Amazon.com: The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force: 9780060988470: Jeffrey M. Schwartz MD, Sharon Begley: Books

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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.

Through decades of work treating patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), Schwartz made an extraordinary finding: while following the therapy he developed, his patients were effecting significant and lasting changes in their own neural pathways. It was a scientific first: by actively focusing their attention away from negative behaviors and toward more positive ones, Schwartz's patients were using their minds to reshape their brains–and discovering a thrilling new dimension to the concept of neuroplasticity.

The Mind and the Brain follows Schwartz as he investigates this newly discovered power, which he calls self–directed neuroplasticity or, more simply, mental force. It describes his work with noted physicist Henry Stapp and connects the concept of 'mental force' with the ancient practice of mindfulness in Buddhist tradition. And it points to potential new applications that could transform the treatment of almost every variety of neurological dysfunction, from dyslexia to stroke–and could lead to new strategies to help us harness our mental powers. Yet as wondrous as these implications are, perhaps even more important is the philosophical dimension of Schwartz's work. For the existence of mental force offers convincing scientific evidence of human free will, and thus of man's inherent capacity for moral choice.

Print length

432 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 14, 2003
Dimensions

0.97 x 5.31 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0060988479
ISBN-13

978-0060988470
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Customers find the book wonderful, fascinating, and well-researched. They appreciate the great explanation of the brain and mind connection and insights into neuroplasticity. Readers describe the book as readable, well-written, and easy to understand.

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48 customers mention "Readability"45 positive3 negative

Customers find the book worth reading, fascinating, and well-researched. They say it's an incredible book about the science of the mind. Readers also mention the chapters are riveting and informative. Additionally, they say the authors weave a thought-provoking discussion on how our views on the human brain differ.

"...All are very interesting and successfully carry on into the next section, creating a continuous, enlightening learning experience...." Read more

"...This was a masterful and well researched book that documents many years of Jeffrey Schwartz's professional career, from his early influence by..." Read more

"...Jeffrey Schwartz does an excellent job at presenting the facts with documented studies showing that our brains are changing, and we are not just..." Read more

"...The Mind and The Brain covered many interesting and important subjects for those who consider themselves thinkers of humanity.I had Ph...." Read more

27 customers mention "Neuroscience"23 positive4 negative

Customers find the book very in-depth on neuroscience. They say it provides a great explanation of the brain and mind connection, and it's easy to understand even though it's a complex subject. Readers also mention the book is a good introduction to understanding consciousness for people who are not aware of Advaita. They appreciate the sections on malleability of the brain and the information they find in it.

"...Overall, I enjoyed this book. I learned a great deal about neuroplasticity and its implications in treating certain disorders such as OCD and..." Read more

"...Over time these procedures altered brain chemistry, brain function, and produced long term favorable and measurable changes in the physical..." Read more

"I love Jeffrey Schwartz! He is a man with a lot of insight and wisdom. I read this book about 10 years ago, and I read it again just recently...." Read more

"...This book offers the most succinct examination I've found on the difference between the brain and mind - terms often erroneously used..." Read more

18 customers mention "Readable"13 positive5 negative

Customers find the book readable, well-written, and easy to understand. They also appreciate the excellent presentation.

"...It is presented in a way that is very easy to follow, even without a strong biology background...." Read more

"...The science in this book, and it's excellent presentation, has given me new hope...." Read more

"...This is not a quick or easy read, but it is well worth the effort needed to extract the amazing revelations of this new field." Read more

"...Very readable, full of information. He provides a more humane therapy for OCD than exposure therapy...." Read more

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Courtney J. McCormick

"An Enticing Amalgamation of Neuroscience, Psychology, Philosophy, and Physics"

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2011

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The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force was a very tantalizing read. This review is to highlight points of the book so that you will pick it up and take a look yourself. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I learned a great deal about neuroplasticity and its implications in treating certain disorders such as OCD and depression. The book is split into 12 sections: an introduction, 10 chapters, and an epilogue. All are very interesting and successfully carry on into the next section, creating a continuous, enlightening learning experience. Within the chapters, Schwartz also adds intriguing anecdotes about other researchers and scientists that helped him to produce his 4 Step regimen, a program that greatly assisted his OCD patients in their quest for control of their chronic urges.

