The Plastic Mind

by Sharon Begley

For decades, the conventional wisdom of neuroscience held that the hardware of the brain is fixed - that we are stuck with what we were born with. But recent pioneering experiments in neuroplasticity reveal that the brain is capable not only of altering its structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. The brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability.

In this groundbreaking book, highly respected science writer Sharon Begley documents how this fundamental paradigm shift is transforming both our understanding of the human mind and our approach to deep-seated emotional, cognitive and behavioural problems.

These breakthroughs show that it is possible to reset our happiness meter, regain the use of limbs disabled by stroke, train the mind to break cycles of depression and OCD and reverse age-related changes in the brain.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Neuroscience, Science

352 pages

First published August 20, 2012

About the author

Sharon Begley was an American journalist who was the senior science writer for Stat, a publication from The Boston Globe that covers stories related to the life sciences. She regularly contributed articles to the Yale Scientific Magazine while at University. She published recurring columns and feature articles in several mainstream publications on a wide variety of scientific topics. Begley was also an author and spoke at professional and community organizations. Her topics included the neuroplasticity of the brain, issues affecting science journalism, and education. She appeared on radio and television to discuss topics covered in her articles and books. Begley attracted both praise and criticism as a writer.

Reviews

[Nicola]

Wow really very interesting and motivating.
Science meets religion and for once both want to find some common ground.

There is one goal: to understand how the mind works and if it can be manipulated for the better.
Or is our brain fixed with what mother nature gave us. Science has always thought so. Once a child has reached maturity there is no going back, but that was just a fantasy...

Like the body the brain needs constant exercise to stay healthy.

Great read.

[Liam Anthony]

Surprisingly a lot of off-topic discussion but the posts that actually stick to neuroplasticity were genuinely really good abs informative, especially posts about psychosomatic cortex, visual/audio cortex etc.

Parts of the discussion around the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal left cortex tie in with Why We Sleep abs provide an interesting topographical survey of the brain and it’s links with the process of memory creation and retention. Similarly the gamma and delta wave rates of mediators and during focused attention on visual stimuli.

Last two chapters not worth reading, all personal opinion and conjecture.

[Liene]

An entertaining, inspiring and very informative book! However, the first part that dealt with the historical advances on neuroplasticity in animal studies felt a bit too long.

[Kimberly]

Most insightful book I have ever read!

[Mohammad]

يبدأ الكتاب بطرح المعلومات الاساسية في علم الاعصاب وامكانية نقدها منهجيا, مثل ثبات النسيج الدماغي وعدم قدرته على التغيير او الانقسام..
يسرد تاريخ نظرية المرونة العصيبة..
ومن ثم يبدأ في طرح اخر الابحاث العلمية في هذا الجانب بالترتيب التصاعدي , من الاكثر قابلية تبعا لما كان يظن انه ثابت, انتهاءا بأكثر الابحاث غرابة ..
يتكلم عن نقاط اساسية وهي امكانية انقسام الخلايا العصيبة, وان هذا يحدث باستمرار وليس شيئا يستحث..
ثم عن المرونة العصيبة عند الاطفال, ثم عن كيفية تغيير المدخلات الحسية للمخ تغييرا جذريا ولا يكاد يصدق..
ثم يبدأ في شرح أثر التفكير في تغيير الشكل الوظائفي والتشريحي للمخ..
ودور التربية في التحكم في ظهور الجينات من عدمه..
ويختم بدور التأمل البوذي في تفعيل مراكز وظيفية في المخ بشكل غير مسبوق..
كتاب رائع, لغته الانجليزية ليست معقدة الا في بعض جزئيات شرح تفاصيل الأبحاث العلمية...

[Sarah]

I would give this 4 stars, but it's a bit dated now, and things change so fast in neuroscience that to get real knowledge you would have to find a more up to date book. Begley may have written one.

That said, it was easy to read and follow - a bit "pop" (as in pop psychology), for me and occasionally the writing style was a bit tedious.

Worth a read.