The real story of how our brains and nervous systems change
throughout our lifetimes-with or without "brain training." Fifty
years ago, neuroscientists thought that a mature brain was fixed
like a fly in amber, unable to change. Today, we know that our
brains and nervous systems change throughout our lifetimes. This
concept of neuroplasticity has captured the imagination of a public
eager for self-improvement-and has inspired countless Internet
entrepreneurs who peddle dubious "brain training" games and apps.
In this book, Moheb Costandi offers a concise and engaging overview
of neuroplasticity for the general reader, describing how our
brains change continuously in response to our actions and
experiences. Costandi discusses key experimental findings, and
describes how our thinking about the brain has evolved over time.
He explains how the brain changes during development, and the
"synaptic pruning" that takes place before brain maturity. He shows
that adult brains can grow new cells (citing, among many other
studies, research showing that sexually mature male canaries learn
a new song every year). He describes the kind of brain training
that can bring about improvement in brain function. It's not
gadgets and games that promise to "rewire your brain" but such
sustained cognitive tasks as learning a musical instrument or a new
language. (Costandi also notes that London cabbies increase their
gray matter after rigorous training in their city's complicated
streets.) He tells how brains compensate after stroke or injury;
describes addiction and pain as maladaptive forms of
neuroplasticity; and considers brain changes that accompany
childhood, adolescence, parenthood, and aging. Each of our brains
is custom-built. Neuroplasticity is at the heart of what makes us
human.
General
Imprint: |
MIT Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Neuroplasticity |
Release date: |
August 2016 |
First published: |
2016 |
Authors: |
Moheb Costandi
|
Dimensions: |
177 x 128 x 15mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
181 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-262-52933-4 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-262-52933-5 |
Barcode: |
9780262529334 |
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