The Introduction of the book starts with a brief explanation as to why Schwartz decided that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) would be his model for neuroplasticity and the reason as to why he thought prior methods for treating OCD. He describes how the current treatments for OCD involved Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) that could include very unusual methods and were mildly successful in the patients that tried them. In addition to the initial story, Schwartz gives stories about other treatments for OCD and how dangerous they could be for the patients. He goes on to discuss Bare Attention, mindful awareness, and mindfulness which together are ways of perceiving what is going on around and to you without being directly influenced by it. He leads into the book by introducing his 4 Steps: Relabeling, Reattributing, Refocusing, and Revaluing that each help the patient overcome their OCD. They are discussed further in the coming chapters.

The first part of the book, Ch.1 -The Matter of Mind, compares and contrasts the differing of opinions about how the mind and brain are related. It begins the debate on the reality of the ability of the mind to have an effect on the brain. An intriguing alien short story by author Terry Bisson ponders "the utter absurdity of the situation" when an alien scout reports on a trip from our planet. Next, the human conscious and its uniqueness are dissected. To conclude the chapter, the author concludes that there must be a "mental force" that connects the mind and the brain.

Ch.2 - Brain Lock goes back to OCD and discusses how it locks the brain into consumingly compulsive thoughts which take over the patient's attention, hence the title of this chapter and another of his books. The chapter also discusses how OCD takes over the mind ("OCD circuit") and how the therapy that the author proposes will change the mind of the patient. The creation of the counteracting "Therapy circuit" and the 4 Steps are also elaborated on in this chapter.

The downfall of the notion that the adult brain cannot change is the purpose of Ch.3 - Birth of a Brain. It had been documented previously that that there are many changes in the brain from the fetal to adolescent ages, but not the adult human brain. The vast complexity of the brain, with a large number of neurons and synapses, is also discussed. The way that the perfect steps to create this large complex of neurons and synapses that created an intricate network that controls the body occur took a great amount of time and will, whether divine or one of chance.

The infamous tale of Edward Taub and the 17 monkeys with which he was charged for animal cruelty discussed in Ch.4 - The Silver Spring Monkeys is possibly the most interesting story of the book. It is possibly because this was my first time hearing about the story of Taub and his research on "deafferentation in monkeys" and his run-in with PETA that I was enamored by this chapter. Learning that he was exonerated of his crimes and that his findings led to some very compelling research dealing with plasticity helped in enjoying this chapter. Taub and his research are mentioned throughout the rest of the book as well.

Ch.5 - The Mapmakers reaches into the brain to focus on the sensory and motor cortices to discuss how they relate to neuroplasticity. The chapter discusses that the more a part of the body is used, then the more that is represented in the two cortices or "maps" as they are described. It elaborates on how the sensory and motor "mapping" takes hours of time and how much the researchers put towards determining that the brain maps changed when the subjects were put through experimental trials.

The next chapter Ch.6 - Survival of the Busiest compels the reader to take note that only neurons and synapses will survive the changes of the brain. This "cortical remapping" of the brain can have positive or negative results, as indicated in the book. This chapter also gives a formal definition of what neuroplasticity is and is not. Attention is brought forth as the key to plasticity at the end of the chapter.

Ch.7 - Network Remodeling discusses how the brain attempts to adjust to functional setbacks by changing itself. This remodeling can be self-initiated, shown by research revealed in the chapter. The chapter focuses on OCD and specific language impairments like dyslexia and how the attempts to fix them and their roots results in a program called Fast ForWord being put on the market. This chapter also discusses a program similar to the author's that involves using comparable steps to assist subjects with Tourette's syndrome.

The most powerful lessons of the book come from Ch.8 - The Quantum Brain. The chapter gives a tutorial in the fundamental differences between classical physics and the much more recent quantum physics. The chapter then goes into how lessons learned in this book are much more readily reinforced by the theories of quantum physics than classical physics. The ability for researchers to completely confirm the concreteness of quantum physics, even though they cannot fully discover the reasoning behind it, leads to a compelling argument as to why there is a "mental force" that connects the mind to the brain. Be prepared to expand your mind with this chapter.

Ch.9 - Free Will, and Free Won't describes how humans have some sort of control over the daily choices that we make. The "mental force" that is described in the chapter is "the physical expression of will." This same "mental force" allows our minds to control our brains. If we did not have control, then we would be the same as automatons and would not be able to be punished for our crimes since they would not be our fault.

