Recommended by staff- Neuroplasticity

How wonderful and amazing we humans are!  We are just beginning to understand this in part thanks to talented authors in the scientific field of neuroplasticity that have written, not just for their peers, but for the general public. The science of neuroplasticity popularized by Norman Doidge is centered on our understanding of the brain, formerly thought to be a fixed and unregenerative organ, that if injured or diseased, was subject to only very limited recovery, is in fact capable of much more significant self-repair and healing.  If you are curious to learn more:  the first book to start with is by Canadian-born, medical doctor,  psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and author Norman Doidge entitled The Brain That Changes Itself: stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science c2007 

This book is a compilation of case histories that read like a story with scientific explanations. Doidge has been praised for his writing style.  This book has been translated into 18 languages and was the number one bestseller in both Canada and Australia in 2008.  Doidge has written for and appeared in documentaries demonstrating examples of neuroplasticity.  Some of this work was used as part of the narrative basis for the PBS special The Brain Fitness Program c2008  also in our DVD collection.

The logical second is the recently published

 The Brain's Way of Healing:remarkable discoveries and recoveries from the frontiers of neuroplasticity c2015  by Doidge.  This book focuses also on treating brain injury and illness through neuroplastic healing and discusses cases where patients recovered from conditions including long-term chronic pain, strokes, autism and other near-miracle recoveries.

To quote Doidge, "But truth be told, the real scientist begins not with a particular task but a sense of wonder at how the world works."