If you’re looking for the next big thing in neuroscience, the best person to speak to is Norman Doidge, a physician, psychiatrist, and writer. Doidge pioneered a new field of science called neuroplasticity, wherein he says the human brain is capable of repairing itself from damage or injury much better than previously thought.
Doidge has written two New York Times best-sellers on his theory, “The Brain That Changes Itself” (2007) and “The Brain’s Way Of Healing” (2015) where he argues that the human brain can rewire itself — change the neuropathways by which it processes information — and thereby heal itself from learning disorders or even some of the physical consequences that result from a stroke. The way this rewiring works is through a series of mental exercises that target the impaired part of the brain. Through these incremental exercises that grow increasingly more difficult, the brain can change and heal.
Doidge is faculty member at the University of Toronto’s department of psychiatry.