The last chapter is Ch.10 - Attention Must Be Paid. As the title suggests, attention is the focal point of this section. The culmination of the research put forth and discussed in this book. It states that a person cannot change their brain if they are not paying attention. Attention serves as the vehicle for true neuroplasticity in humans. It creates our conscious and is also our focusing point in our perceived "reality."

The Epilogue compiles the information from all of the previous chapters and brings the book to a close. Attention, as well as its place as the power behind human will, is given a second look. It also discusses how the author plans to further research into the mind, its awareness and true relation to the brain, and how all of that could be used to help treat certain disorders.

Although I tried to convey all of the great aspects of this book, I, in no way, did this book the complete justice that it deserves. I would greatly recommend this book for a novice with a basic knowledge of the field of neuroscience or anyone else that is interested in learning more about true plasticity of the brain. I will definitely suggest buying the book to anyone that seems to be interested in the neuroscience community.

Interesting Quotes from the Book
"...through mindful awareness, you can stand outside your own mind as if you are watching what is happening to another rather than experiencing it yourself."
"The will, I was starting to believe, generates a force."
"Consciousness is more than perceiving and knowing; it is knowing that you know."
"The rise of modern science...reduced human beings to automatons."
...when the mind changes, so does the brain"
"...cognitive therapy alone seemed to lack what OCD patients needed."
"...the Silver Spring monkeys also changed forever the dogma that the adult primate brain has lost the plasticity of childhood"
"...most believed that learning physically alters the brain."
"the cortical representations...reflect the history of use of the motor system"
"The amount of cortical territory assigned to a given part of the body reflects not the size of that body part by its sensitivity"
"Neuroplasticity...refers to wholesale remapping of neural real estate"
"...brain plasticity follows an increase or decrease in sensory input"
"...both quantum physics and classical Buddhism give volition and choice a central role in the workings of the cosmos."
"A quantum theory of mind, incorporating the discoveries of nonlocality and the Quantum Zeno Effect, offers the hope of mending the breach between science and moral philosophy."

16 people found this helpful

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David J. Kreiter

The dissolution of mind and matter

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2008

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Neuropsychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz stood at the precipice of a great divide: a divide between classical physics and quantum physics, between behaviorism and cognition, between physiological determinism and free will, between John B. Watson and William James.

Behaviorist John B. Watson, an adherent to the philosophies of classical physics, functionalism, and determinism believed that consciousness is nothing more than the product of causal events in the brain. These notions implicitly deny the ideas of consciousness and free will, and his writings served as the guiding philosophy for the behaviorists who were providing therapy for obsessive/compulsive (OCD) patients in the 1980s.

"In the United States, therapists in the forefront of developing these techniques have had patients rub public toilet seats with their hands and then spread...whatever they touched all over their hair, face, and clothes. They have had patients rub urine over themselves...They have had patients bring in a piece of toilet paer soiled with a minuscule amount of their fecal material and rub it on their face and through their hair during therapy sessions...In other cases patients are prevented from washing their hands for days at a time, even after using the bathroom"(3).

Jeffrey Schwartz was appalled at this inhumanity. A student of Buddhism, Schwartz believed that mindfulness or "bare attention" might be more suited in helping his obsessive/compulsive patients than the cruel and unnecessary treatment at the hands of the behaviorist therapists, and decades of research backed us his ideas that the mind is not immutable. These experiments conclusively showed that the adult brain has the ability to form new connections as well as grow entirely new neurons from stem cells in the hippocampus of the brain. These finding were largely ignored by behaviorist therapists treating patients with obsessive-compulssive disorder.

Schwartz began to recuit his own OCD patients. He convinced them that the obsessive thoughts were the result of the faulty functioning of their brains. In a four step prcess of "relabeling", "reattributing", "refocusing", and "revaluing", he was able to instill in his patients a method of self-induced therapy. Over time these procedures altered brain chemistry, brain function, and produced long term favorable and measurable changes in the physical structure of the brain.

These successes were not limited to OCD patients. Similar procedures, which rely upon focused attention, produced equally successful therapies for patients of stroke, depression, turrets syndrome, and autism.

Schwartz coined the term "mental force" implying that the mind affects matter and he states: "Mental force affects the brain by altering the wave functions of the atoms that make up the brain's ions, neurotransmitters, and synapic vesicles"(318).

Seeking a more rigorous quantum mechanical description of his idea, it seemed only fitting that in the spring of 1988 he would meet quantum physicist Henry Stapp. Both he and Stapp had been profoundly influence by the writings of William James.

