Includes bibliographical references (p. [323]-408) and index.

A woman perpetually falling : rescued by the man who discovered the plasticity of our senses -- Building herself a better brain : a woman labeled "retarded" discovers how to heal herself -- Redesigning the brain : a scientist changes brains to sharpen perception and memory, increase speed of thought, and heal learning problems -- Acquiring tastes and loves : what neuroplasticity teaches about sexual attraction and love -- Midnight resurrections : stroke victims learn to move and speak again -- Brain lock unlocked : using plasticity to stop worries, obsessions, compulsions, and bad habits -- Pain : the dark side of plasticity -- Imagination : how thinking makes it so -- Turning our ghosts into ancestors : psychoanalysis as a neuroplastic therapy -- Rejuvenation : the discovery of the neuronal stem cell and lessons for preserving our brains -- More than the sum of her parts : a woman shows us how radically plastic the brain can be -- The culturally modified brain -- Plasticity and the idea of progress.

A new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychoanalyst Doidge traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed--people whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, blind people who learn to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, stroke patients learning to speak, children with cerebral palsy learning to move with more grace, depression and anxiety disorders successfully treated, and lifelong character traits changed. Using these stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love, sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.--From publisher description.