Searching for Medicine’s Soul Norman Doidge on Neuroplasticity and Training the Brain [Part One]
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Aug 31, 2023 Dr. Norman Doidge, author of bestselling books about the brain's ability to change, discusses the mind-body problem and the impact of neuroplasticity on healing. They explore the disconnect between experts in physical and mental health, the reductionistic approach in medicine, the impact of toxins on newborns, the concept of the 'noisy brain' after a stroke, biases in medicine, and the role of the acoustic reflex in human hearing.
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Neuroplasticity Means Experience Changes The Brain
- Doidge defines neuroplasticity as the brain's capacity to change structure and function in response to mental experience.
- He rejects lab-only definitions and emphasizes evolution: plasticity adapts brains to a changing world.
Combine Reductionism With Holism In Medicine
- Medicine split between reductionist localization and holistic organismic views has limited treatment of complex chronic conditions.
- Doidge urges combining reductionist lab strengths with holistic approaches to treat systemic, multi-part illnesses.
Tongue Data Port Restores Vision And Balance
- Paul Bach-y-Rita used the tongue as a high-resolution data port to feed visual and balance information to blind or balance-impaired patients.
- Blind users learned to read via tongue stimulation and a blind man sank a basket using a tongue-based camera system.