Clarence T. Rivers - Neuroplasticity: Brain Training Unleashed

Neuroplasticity

Master the Art of Brain Plasticity!

Clarence T. Rivers

2014 Copyright.

Text copyright reserved. Clarence T. Rivers.

The contents of this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author.

Disclaimer: All attempts have been made by the author to provide factual and accurate content. No responsibility will be taken by the author or publisher for any damages caused by misuse of the content described in this book. The content of this book has been derived from various sources. Please consult a licensed professional before attempting any techniques outlined in this book.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Amazing Capacity of the Brain

Chapter 2 No Longer a Concept, but a Fact of Life

Chapter 3 Early Brain Growth

Chapter 4 - Neuroplasticity and Intelligence

Chapter 5 - Neuroplasticity and Brain Repair

Chapter 6 The Future of the Brain

Conclusion

Bonus!

INTRODUCTION

I want to thank you and congratulate you for downloading the book, Neuroplasticity: Master the Art of Brain Plasticity!

This book will open your eyes to the remarkable truth about the awesome power of our brain as it continues to regenerate and learn, re-learn, and unlearn things around us from birth to death. It debunks the idea that the adult brain is a rigidly structured body organ that develops into full maturity only during the early stages of our lives.

This book reveals the fact that the brain can be trained to develop new pathways that will augment and strengthen knowledge action at any stage of our life span. It will also help you appreciate better the brains ability to recover from injury or disease and reorganize itself to attain optimal performance despite damage or disease which tends to disrupt its functionalities.

Most important of all, the book reveals new avenues you can explore in possibly re-inventing ourselves as well as discover new approaches to treating addiction, autism, and helping stroke patients to recover.

Thanks again, I hope you enjoy it!

Follow me @Clarence_T_R for free promo updates!

CHAPTER

The Amazing Capacity of the Human Brain

Conventional wisdom taught us that we were born already with neurons we will possibly need for the rest of our lives. ( Neurons are the brain cells that processes and relays information to each other via electrical impulses or chemical signals which essentially triggers corresponding responses by our body .)

We were also made to believe that the brain circuitry connecting these neurons together which allows our body to behave or respond to all internal and external stimuli have already been set rigidly in place during the early stages of our lives - such that it would therefore be difficult for us to learn new things and acquire new skills during the twilight of our lives. Conventional knowledge mistakenly made us believe that the brain becomes rigid and static during adult stage with no new brain cells (neurons) being generated and with the old cells dying as we age.

This knowledge, however, is now considered as old-school as mounting evidence have cropped up proving that neurogenesis ( the brain process that generates neurons from progenitor cells and neural stems ) in human beings actually occurs not only during childhood but throughout ones lifetime ( i.e. from inception till death ). This can only mean one thing - no is going to be too old to learn new tricks or develop new habits because newly generated neurons will always be there to make it happen.

What is becoming more interesting and beneficial though, particularly to parents and educators are the numerous related scientific studies showing that existing neurons as well as those that have just been newly generated can undergo changes in structure as well as functionality in response to how individuals consciously interact with his surroundings. Again, this can only mean one thing we can re-invent our brains through the choices we make on how we want to respond to the things we interact with.

Another significant breakthrough which recent neural studies have revealed is the fact that the brain not only has the capacity to regenerate but can also reorganize and repair itself to cope with brain injury or disease. The human brain tries to keep our body organs functioning normally and at optimal levels such that when certain brain cells are impaired due to brain injury or disease, it sources out ways to maintain normalcy by rerouting the tasks used to be performed by the damaged brain cells to other undamaged cells of the brain.

The brains amazing ability to perpetually regenerate, its capacity to learn, unlearn, and re-learn things according to every individuals choice response, its capability to reorganize and restructure its neural networks in response to learning and experience, all fall under a not-so-new category of brain science called neuroplasticity. Because 0f the wide ranging implications of this fast emerging branch of science to our quality of life, neuroplasticity has become the focus of the most fascinating research studies today.

What is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is the term used to describe the intrinsic property of the brain to re-organize its neurons and modify the connections of its neural networks in response to various factors like brain development, new data that comes its way, stimulation of the sensory organs, damage or disease to some of the neurons. It is also known by such names as brain plasticity and neural plasticity.

The term neuroplasticity was first coined in 1948 by Dr. Jerry Konorski, a neurophysiologist of Polish Descent. ( Perhaps, the choice of the word plasticity is in reference to the unique property of malleable plastic it can be moulded into any shape or size you want when heated. ) Back then, the idea of brain plasticity was still nothing more than a concept which majority in the medical profession treated with their tongues in their cheeks. It was but a mere theory bereft of extensive studies and related research work to back it up.

The plasticity of the brain is not a new concept though. As early as 1793, Michele Vicenzo Malacarne, an Italian anatomist, through an experiment he conducted using laboratory animals, discovered that the brain is not really a rigid, unchanging structure as most people believed. He dissected the brains of a pair of these animals which he had extensively trained previously and compared them to the brains of a pair of untrained animals. He found out that the cerebellums of the two trained animals are significantly larger than those of the untrained pair showing that the brain grows with training. Unfortunately, nobody saw the significance of his discovery then and his findings was soon relegated to the dustbin of history.