Stapp, like James, believed that a materialist view of the mind was untenable. The brain, Stapp insists, is a quantum mechanical system subject to all the properties of quantum mechanics such as non-locality, quantum tunneling, and the principle of uncertaintly.

In particular, the ion channels, which are the chemical gateways that connect neurons across the synaptic gaps, are extremely narrow providing a large amount of uncertainty. As a result a quantum superpositon of states is created in which the neuron both fires and does not fire, both possibilities existing simultaneously. At the moment of observation, the superposition of states of the brain and of the aspects of nature being probed, collapse into a definitve state in which informtion or meaning is gained. The dualistic boundary between mind and matter collapses.

The role of the observer, Stapp suggests, is to decide which questions to pose. The mind chooses which deterministic thoughts welling up in the brain should be held in consciousness in what William James called the "stream of consciousness" and what physicists call the "quantum Zeno effect", named after the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea.

The quantum Zeno effect, describe what happens when certain quantum attributes exist in a superposition of states. An observation will collapse the superposition into one particular state and hold it there indefinitely.

This then is the essence of free will, and this is what gave OCD patients the choice not to act upon the unwanted thoughts that welled up in their brains as a result of deterministic processes.

Schwartz' effort was a triumph of quantum physics over classical physics, of cognition over behaviorism, of free-will over determinism, and of the ideas of William James over the ideas of John B. Watson. This was a masterful and well researched book that documents many years of Jeffrey Schwartz's professional career, from his early influence by William James to his groundbreaking work with OCD patients and culminating in his fortuitous meeting with physicist Henry Stapp. This book had an influential affect on my philosphy of the nature of reality.

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11 people found this helpful

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kaizen247

Älteres Buch, moderne Erkenntnis.

Reviewed in Germany on April 18, 2019

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Ich bin aufgrund eines TED Vortrags der Neurobiologin Lara Boyd auf dieses Thema gestoßen und entschied mich aufgrund der guten Bewertungen (auf der englischen Version von Amazon) "The Mind and the Brain" zu erwerben. Das 1951 erschienene, englische Werk des amerikanischen Psychiaters und Pionier im Forschungsgebiet Neuroplastizität Jeffrey Schwartz gibt dem*der Leser*in einen Einblick in die Funktionsweise und Eigenschaften des menschlichen Gehirns. Konkret geht es hierbei um das Phänomen Neuroplastizität. Schwartz selbst beschreibt es folgendermaßen: "Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of neurons to forge new connections, to blaze new paths through the cortex, even to assume new roles. In short hand, neuroplasticity means rewiring the brain" (S. 15). Übersetzt bedeutet es die Fähigkeit des Gehirns, sich durch neuronale Verbindungen neu zu vernetzen. Jeder Mensch, unabhängig vom Geschlecht und Alter, ist dazu fähig, das Gehirn zu verformen. Je nachdem wie wir das Organ benutzen, werden bestimmte Bereiche an den Kortizes stimuliert und führen somit zu einer physischen Verformung der Oberfläche des Gehirns. Im Alltag bedeutet dies, dass beispielsweise je mehr Bildung sich der Mensch aneignet, desto mehr Verbindungen werden im Gehirn geknüpt und umso höher somit die Intelligenz des Individuums steigt.

Diese Fähigkeit des Gehirns wird in der Medizin verstärkt bei der Therapie von Patient*innen mit durch Krankheiten und Anfälle verursachte Hirnproblemen (bsp. bei Schlaganfall, Krebs, etc) genutzt und zeigt seit dem 20. Jahrhundert großartige Wirkung.

Das Buch ist hervorragend verfasst und Aussagen wissenschaftlich belegt. Wer mehr über das komplexeste Organ des Menschen erfahren möchte, ist mit diesem Werk gut bedient. Absolute Kaufempfehlung!

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ND

Good Read ... about the workings of the brain ... how it is wired

Reviewed in India on September 3, 2017

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Good Read ... Someone with the background of brain science or medical background would understand it faster

lecteurCurieux

Sur le fonctionnement du cerveau

Reviewed in France on April 11, 2012

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Même si l'analogie parait trop facile , on est tenté de dire qu'en rentrant dans ce livre on commence à mieux faire la difference entre le Hard ( le cerveau ) et le soft ( l'esprit ) .

