Bits and pieces Carolla,

My youngest son had a stroke before he was born-due to the plasticity of infant brains he's pretty good-School is easy for him-grade 9-I notice 2 things-more labile than other 2 and will speak before he thinks (ie swore at a teacher 2x and mom 1x) and increased tone in his feet that shows up in swimming.

I'm reading Gabor Mate-In the realm of hungry angels and it's talking about early experince shaping number of dopamine receptors in brain etc. i reccommend it.-It's mainly about addictions

Hi tabitha - amazing story about your youngest ... good to hear he's doing so well.  There must have been some anxious moments for you all in the earlier times.

I'm not too familiar with Gabor Mate - although I think he was/will be  here in Toronto doing a conference at the Hincks centre ... it looked pretty interesting when I saw the flyer - oh to have unlimited professional education time & budget!!

Some of the stuff I've been browsing and/or hearing reference to -  Norman Doige - "The Brain that Changes Itself";  and I've heard these guys speak on the webinar - Dr. Dan Siegel – “Mindsight - the new science of personal transformation; Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz – “The Mind & The Brain” ;   Rick Hansen - “Buddha Brain – The practical neuroscience of happiness, love & wisdom".   Oops - I've cut & pasted, so I'm getting weird fonts here - no emphasis intended!

Math problems, learning a new language, and learning music contributes to brain plasticity.   Our brain can grow as an adult just not as much as a child's can.

It's a muscle if you use it , it will remain sharp

I believe that the mind is plastic in some ways. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) works on this premise.

Gabor Mate may be a physician, but he is a unique one. He sees the whole picture. I have all three of his books. Scattered Minds is about ADHD and is worth reading as well. He sees attachment as a big part of how the brain develops. Attachment helps the brain develop well. That is one of his premises in "In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts". I love that he sees the humanity of the addicts, and also is honest about the fact that sometimes he becomes quite frustrated with them.

Gabor Mate talks about the neuorlogical changes that Cognitive Therapy can make.

Carolla-I just read "My stroke of Insight" written by a neuroanatomist who had a stroke.

I have done so much "brain study" since university!

Yes if funds and time were unlimited!

I know of another book that you might be interested in reading. It is at my office though, and I can't for the life of me remember the name. It is about the brain, is white..........

I will get back to you on that one.

I can't for the life of me remember the name.

it's not a book about memory is it?

Well, memory is part of it, and I do see the irony.

I did a search on different bookstores. The book might be The Developing Mind by Daniel J Siegel. The cover on the current book looks different than mine, but the content looks right. If this isn't the book, it does look like a good one.

Tabitha - I saw a documentary film of the author of "My Stroke of Insight" - extraordinary story!!  Wow - to be fully alert, with complete understanding of what was evolving ... and virtually unable to communicate that ... amazing woman.   Insight indeed.

Northwind ... I can definitely relate to your "that book at work" dilemma - lol!   Dan Siegel was one of the speakers I heard - one of the memorable bits (for me anyway) from that talk  was  along the lines of - Words are limited in how they capture reality; words should illuminate a path, not restrict us – they are maps of a territory, not the territory itself .   I thought a bit about our use of words here at WonderCafe, and how our interactions are often limited by text.  

Many believe that learning music skills at a young age helps the mind develop and could contribute to the development of future math skills. I may be a bit off topic but your discussion made me think of my grandson who was here yesterday ....there is so much going on in his brain yet he is still unable to speak. His mom is soon going to begin sigh language - just waiting for a bit more hand coordination.

I believe my dad had many small strokes before his death and the ability for his brain to regain the capacity it had lost was amazing. Alas, it seemed that he would just regain the capacity for some limited communication with us and then loose it once again. I always thought it must be so frustrating for aphasic individuals, but I often thought he could understand much more than it was thought. One night he kept saying my name over and over to staff which was very unusual. They were surprised to hear that I had told him that I was having surgery that day ... no one thought he could understand or have the short term memory to remember.

Aphasia is an interesting phenomenon, isn't it pommum.  Sometimes it just involves expression of language, but reception is okay.  Sometimes it's the other way around, sometimes it's both that are affected.  Like you, I agree it's important to continue to treat people as if they are understanding our messages.

Sorry to hear about your grandson's situation - how old is he?  I'm hoping he's seen a speech & language pathologist - in Ontario there's a terrific pre-school service available. 

Carolla - my grandson is just fine ... I didn't express myself very well!!!!  He is only four months old but really trying to talk. If you knew his parents you would understand, hehe!

Both his parents spoke at a very young age so I do believe he comes by it naturally....  probably will get in trouble at school for talking too much.

LOL pommum ... that's hilarious!  I shall not worry about a four month old being unable to speak in words!!!   What do you think about the whole sign language thing for infants?   Personally, I think infants communicate a whole lot, if we stop to learn their signals ... most parents learn to distinguish the cries that mean -  I'm hungry, I'm lonely, I'm mad, I'm wet, I need to burp ... etc. etc. 

