The Brain That Changes Itself ─ Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

A new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychoanalyst Doidge traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed--people whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, blind people who learn to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, stroke patients learning to speak, children with cerebral palsy learning to move with more grace, depression and anxiety disorders successfully treated, and lifelong character traits changed. Using these stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love,sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.--From publisher description.An introduction to the science of neuroplasticity recounts the case stories of patients with mental limitations or brain damage whose seemingly inalterable conditions were improved through treatments that involved the thought re-alteration of brain structure.

Norman Doidge, M.D., is a research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst on the faculty at the Columbia University Psychoanalytic Center in New York and the University of Toronto, as well as an award-winning writer. He has presented his scientific research at the White House.