing medical advances, then this is a must read.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018
This was a fascinating book. It explains in clear English how people can gain at least part of their life back if they have a br
Incredible science with stories (animal activist beware)
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2012
This is an excellent book which tells the history behind how scientist thought our brain worked not long go and how it is now proven it really does. It's told in such a way that is easy to read and understand. It is also full of stories of individuals who used the concept of brain plasticity (the ability to change itself) to make unbelievable improvements in their lives. We are talking people with major brain problems such as the woman who had a condition that would even allow her to walk across a room without falling over. It details the scientist and his research who created the phrase "Cells that fire together, wire together" (If you thought that was just metaphysical mumbo-jumbo from The Secret you learn quite differently.)
Some of the most fascinating research has to do with phantom limbs where people who have lost extremities still feel the limb is there, have pain in it and can even feel it moving. It tells you just why that is.
It also proves that we do indeed create our health, lives and view of the world with our thoughts, explaining in easy to understand ways (again with the science behind it) as to why its so hard to stop certain habits and ways of thinking and then illustrates though personal studies that it is indeed possible to do so. The results are no less than miraculous. Its all a matter of rewiring our brain and changing how our neurons fire... and we as individuals completely control that. Pretty self-empowering.
As is with much of science they used animals to test the theories of brain mapping and understanding plasticity. They detail some of these experiments which can be pretty disturbing depending on your view of that topic. So FYI. It does not however diminish the scientific facts given.
Nancy
3 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2018
Loved this book. I look at learning in a completely different way. After reading this, I have come across so many things related to neuroplasticity. Recommend.
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2013
The reader will be amazed and delighted with the wonderful, fresh information contained in this book. For example: Who would've thought that you could recover from a stroke as easily as described in this book. Who would've thought phantom limb pain could be dealt with by the use of a mirror because the brain loves changing. Every chapter brings thrilling new strategies based on actual clinical successes. If you or a loved one has an issue that stems from neurological sources, this is a book you must read.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2020
I always used to believe that the brain is hard-wired ad cannot recover from brain damage until I read this amazing book, which was recommended by my neurologist after my bike accident and diagnosed a serious brain trauma. I am now a 100% well and is an evidence that this book sets straight the fact that the brain is very adaptable and is capable of remarkable recovery. It is truly a great book!
Astonishing Stories of Damaged Brains Repairing Themselves
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2007
"The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science" by Norman Doidge, is an easily readable, enjoyable, and thought-provoking book that gives the nonprofessional an overview of the new science of neuroplasticity--the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections over the life span. We learn that the brain is no longer thought of as being hard-wired, that people are no longer believed to be merely products of their genes and environment, and that damaged brains have the remarkable ability to repair themselves.
Doidge recounts stories of real people who have benefited from advances in neuroplasticity. He gives us just enough background information about each case so that we find ourselves genuinely caring about these people--each person comes to life, like characters in a fine novel. He tells us stories about stroke victims with major physical dysfunction who were able to recover nearly everything that they lost, and then go on to live normal lives again. There is an astonishing story of a woman who lost her balance mechanisms; with help from neuroplasticians, she was able to rewire her brain to use other senses to achieve the same goal. We learn that neuroplastic physicians can design high-technology devices capable of bringing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and movement to the paralyzed. We learn about an utterly courageous woman who, completely on her own, was able to rewire her brain to compensate for a large number of severe learning disabilities. Eventually, she goes on to found a very successful network of schools devoted to the methodologies she used.
The basic concept is simple: the brain can change itself--rewire itself, so to speak. Often it needs only a little structured help to force it into making the new connections.
The implications of this new science are staggering. Imagine retraining the brains of the severely mentally disadvantaged--the learning disabled, the autistic...perhaps even the psychopath--so that they are able to function almost normally in society. Imagine the impact this new science may have on prison rehabilitation, special education, psychiatry, and rehabilitation therapy, to name but a few. This is a truly astonishing new frontier, and Doidge makes the concepts easy and enjoyable. I recommend this book highly.
23 people found this helpful
Hope for healing the anoxic brain
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2019
A must read for anyone dealing with recovery of a brain injury. His book gives hope to families, even to those who have a loved one with an anoxic brain injury.
There is hope. The brain can heal.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
Excellent information on Brain Health! Great price and convenient shipping from Amazon!
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2013
Amazing book. Will change YOUR brain too! Not only is the content fascinating, but it has been written in an easy to read way.I suggest you read it one chapter at a time so the information can sink in. I lent my hard copy to a person with autistic children so now have the Kindle version. I have read it twice and it is one of the most interesting books I have read in terms of changing the way I thought about the brain. The future is exciting . If, up until now, you have accepted your mental deficits or those of people you know, such as memory loss and learning difficulties in general, as being fixed with no hope of change, you need to read this book.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2017
The book meets my expectations 100%. I am still reading some parts of it. The book is a total breakthrough in neuroscience.
