The Brain that Changes Itself

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science is a book on neuroplasticity by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge.

Content
The book is a collection of stories of doctors and patients showing that the human brain is capable of undergoing change, including stories of recovering use of paralyzed body parts, deaf people learning to hear, and others getting relief from pain using exercises to retrain neural pathways. Doidge also covers scientists who first identified neuroplasticity, the subjects of persistent pain, sexual attraction and love, how culture impacts the changing brain, the developing pediatric brain and the preservation of the geriatric brain.

Reception
The New York Times gave a mostly positive review of the book.

"Dr. Doidge, a Canadian psychiatrist and award-winning science writer, recounts the accomplishments of the 'neuroplasticians,' as he calls the neuroscientists involved in these new studies, with breathless reverence. Their work is indeed mind-bending, miracle-making, reality-busting stuff, with implications, as Dr. Doidge notes, not only for individual patients with neurologic disease but for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history."

In contrast The International Journal of Psychoanalysis published a negative book review essay critical of Doidge's writings. The review claims that neuroscience is irrelevant to the study of psychoanalysis.

Kirkus Reviews stated the book is "somewhat scattershot, but Doidge's personal stories, enthusiasm for his subject and admiration for its researchers keep the reader engaged."

In a review of the book for the Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, Jane Hall wrote in 2011 "Contrary to the original belief that after childhood the brain begins a long process of decline, [Doidge] shows us that our brains have the remarkable power to grow, change, overcome disabilities, learn, recover, and alter the very culture that has the potential to deeply affect human nature."

"The book is rich in both journalism and science. Not only does the author have professional credentials deriving from his training as a psychiatrist and analyst, but he also has extensive experience in writing, including a three-year stint writing the column 'On Human Nature' for the Canadian newspaper The National Post. [...] More than anything else, it is Doidge's standing as a professioinal observer of human behavior that ultimately captivates the reader."