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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 4:19 pm Post subject: Neuroplasticity
Not long ago I posted some information about a Wired Science episode on PBS that discussed neuroplasticity. I have recently started reading a book on the same subject which discusses some of the same information, as well as Dr. Bach-y-Rita's work, but in more detail. Its title is The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D. 2007. Although I have just started reading the book, I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in this subject. The following is quoted from inside the jacket...
Quote:
The Brain Can Change Itself
It is a plastic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age. Arguably the most important breakthrough in neuroscience since scientists first sketched out the brain's basic anatomy, this revolutionary discovery, called neuroplasticity, promises to overthrow the centuries-old notion that the adult brain is fixed and unchanging. The brain is not, as was thought, like a machine or "hardwired" like a computer. Neuroplasticity not only gives hope to those with mental limitations, or what was thought to be incurable brain damage, but expands our understanding of the healthy brain and the resilience of human nature. Norman Doidge, M.D., a psychiatrist and researcher, set out to investigate neuroplasticity and met both the brilliant scientists championing it and the people whose lives they've transformed.
The result is this book, a riveting collection of case histories detailing the astonishing progress of people whose conditions had long been dismissed as hopeless. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, a woman labeled retarded who cured her deficits with brain exercises and now cures those of others, blind people learning to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, painful phantom limbs erased, stroke patients recovering their faculties, children with cerebral palsy learning to move more gracefully, entrenched depression and anxiety disappearing, and lifelong character traits altered.
Doidge takes us onto terrain that might seem fantastic, We learn that our thoughts can switch our genes on and off, altering our brain anatomy. Scientists have developed machines that can follow these physical changes in order to read people's thoughts, allowing the paralyzed to control computers and electronics just by thinking.
We learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception in order to become savant calculators, develop muscle strength, or learn to play a musical instrument, simply by imagining doing so.
Using personal stories from the heart of this neuroplasticity revolution, Dr. Doidge explores the profound implications of the changing brain for understanding the mysteries of love, sexual attraction, taste, culture, and education in an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at human possibility and human nature.
Joined: May 04, 2006 Posts: 3405 Location: Mid-Michigan
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:27 pm Post subject:
Thanks for the tip NHE.
I'm convinced, and it seems obvious when you REALLY think about it, that the effect of plasticity is an inseparable factor of the MS process and the masking effect of plasticity is one of the main reasons MS researchers have always been confounded by the disease.
On the other hand, embracing that fact and applying that knowledge to MS research will enable rapid advances, and I think the relationship is in the early stages of recognition.
I just noticed that, while I'm waiting for my copy to be delivered.....the reviews of the book are also interesting! http://tinyurl.com/2843fj
Bob _________________ Wife diagnosed with MS in Feb. 2006 and is a participant in the Tovaxin IIb clinical trial.
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Linda