I just finished listening to a two hour lecture, from the comfort of my own little den - internet is amazing isn't it?  It was from a website ... www.wisebrain.org   - there are many more there, on mindfulness, compassion, neurobiology, etc. etc. and how these bits all come together .... in case anybody has a keen desire to learn more!   Not an advert ... just saying!

I attended a lecture by Dr. Bulti-Taylor (My Stroke of Insight) last autumn; another patient here invited me; it was my first outing into the real world.  She is an amazing speaker and her work is groundbreaking.  I have learned a great deal about neurology and aphasia - i n fact, I feel like I am attending med school  sometimes- I spend a great deal of time in the reference centre here.

That's cool redhead!  Indeed I bet your brain is exploding with medical info these days ... good to keep the neurons firing! So nice to hear from you again.   Try that link I posted above - I think you'll find some of the lectures in the archives section to be pretty interesting.

Good to hear that Redhead

The brain is truly amazing

The more I learn the more I am fascinated.

Total agreement with you there Tabitha!  

I just read a book called "Addiction and Grace" by Dr. Gerald May.  He too sees humans as being in constant processes of attachment.  His main thing is the necessity of the grace of God in order to be truly free of attachment and not just switch from one attachment to another.

The interesting thing about the way they are finding the brain works is that although we can develop new patterns, which is very difficult, sometimes impossible, the brain seems to still remember the old ones too.  This explains why addicts who have been sober for years can start right back where they left off.  Over their years of sobriety they built new ways of doing things, but for some reason you start the old pattern back up and the brain is lik, "I remember this, this means we are like this . . . and do this . . ."

I really liked how he showed all humanity as having attachments, and how our actual brain is affected by it.  We in a sense become addicted to almost everything we do in life with any kind of regularity, even reading the paper.  I see this in my mother who read the paper every morning for years.  If her paper was late, she would be cranky all day - withdrawl symptoms.  Her brain did not receive it's usual signals that it expected that morning.

I also concur with Tabitha! The brain is truly amazing and I am finding it amazing watching my grand babies develop.

As a young parent you are so busy, so tired and seeing your child everyday I don't think you appreciate the changes like a grandparent who may see the child once a week.

My granddolly is eight months old and this week for the first time she started to tease me while I played with her. She would hand me a toy and and then at the last moment grab it back and laugh. I was amazed at her cognitive development from the week before. Likewise my little grandson last night who is a bit younger was telling me during dinner that he wanted to eat. His dad of course thought I was being a crazy Nana but when he took him and carefully watched his actions he agreed. I then had the pleasure of feeding him applesauce for the first time ... being a grandparent is amazing as well as their developing brains.

My DIL is soon starting to teach my grandson baby sigh language which I have never observed so should be fun to watch.

My brain is not so much plastic, as plasticine-ic

There is also hope for us aging brains...

PBS The Secret Life of the Brain - Episode 5 The Aging Brain

The latest discoveries in neuroscience present a new view of how the brain ages. Overturning decades of dogma, scientists recently discovered that even into our seventies, our brains continue producing new neurons. Scientists no longer hold the longstanding belief that we lose vast numbers of brain cells as we grow older. The normal aging process leaves most mental functions intact, and may even provide the brain with unique advantages that form the basis for wisdom. The aging brain is also far more resilient than was previously believed.
 

I personally hold that we can diminish functioning by infantilizing the elderly.  Too often, with good intentions, the actions of those who consider themselves more able deprive the aging to live their potential.

Stanley Kunitz was made Poet Laureate at the age of 95.  One of his last poems published in 2000 was Touch Me

Summer is late, my heart.
Words plucked out of the air
some forty years ago
when I was wild with love
and torn almost in two
scatter like leaves this night
of whistling wind and rain.
It is my heart that's late,
it is my song that's flown.
Outdoors all afternoon
under a gunmetal sky
staking my garden down,
I kneeled to the crickets trilling
underfoot as if about
to burst from their crusty shells;
and like a child again
marveled to hear so clear
and brave a music pour
from such a small machine.
What makes the engine go?
Desire, desire, desire.
The longing for the dance
stirs in the buried life.
One season only,
and it's done.
So let the battered old willow
thrash against the windowpanes
and the house timbers creak.
Darling, do you remember
the man you married? Touch me,
remind me who I am.

Out of the mouths of the aged are words of wisdom.

Ah! So that's why my 85 years old Mum says to me, "Now listen, Miss Bossy Boots, I'm the mother, and you're the daughter - and don't you forget it!"  

Smiling at Pilgrim.  I like your mom

and I suspect the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree

I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming... suddenly you find - at the age of 50, say - that a whole new life has opened before you.
     Agatha Christie who wrote until her death at age 85