3/11/2023 0 Comments The brain that changes itself![]() There are two key facts to hold on to about brain mapping: 1) maps are topographical, which in the language of neurobiologists means that adjacent body parts are mapped to adjacent areas of the brain, and 2) when an area of the brain is deprived of sensory input, it yearns for and searches for input from adjacent areas. Instead of brain scans which map (and may miss) thousands of neuronal events, the tedious and time-consuming micro-mapping of the brain has led to this new and remarkable understanding of how brains work. ![]() Building on the brain mapping of earlier researchers, Merzenich employed microelectrodes that could be inserted next to or in an individual neuron. plays a significant role in the discovery of the dramatic and ongoing malleability/adaptability of the human brain. Neuronal researcher Michael Merzenich, PhD. ![]() Put simply, our brains are structured by our experience: minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day.Īt the level of neuronal activity and interconnections within the brain, neurobiologists have coined a phrase: “If it fires together it wires together.” The therapeutic advances that are documented in this work take direct advantage of this simple adage in a variety of ways. xiiiĪnd, as scientists learn to take advantage of the sometimes daily, even momentary, plasticity of the brain, that newly discovered property is becoming a stunning resource for the treatment of stroke, autism, dementia, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and learning disabilities, among other ailments. For four hundred years, this venture would have been inconceivable because mainstream medicine and science believed that brain anatomy was fixed…” p. Some were patients who had what were thought to be incurable brain problems others were people without specific problems who simply wanted to improve the functioning of their brains, or preserve them, as they aged. Without operations or medications, they have made use of the brains hitherto unknown ability to change. “This book is about the revolutionary discovery that the human brain can change itself, as told through the stories of the scientists, doctors, and patients who have together brought about these astonishing transformations. Norman Doidge sets out exactly what this scientific mystery story is about: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain ScienceĪs someone who works with brains (my own and those of others), I found this an amazing read. I hope, after reading my thoughts on it, you will, too. ![]() Though not restricted to either music, or to Blues history, I found it moving and interesting. Posted in BluesNotesĪs a lifelong student and a teacher of various things over the past four decades, I have an abiding curiosity and affection for the new brain science, for neurobiology, and practical applications of the new science that is being recorded.Īccordingly this book, The Brain That Changes Itself (Viking, 2007), was right in my wheelhouse. ![]()
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