Le grand mérite de cet ouvrage est de nous faire partager comment l'esprit et le cerveau (au sens organe ) fonctionnent ensemble.
Et là , surprise , on découvre en intégrant la notion de neuroplasticité ( capacité du cerveau à se recomposer ) , que l'esprit ( pris comme qqchose de tt à fait indépendant ) peut influer , modifier , voir controler l'organe cerveau .

Pour essayer de rester simple , on comprend mieux les liens entre la force mentale et la neuroplasticité .

Pour ceux que le cerveau interesse , je vous en conseille la lecture

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Bob Sergeant

The Consilience of Neuroscience, Jamesian Psychology, Buddhism, and Quantum Mechanics

Reviewed in Canada on October 20, 2008

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This excellent work reminded me of E.O Wilson's assertion that the sciences, humanities, and arts have one purpose: to give meaning to "a conviction, far deeper than a mere working proposition, that the world is orderly and can be explained by a small number of natural laws."

Dr. Jeffery Scwartz and Sharon Begley have, through a masterful integration and consilience of quantum mechanics, neuroscience, Jamesian and Buddhist psychology, done a wonderful job explaining issues in consciousness and why purposeful volition and awareness, "mindfulness" and the "power of mental force" works in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Speaking as someone with an engineering background, the authors are to be congratulated on making the scientific concepts, especially the physics concepts, such as the quantum, the Quantum Zeno Effect, and the Schroedinger's Cat thought experiment, accessible for readers who may not have a deeper knowledge often requires by other texts.

The book is illlustrated with several necessary diagrams to help the reader better understand the brain neuroanatomy, PET neuroimages, neurons, and so on.

Neocortical reorganization, or neuroplasticity, is a major relatively recent scientific finding.

This is one of the best works to holistically explain the basis for the newest rehabilitation physiotherapies and the third wave of mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural psychotherapies.

Dr. H. A. Jones

The power of the mind to structure the brain

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2010

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The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the power of mental force, by Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. and Sharon Begley, Harper Perennial, 2002, 432 ff

The power of the mind to structure the brain
By Howard Jones

This is an account of how patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder were able to be guided through treating themselves by reconditioning of the brain. Dr Schwartz is a Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and his co-author, Sharon Begley, is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal. As well as describing clinical case studies, the book provides a suggested mechanism of action for mind-brain influence through quantum phenomena, as shared with the authors by quantum physicist Henry Stapp. The treatment and explanations Schwartz offers are also imbued with a fair measure of Buddhist philosophy. The calming effects on breathing, heart rate and blood pressure of meditative techniques have been known for thousands of years to eastern mystics and are used regularly in complementary therapies.

For the past two decades at least, books have been appearing to refute the idea that mind or consciousness is merely the name we give to brain function. This was the old materialist view in science that mind described brain function just as digestion describes the operation of the gut. However, there are now several books by physicians and psychiatrists that describe how patients can take conscious steps to improve their health by controlling brain and body function: books by Hamilton, Hay, Dyer, Dossey, Benson and Tart spring to mind.

Here, Schwartz describes how he teaches his OCD patients the practice of mindful awareness, which he describes as the foundation of Theravada Buddhism. The result is self-directed neuroplasticity - wilful effort or volition that can alter brain chemistry and function. The case studies given here indicate that the treatment is highly successful. But I mustn't give the impression that this book is all about OCD - that's only a part of the story. The author then goes on to give a detailed biological account, witty and wholly accessible to the non-biologist, of brain function and especially of how attitude of mind - will or volition - influences the brain. This is very reminiscent of Schopenhauer's philosophy of Will.

Incredibly, we read of preschool epilepsy patients who have surgery to remove half of the brain and not only survive but thrive! There is a discussion of brain development that highlights the well-established fact that learning a language or how to do mathematical operations is best learned as young as possible and certainly before puberty. The experiments on monkeys make for some uncomfortable reading - but the conclusions regarding brain function after stroke are highly significant. `The brain's response to messages from its environment is shaped by its experiences . . . throughout life.'

And that is the message of the book: neuroplasticity - reinforcing in biological language with theoretical explanations what the authors listed above have been telling us from practical experience. Explanations for the clinical physiology given in terms of quantum physics are excellent, the authors handling a conceptually difficult subject in accessible language. I think they make what is also a quite convincing argument. This is a very worthwhile book, but readers with little background in science will have to be prepared to be challenged, first by the section on the biology of the brain and then by the often perplexing conclusions of quantum physics.

Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, UK.

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