Norman Doidge The Brain That Changes Itself Summary

When it comes to the topic of having a growth mindset, most of us will readily agree that students who are praised are motivated to learn. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how they are praised. Whereas some are convinced that praising students for their intelligence will motivate them to learn, others maintain that encouraging them for their efforts has a better impact on their motivation.

* Second, research has shown that damage to incoming sensory pathways or the destruction of brain tissue can lead to neural reorganization.

Carr goes further by exploring theories of the brain and mentioning several neuroscientists. Several monkey brains later, an important discovery was finally made. Brain plasticity is our brain's ability to adapt and change. Our brain can rewire and provide new pathways. Our brains simply put, are capable of extensive reconstruction.

The concept of neuroplasticity has long been questioned. The term of “neuroplasticity” did not even come about until the mid-late 20th century. When the term “plastic” was used to describe the brain by a select few neuroscientists, they were laughed at and the term was never thought of as a description for the human brain. The human brain was seen as a closed circuit and one that once you had it, you definitely had it. Scientists thought the brain would not develop anymore past a certain point in your life. Norman Doidge brings the concept of neuroplasticity into reality in his book “The Brain that Changes Itself,” a book about the triumphs in the frontier of brain science.

Brain injury is a general term referring to any injury to the brain. Brain injury is stimulated by a number of factors such as bike and a car accident, assault, as fall, or a blow to the head, but these example of brain injuries which occur in nature. They are types of brain injuries such as, the brain injury that occur after birth, the traumatic brain injury (TBI) which is caused by an object such as stabbing or gun shots entering the brain causing widespread damage (Brain Injury Support(BIS), 2015; Volpe,2012). Apart from these types of brain injuries, the brain can be damaged due to lack of enough oxygen to the brain as a result to heart attack, internal bleeding like a stroke (ABI, 2015; Volpe, 2012). ABI (acquired brain injury) rehabilitation is an agency that specialises in rehabilitation after a traumatic brain injury and a stroke. But this paper will focus on brain injury only because it is an area of interest. Max Cavit is the manager director of ABI who came to an agreement with ACC to develop rehabilitation service in New Zealand (NZ), Max 's ideas evolve around how people living with brain injury were mostly garaged without access to rehabilitation service in 1996 NZ (ABI, 2015). After fifteen years, ABI has stood alone with its own facilities in Auckland and Wellington. ABI has about 200 medical specialist across all regions, and these specialists have a background whether in nursing or therapy, but they all have experience across all ages

Occupational therapy addresses impairments in different areas of occupation and teaches patients to adapt and learn new ways to perform the meaningful occupations successfully. Over the years, traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become the leading cause of disability and affects all age groups across the life span (Archer, Svensson, & Alricsson, 2012). TBI, is often a serious injury that occurs as a result of an accident or other trauma. When an individual experiences a traumatic brain injury, their life is normal one moment and shortly changed the next. When a person’s brain is injured, it can affect all aspects of their life, including their personality. Brain injuries also do not heal like other injuries and therefore can take much longer.

The brain is a complex and curious organ; despite extensive research, scientists still know little about it. William Allman described the brain as “a monstrous, beautiful mess.” He went on to say that “its billions of nerve cells – called neurons – lie in a tangled web that display cognitive powers far exceeding any of the silicon machines [scientists] have built to mimic it” (faculty.washington.edu). Imagine this mess of neurons experiencing a simple disruption, one that creates a domino effect that effortlessly damages this intricately created organ. Some of the most disastrous disruptions to this complex organ, traumatic brain injuries, most commonly occur in the frontal lobe. Injuries to

The concept of neuroplasticity is new and upcoming in the field of medicine. Neuroplasticity is defined as “the process in which your brain's neural synapses and pathways are altered as an effect of environmental, behavioral and neural changes.” Simply put, neuroplasticity is how your brain grows and changes. This is crucial to individuals who have sustained severe brain or spinal injuries. In order for these new synapses to form the neurons must be constantly stimulated through physical and occupational therapies. However, not all therapies are covered under health insurances, and when they are covered patients and families are still forced to pay hefty co-pays if they wish to receive treatments. Physical, Occupational, and Psychological therapies

The Brain That Changes Itself is an informative and an educational book was written by Canadian Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, writer, and researcher Norman Doidge, who delivers a dramatic change message about the plasticity of the brain; how the brain changes itself. "The Brain That Changes Itself" is a chain of excellent case studies of individuals who have undergone a brain deficit of some kind and examines different types of brain deficits from simple sensory; auditory and visual to complex deficits; missing brain regions. The book recounts neuroscientific advances on how neuroplasticity does not limit the individual to predefined neural limitations and that our way of thinking, as well as the activities that we perform every day,

My interest in this particular physical disability sparked when I recently acquired my third concussion. After experiencing this type of injury three times, and attending numerous doctors, neurology, and therapy appointments, I still had many unanswered questions. This led me to want to research TBI’s more in depth, focusing specifically on the recovery and therapy required to regain basic functions and return to “the real world.” Along with my interest in the subject, I also chose this topic to inform others of how serious, yet common these injuries are and to gain knowledge about the recovery

The brain is split into different compartments, each of which has it’s own functions that it carries out (like: memory, judgment and movement). When brain cells in a particular compartment is damaged, it can’t carry out its functions as is normally would.

This article by Nicholas Carr is about the access we have to the Internet nowadays and how it affects our intelligence. It tells us how dependent we are of Internet and how we get affected by the technology around us. It also says how Google is trying to replace our brains, which are not fast enough, with a faster contrived brain. Carr claims that the accessibility to fast information is making us stupid and less focused. “He notes that the Internet is causing people to want fast information, rather than read through a long article.” The availability for fast information is affecting our minds and makes people stressed.

Throughout my medical school, Neurological sciences have intrigued me most. First time I saw a human brain in gross anatomy I felt so thrilled. Being able to look n learn about one of the most complex humans organ was just exhilarating. I used to spend hours in the college library reading about neuroscience and other beginner’s concepts. During my medical school rotations, I was exposed to a wide range of neurological conditions. Being involved in care of such patients brought me a great sense of satisfaction. One such case that I vividly remember is Mrs T suffering from acute stroke. When I first saw her, she was lying on the bed, one half of her body paralyzed. I read his casefile and learned more about the patient. She was a successful lawyer, and overnight her life had changed following the stroke. But under the care of my amazing attending, within few months following the treatments and extensive physical therapy she regained 60% of her functioning and was expected to improve even more over course of time. This whole experience of her reclaiming her day to day life was an incredibly satisfying

The PBS special "The Secret Life of the Brain" took us through all different aspects of the brain and its formation through life. These five movies taught us that the brain is plastic and is always changing, cutting unused neurons and filling with different ideas and thoughts that you learn from your environment. The five videos go through the five stages of life; baby, child, teenager, adult and finally the aging brain.

Here, there is a clear sense in which the process of rehabilitation involves assisting the individual to get ‘back to normal’. He or she may need to re-learn motor skills, such as how to walk (in the case of a broken limb); or seek to recover cognitive skills, such as memory (in the case of a head injury). In either scenario, rehabilitation implies returning to a former, favorable state.” (Robinson, 2009).