2 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2018
Excellent book: To keep your brain healthy into old age, do physical exercise and keep learning new (challenging) things. Now you don’t have to read it. :-) But do anyway if you’re interested in learning what they knew about how the brain functions way back in year 2007.
One person found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2015
I have great respect for Norman Doidge. He is doing so much to clarify how the brain really works and to provide fascinating new facts about the brain which will give people with brain injuries more hope for healing. The brain appears to have been truly misunderstood for so long and this psychiatrist and author provides hope for people with brain injury. I loved this book.
Informative, helpful and Interesting book!
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2014
IF you know anyone who has experienced a debilitating STROKE, the information in this book can be of immense HELP and encouragement. It PROVES how the connectors in the brain can and will RE-ROUTE themselves in order to accomodate our body's needs. I send this book to everyone I know who is challenged by brain damage AFTER stroke....it is encouraging and explained in non-medical terms!
Virginia from south Florida
The Book That Changed Your Mind about your Brain
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2009
I am interested in mindfulness and physiological - as well as the neurological and psychological - aspects of the brain. This book is fantastic - I recommend it to anyone who is looking for insights into the mind-body connection, and how "intractable" forms of brain injuries and syndromes can be altered. Many long-held theories about the immutable, hardwired nature of the brain are debunked, or at least seriously questioned. An extremely well-written, thought- provoking and accessible book for professionals and anyone who is interested in learning about the wonderful elasticity the brain.
Very interesting read. The narration is accessible for anyone ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018
Very interesting read. The narration is accessible for anyone who hasn't had any experience with neuroscience. The implications of the cited research are groundbreaking.
Amazing book! Totally worth it!
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016
This is the most amazing book that's out there regarding neuroplasticity. It provides clinical studies and information for each case while also explaining things on a level where anyone can understand it. Just amazing!
One person found this helpful
A Do-It-Yourself Repair Manual For the Brain
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2010
The brain can change its own structure and formation through thought and activity. It is called neuroplasticity. The author writes each chapter about someone, either an MD, scientist or a patient, who has made advancements in the field of neuroplasticity.
With this plasticity the brain can make changes to reroute impulses to make up for loss of certain normal sensory pathways. People who had alleged hardwire problems learned sensory substitution to re-route "messages" to achieve the same brain function previously thought impossible to repair. Using brain exercises to strengthen weak areas of the brain, people can access skills whose development was formerly blocked.
One MD determined that the brain is polysensory, not the "one function one location" accepted paradigm. Of course it took quite a while for his papers to be published by mainstream medicine. Another study showed that pain is created by the brain and projected into the body.
The bottom line is that there is a mind/body/spirit connection that is changing the way neuroscience is treating brain related illness, disease and defects. Great book! Plus, for discussing a complex subject, the book is very easy to follow.
4 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016
One of the most interesting books I've ever read. Great stories/examples to share with friends/family/coworkers. Recommended to anyone who is even remotely interested in neuroscience or who has experienced (or knows someone who has experienced) any kind of neurological issue (TBI, stroke, etc).
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2014
I consider that finding this audio book was an absolute stroke of luck. I purchased it two days after hearing the first two discs in the set which I had borrowed from the library. The discs confirmed everything I had been telling my colleagues for at least ten years. Many of them refused to believe me. Being a woman and an educator who is 'getting on' in life, I tried to tell them that intelligence does not necessarily diminish because of age or some disabilities; it, like the body, if active,remains in good working condition or improves. The brain of an older person may not zip through IQ tests as quickly--and I feel that this is due to the amount of information stored in it. Try zipping through an IQ test at age 70 having read more than 1,000 books on subjects nearly as varied and see if you can call up an answer as quickly as a Freshman student of 18 who has attended schools where reading was used only as a means of measuring the bell curve. See how they do with respect to critical analysis when writing a paper. Of course in a country where youth is worshiped and elders considered disposable, my opinion was of little value to those who genuflect at the shrine of youth. I welcome the opportunity to prove that plasticity does exist at many levels using the audio discs. I have worked with students who were placed in spec-ed classes or remedial classes in college. I was astounded to find that many of them did not belong there. One spec-ed student was an "A" student. He discussed his papers and other work with me before presenting them. My remedial English students were given a note from the Department Chairman which read, "Dr. McMichael has misplaced a packet of papers; if you find THEM please return THEM to him." My remedial students read the note and said, this is grammatically incorrect. It should read, "Dr. McMichael has misplaced a packet of papers; if you find IT, please return IT to him."
Bonita Evans, Ph.D.
3 people found this helpful
Book Gives Hope for Chronic Conditions
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2018
This book was recommended by my Z-Health therapist. The brain can change to relieve many conditions like pain even if you're 70.
TBI - Sisyphus The Lotus-Eater
I have a TBI loved it is all I an remember! :( Sad Book Lover!
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2021
I have a TBI loved it is all I an remember! :( Sad Book Lover!
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