We often see neuroplasticity as one of the brain’s greatest assets. The neuroplastic potential to restore function after trauma, resist the deterioration that comes with aging, and bolster core capabilities borders on miraculous.
But there’s another side to neuroplasticity . . .
In fact, many of the things that bother us about ourselves – our bad habits, our unhappy thoughts – are actually the result of plasticity, too.
In this week’s webinar in the Brain-Smart series, Norman Doidge, MD, explains why neuroplasticity can sometimes work against us.
You might find it surprising. It’s only 2 minutes, so please check it out.
Despite its “dark side,” neuroplasticity has some remarkable benefits. Norman will be sharing those benefits with us, including a fascinating look at a woman who was born with only half a brain.
So I hope you’ll join us this Wednesday. Neuroplasticity can lead to powerful change in people’s lives, and we’ll give you some nuanced but clear ways to use it.
If this interests you, check out our Practical Brain Science course – click here to sign up.
How could a deeper understanding of neuroplasticity help you or your clients achieve your goals? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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wonderful stuff.
Yes! And neural plasticity doesn’t just occur in the head brain, but also in the complex, adaptive and functional neural networks, or ‘brains’, in the heart and gut. We need to ensure we feed our brains with the thoughts, feelings and experiences we want, since brains are ‘verbs’ ie. processes that are changed by the neural patterns running on them.
Human being have to be out for reach the x’self perfection, and God determine what best for the human being of. that’s its important information or knowledge
Thanks Ruth,
My daughter suffers from chronic pain, much of it apparently neurological, as there are no apparent ‘mechanical’ triggers or factors involved. We have come to understand that chronic pain is very much part of the dark side of neuroplasticity and are desperate to find solutions for her. There has been some indication that neurofeedback treatments may help, but I keep looking for her.
I am wondering if you have kept a food and pain diary and see if there is a correlation? I get pain if I eat tomato products, like paste, sauces. My pain often is down by legs, and I can even feel my gums being irritated. This has been occurring for years. It is certainly worth trying. I hope you find her source. 🙂
I would like to invite a discussion on the dark side of brain plasticity in exposure therapies. iMany of those who experienced such therapies tell stories of harmful effects. Those who agreed to go through it, say they did so because they felt they did not have any other options available. Still, many sufferers flatly reject exposure therapy even in the face of no better alternatives. My recent British agoraphobic client was told by her therapist to leave her safeties – water bottle and cell phone home – whenever she went outside. Cold water kept her hydrated and in her body, phone was a way of contacting someone should an attack happen. Would such unwisely devised exposure therapy and the prevailing attitudes supporting its use, promote brain plasticity that can actively destroy, rather than promote, our self-preserving nature as well as create more self-judgments? My hope is that our deeper understanding of neuroplasticity can illuminate the dire effects these approaches can have on the brain so that we change how these interventions are designed.
This fascinating evidence certainly enhances my motivation for mindfulness meditation practice.
Dear Dr. Ruth , Can you visit India Amity University can invite you for a lecture to our students n faculty.our university is located 20 km away from New Delhi. We are a large university approved by many organization as A class teaching Univ. Agiving graduate, pg programs in a number of domains, disciplines,
Pl reply to email
Prof. Ramesh C. Deka
Yes, it is interesting function of the brain. However ageing does occur, like a tree falls aged n one stops giving fruits and so is the case with human body controlled by brain n circulating blood , under influences from enviromental factors. Nature plays a great rolr in modifying the tissues besides its DNA inheritence and its power to memory n function. I am pleased to read alwyas the reports posted by ruth m her colleagues.
Professor Ramesh C. Deka , MD
Distinguished Chair Professor, Director general Amity Institute of Neuroscience n Neuropsychology,
Amity Univ. Noida, India
My first instinct when i saw the title was “dark side, light side , who is to say?”
I do believe i understand what you mean though. I grew up in a not so nurturing environment sometimes and became very anxious and depressed in a time when those things were considered character defects by many (they still are by some). There becomes a comfortable familiarity in doing certain behaviors and in some thought patterns, To change this i must get comfortable with the discomfort of feeling good. My mother, who would have wanted the opposite for me , trained me to be hysterical and unhappy with low self esteem. She did that because she had such a miserable upbringing i think, rather than for “bad” motives.
I think we need to teach adults to be good parents and stop assuming that that all is inside us ( it may be but it can be buried under a lot of other stuff that is much louder) the most important task is parenting and we need to give young people the tools. No parent is perfect but many gross mistakes could be avoided. Just my opinion.
I did not start this as a rant , it just went that way as i tried to show why it can be hard to change for many. Prayer, meditation and a bit of medical attention helps. I hope you can help too. We will see.
