The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge
“Early childhood is so important - it’s best to get it right early before the ‘bad habit’ gets a competitive advantage”
3 Main Messages:
Brain mapping has shown that the brain rewires itself to compensate for lost function
We are able to remap our brains in order to compensate for disabilities and additional needs
Childhood mapping is critical but it can be rewired with effort
When conducting listening experiments at school, I always started by asking the children to close their eyes. By blocking out visible distractions they were consistently able to focus better and could identify more unique sounds than with their eyes open. Brain mapping has shown that, on a much larger scale, the brains of those with sight loss actually change over time in order to compensate and enhance other senses. This is only one of the phenomena covered in Norman Doidge’s book which turned out to be an unusual summer-page-turner for me!
I am usually put off by books with over 80 pages of notes and references and would certainly not consider reading one as a sun-lounger-relaxer but this book fascinated me and I found that I couldn’t put it down. The stories told are miraculous and the implications for students, brain longevity and the physically impaired are incredible. Dr Doidge’s years of research and work provide evidence which backs growth mindset approaches and prove that the impossible can sometimes be made possible.
As a teacher I found the chapters exploring the work of Barbara Arrowsmith Young and Michael Merzenich of particular interest. Based on cognitive exercises which she personally used to ‘build a better brain’, Arrowsmith Young founded The Arrowsmith School which believes that “the deficit can be treated with exercises in rote learning” which are “life transforming.” In a similar vein, Merzenich’s Fast ForWord programme allegedly allows neurons to rewire themselves and claims to have helped more than 3 million students with their language based programme. Alongside the many success stories, these chapters give sound advice about focussing on one task rather than multitasking, avoiding using white noise for young children and the benefits of learning new languages in old age.
In additional intriguing chapters, Dr Doidge explores the work of Schwartz in enabling OCD sufferers to ‘turn the page’ and refocus their attention on positive behaviour patterns, as well as V.S Ramachandran’s work on ‘phantom limbs'. He explains the neural pathways which dictate sexual preferences, how valuable our imaginations are in brain development and the formation of muscles and habits, and how psychoanalysis allowed one of his clients to expel his childhood ghosts. Each chapter is heavily researched and backed up and mind blowing!
Personally, I found some of the graphic descriptions of animal testing in the book morally questionable and the chapter exploring Edward Tomb’s experiments on monkeys, the subsequent intervention of PETA and the following trial would provide great debate fodder for schools. However, the results of his work have clearly been life changing for stroke victims and, while the ethics can be debated, the impact has been transformative and so it is a thought-provoking read.
Perhaps the most fascinating and useful section of the book for any teacher or parent is the section around brain development in childhood. It shocks me that so many of us (myself included) know so little about the functions, development and potential of our brains. While we encourage our children and students to explore the external world, perhaps our internal world is of even more interest and is certainly worthy of further research and learning.
