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Chosen by the Dana Brain Foundation, from among more than 30,000 titles, as the best general knowledge book about the brain, it has already sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.
Through intriguing personal stories, The Brain That Changes Itself explores the profound implications of neuroplasticity for understanding the mysteries of love, sexual attraction, taste, culture, and education.
The brain changes. It is a plastic, living organ that can indeed transform its own structures and functions, even in old age. Neuroplasticity—one of the most revolutionary discoveries since scientists unveiled the first sketches of the brain's basic anatomy—promises to overturn the outdated notion that the adult brain is rigid and immutable.
Neuroplasticity not only offers hope to those with mental disabilities or neurological injuries considered incurable, but also expands our understanding of brain health. Psychiatrist and researcher Norman Doidge sets out to investigate neuroplasticity and introduces both the scientists who are pioneering this field and the people whose lives have been transformed by these studies.
The Transforming Brain presents case studies detailing the surprising progress of patients, such as a woman born with only half a brain but who managed to adapt and lead a normal life; another, labeled as mentally disabled, who cured her disabilities and now helps many others do the same; blind people who regained their sight; learning disabilities cured; recovering stroke patients; chronic depression and anxiety that disappeared, among other cases.
Doidge takes us into seemingly fantastical territory. We learn how our thoughts can activate or deactivate our genes, altering the brain's anatomy. We see how scientists have developed machines that can track these physical changes to read thoughts, allowing a person with paralysis to control computers and electronic devices. And we see how a person with average intelligence can, with exercise, increase their cognitive and perceptual powers.
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