A groundbreaking work of science that confirms, for the first time, the independent existence of the mind–and demonstrates the possibilities for human control over the workings of the brain. Conventional science has long held the position that ‘the mind’ is merely an illusion, a side effect of electrochemical activity in the physical brain. Now in paperback, Dr Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley’s groundbreaking work, The Mind and the Brain, argues exactly the opposite: that the mind has a life of its own.Dr Schwartz, a leading researcher in brain dysfunctions, and Wall Street Journal science columnist Sharon Begley demonstrate that the human mind is an independent entity that can shape and control the functioning of the physical brain. Their work has its basis in our emerging understanding of adult neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to be rewired not just in childhood, but throughout life, a trait only recently established by neuroscientists. ~ Product Description

Table of Contents

• • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction    1
  • 1    The Matter of Mind    21
  • 2    Brain Lock    54
  • 3    Birth of a Brain    96
  • 4    The Silver Spring Monkeys    132
  • 5    The Mapmakers    163
  • 6    Survival of the Busiest    201
  • 7    Network Remodeling    225
  • 8    The Quantum Brain    255
  • 9    Free Will, and Free Won’t    290
  • 10    Attention Must Be Paid    323
  • Epilogue    365
  • Notes    377
  • Index    409