Neuroplasticity

I thought that this was a very informative website. It seems to show that the mind can actually change the structure of our brains.

Here's a quick intro...

Quote :

Neuroplasticity

One of the most intriguing questions in behavioral neuroscience concerns the manner in which the brain can modify its structure and ultimately its function throughout one's lifetime. Although the concept of changing brain structure has a long history, it has only been in recent years that the extensiveness of experience-dependent alterations in the brain has been realized. In addition, the definition of experience has expanded considerably to include drug and hormone experience, brain injury, and aging.

Neuronal plasticity during development is no surprise, although the role of neuronal activity and experience in directing neuronal organization and synaptic connectivity may seem surprising at first. Our brains are best categorized as changing, rather than static. This is certainly evident when one considers the malleability of the cerebral cortex based upon experience and damage-induced reorganization.

There's much more information here.
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/psychology/psy760/neuroplast.htm

And here's a related podcast on the subject of the relationship of mind to brain and the brain's ability to change and evolve over time.

Quote :

This episode is a discussion of The Future of the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow’s Neuroscience by British neuroscientist, Steven Rose. Unlike most episodes of the Brain Science Podcast, the emphasis of this episode is on asking what kind of ethical dilemmas might be posed by our increased knowledge of how the brain works.

Topics discussed:

* why the Mind is more than the Brain
* why the Mind is more than genetics and biochemistry
* how we still have a long way to go before we can fully understand how the brain-body generates the mind
* problems and dangers of reductionism
* implications for freedom and personal responsibility
* examples from the history of science that demonstrate why these concerns are valid
* the “Paradox of Memory”
* some email from listeners

One issue I only mention briefly on the podcast is Rose’s attack on evolutionary psychology. If you are interested in learning more about this you might want to read the transcript of a debate between Steven Rose and Stephen Pinker, which was held in 1998. It is on the Edge website, which is an interesting website even though it lacks an RSS feed.

http://brainsciencpodcast.wordpress.com/2007/04/06/brain-science-podcast-9-the-future-of-the-brain/


Here's the podcast...
http://media.libsyn.com/media/brainsciencepodcast/9-brainscience-rose_.mp3