Brain Plasticity.

The other week I finished "The Brain that Changes Itself" By Norman Doidge.

I absolutely love this book, I found it fascinating. The book explores the wonder of "Brain Plasticity" - The Brain's ability to change and re-wire/restructure itself in order to compensate for damage, environment or change in culture for example. There are many interesting examples to draw upon that illustrate the complex nature of this subject area. I found Chapter Four "Aquiring Tastes and Loves" particularly interesting. Based on the well established belief that "neurons that fire together, wire together" this chapter gives an interesting perspective on sexual attraction, habits (both good and bad) and why the brain has the capacity to change itself, but for rather obvious reasons, rarely does.

Throughout the book, but particularly towards the end, there is a lot of Neurological information about the differences between left and right hemisphere. A young girl had been born with no left hemisphere and her brain managed to adapt, there were however noticable problems which illustrate the way in which the brain's tasks are usually divided.

The section regarding "Phantom limbs" and pain was fascinating, especially the ways in which some of these patients were eventually helped. The chapter that explored the imagination explains how thinking about certain forms of physical activity/movement can have the same effects as it uses the same areas of the brain which, quite often cannot tell the difference.

There is a great deal of information about mental Illness and potential ways that can treat various symptoms such as O.C.D. I can admit that it did (quite often throughout the book actually) seem to make these solutions a bit too straight forward and simplistic, but I thin that was a reflection of the tone of the book (positive) more than anything else. I think it does accept there are exceptions and limitations, but I was happy to bask in the positivity of it's message. All I could say is that it's a little bit too exclusive of the limitations some of these solutions have in some areas, but as a whole, the books gives out a brilliant message to keep the brain active by shaking up your routine and trying new things. Reading this in a week compunded with watching Yes Man at the cinema has seriously contributed to giving me a wake-up call with regards to trying and learning new things.