Staff Picks #7: The Brain That Changes Itself

A science book that has implications for all of us . . . The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, M.D. Educators, parents of young children, anyone with a curiosity about the possibilities that any degree of neuroplasticity may offer for improvement from brain injuries and strokes or will find information in various case stories that is pertinent to everyday lives. I was particularly fascinated by the sections dealing with multiple language learning and musical ability – does the brain pare certain areas of itself if not used? These are interesting ideas for the non-scientists among us. The book reminds me some of Oliver Sacks’ many works (which are also in the library’s collection) but this is more an overview of what various scientists have been researching in relation to brain plasticity, rather than an individual neurologist’s cases. Doidge, a psychiatrist, a psychoanalyst and a poet, is a master of explaining science for the “rest of us”.

Check out Doidge’s official website (http://www.normandoidge.com) for more details about the book. This book is available for checkout at Lewis Library, and is located on the bottom floor with call number QP363.3 .D65 2007.


*This edition of staff picks was authored by librarian Charlene Baxter.