Norman Doidge Quotes

Everything having to do with human training and education has to be re-examined in light of neuroplasticity.

Thought changes structure... I saw people rewire their brains with their thoughts, to cure previously incurable obsessions and trauma.

Mind training matters. It is not just a luxury, or a supplementary vitamin for the soul. It determines the quality of every instant of our lives.

Nothing speeds brain atrophy more than being immobilized in the same environment.

Ironically, some of our most stubborn habits and disorders are products of our plasticity.

Neuroplasticity contributes to both the constrained and unconstrained aspects of our nature. It renders our brains not only more resourceful, but also more vulnerable to outside influences.

Because it is a 'use it or lose it' brain, when we develop a map area [in the brain], we long to keep it activated. Just as our muscles become impatient for exercise if we've been sitting all day.

Not all activities are equal... Those that involve genuine concentration - studying a musical instrument, playing board games, reading, and dancing - are associated with a lower risk for dementia.

...an effective psychotherapist or psychoanalyst is a "microsurgeon of the mind" who helps patients make needed alterations in neuronal networks.

We all have what might be called a culturally modified brain, and as cultures evolve, they continually lead to new changes in the brain.

Psychoanalysis is often about turning our ghosts into ancestors.

Analysis helps patients put their unconscious procedural memories and actions into words and into context, so they can better understand them.

We often praise 'the ability to multi-task.' While you can learn when you divide your attention, divided attention doesn't lead to aiding change in your brain maps [lasting changes].

Nothing speeds brain atrophy more than being immobilized in the same environment: the monotony undermines our dopamine and attentional systems crucial to our brain plasticity.