logo

46 pages 1 hour read

Norman Doidge

The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2007

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Essay Topics

1.

Define neuroplasticity. How did its discovery change the medical world?

2.

To what extent should the brain be considered malleable? Does the brain remain equally plastic over time?

3.

Why does neuroplasticity also create rigidity in human behavior? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

4.

Why did the medical world believe in localizationism for so long, and how did this affect people’s understanding of the brain?

5.

How does competition affect neuroplasticity, and what causes this competition?

6.

What is globalization, and how does it tie into neuroplasticity?

7.

According to neuroscientist Carla Shatz, “neurons that fire together wire together” (63). What does this mean?

8.

What is psychoanalysis? What makes it grounded in neuroplasticity?

9.

What causes “imagined” conditions like phantom pain, and how can they be treated with neuroplasticity?

10.

How does one’s environment influence the brain? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text