Hi Nora,
I totally agree with you, good parenting skills will prevent a lot of unwanted negative states.
Lisa
Yes, Nora and Lisa, children need adults’ help in their development so that they’ll learn to stay on the ‘light side’. Have a look at Papilio – it’s a developmentally focused intervention programme for preventing early- onset behavioural disorders and enhancing socio-emotional competence in preschoolers. Papilio was developed in Germany and now we bring it to Finland!
The methods are based on scientific evidence and the effectiveness of the programme has been proven by a controlled longitudial study. Also parents are involved. And kindergarten teacher are happy to get good tools for their work.
Raising children is not a one man’s show. Living on this planet neighter. We’re all important and can make a difference. Ruth, you sure are doing your share, thank you so much for your valuable work! It is highly appreciated.
i, too, have enjoyed Caroline Leaf’s books and Siegel’s Mindsight, and books by Bruce Lipton or the Tapping Solution and and all the other books out there on changing the mind. My goal for these webinars, if I am to sign up for this conference is that I will gain tools beyond what I already do. The only guide I found in this last video is to change the thalamus, you mentioned EMDR. I already do EMDR but want really hands on tools. That is something your viewers will have to pay monies and time to get ready to utilize the strategy. I want something I can use tomorrow with clients. I have attended workshops after workshops for over 30 years and rarely got specific tools. I can tell you on one hand who those specialists were who gave me hands on tools immediately and I utilize those tools daily. I want more with any conference I sign up for. I guess I expect, in this modern day internet specialization that this is something we older therapist need for our own desire to help out clients. Please direct me to a more hands on tool now, before I agree to sign up for this training which will take a lot of time and I need more direction today beyond EMDR which will take your readers and watchers months to perfect and utilize. It is not something you do overnight. I want something for this next week. Now and present day tools. I missed the Siegel webinar and I am sure that might have had some valuable advice. This was only brought to my attention after he had already spoken. I read his book Mindsight. This is the kind of information I seek. Thanks for all the guidance thus far. I am only a click away from signing up but I really would rather have this on DVDs rather than internet downloading which is my other concern given all the problems with computers over a life time of malfunction in them when they get older. Then the information is gone for good. These are the two things I think twice about spending my hard earned monies and time. I also am a terrible test taker and EMDR will have to be implanted when I decide to take a test after a video at my my more advanced age on a computer that has far surpassed my age of existence.
Dr Caroline Leaf has written some amazing books on neuroplasticity. She has helped me face it to erase it with the help of God…to understand that my past does not equal my future. I CAN and AM making decisions that give me a good future and hope. Forgiveness didn’t make it right, but it made me FREE!!! God is good!! Thank you for all I have learned…you continue to “shine a light” on it, I pause, reflect, and continue to make changes to be Better! I will NOT be bitter! My scars WILL become Stars with God’s help! Cheri
Thank you! so much for be conected and thank you! for all the messeges I receive! God bless you! and take care!.
I would like to learn more on the subject.
Most help articles on the web are inaccurate or incneerhot. Not this!
If a person attempts to stop a bad habit and it is successful, would you call that ” using the neuroplastic capabilities of the brain”?
While I certainly understand how and why we are conditioned to move towards the “dark side” at times and under certain circumstances, this clip is confuses me. Bonnie Badenoch and Daniel Siegel tell us the brain is always trying to move towards integration, i.e. wholeness and well-being. But it sounds like Dr. Doidge is telling us the opposite, or that, at least, the brain isn’t *always* moving towards integration? Can anyone explain?
I don’t have the recording or transcript, but didn’t Dr. Siegel mention that everything in the DSM-4 could be categorized around integration? Or was that someone or something else?
Grear series!
Thank you!
I am convinced the brain changes when a person experiences a lack of belonging, feeling they are a burden, when they feel unappreciated for who they are, what they can contribute, are ostracized and feel alienated. Combine these experiences and real feelings, often triggered by life’s most stressful events-a relationship breakup, job loss, financial problems, with a disjointed healthcare system where providers and clinics are pushed to productivity rewards that do not lend to really getting to know your patient, missing burgeoning psychosis, severe depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and we have a brain that can consider cutting to lessen the pain threshold enough to lead to an act that goes against the entire nature of being a human being, suicide. Constant bombardment to the brain with perceived negative events changes the brain enough to lead to life-threatening behavior. We know this…we’ve known this, as a society, and yet we are not willing to do what it takes to screen and monitor for it, and arrange the time and energy it takes to provide enough positive interaction to re-mold the brain to life-saving behaviors. I’m convinced “plasticity” is both the “problem” and the “answer” to suicide. Note the increase of Veteran suicides to 22 a day reported yesterday in the paper.