The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force (Paperback)

~ Jeffrey M. Schwartz (Author), Sharon Begley (Author) "Of all the thousands of pages and millions of words devoted to the puzzle of the mind and the brain, to the mystery of how..." (more)
Key Phrases: deafferentation zone, deafferented arm, directed mental force, Silver Spring, Four Steps, The Mapmakers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schwartz (A Return to Innocence), a UCLA psychiatrist and expert on treating patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), teams up with Begley, a Wall Street Journal science columnist, to explore the mind/brain dichotomy and to discuss the science behind new treatments being developed for a host of brain dysfunctions. Building on the work presented in Schwartz's first book, Brain Lock, the authors begin by demonstrating that OCD patients are capable of rechanneling compulsive urges into more socially acceptable activities and that, by doing so, they actually alter their brains' neuronal circuitry. By presenting a wide array of animal and human experiments, Schwartz and Begley show that similar neuroplasticity is possible in stroke victims, often leading to a return of function previously thought impossible. The medical results and treatments they summarize are exciting and deserve widespread attention. In a chapter entitled "Free Will and Free Won't," the authors turn to the philosophical, examining the implications neuroplasticity might have on the differences between mind and brain; they also discourse on the existence of free will. Unfortunately, their integration of quantum mechanics and Buddhism into a search for a mechanism to explain the patterns scientists have been discovering is too superficial to fully engage readers. Nonetheless, a great deal in this book is sure to motivate discussion and more research.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Schwartz's undergraduate major was philosophy, and that interest as well as Buddhism has broadened his outlook and makes this book potentially attractive to more readers than those habitually interested in "brain science." Psychiatrist Schwartz pioneered the use of positron-emission tomography in studying obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The behaviorists' therapeutic use of the often-harsh exposure and prevention method with OCD struck Schwartz as brutal and unproductive. Searching for a new approach, he gradually developed the four-step method that he and science writer Begley thoroughly describe here. Employing the Buddhist idea of willful mindfulness, Schwartz and his colleagues enjoyed considerable research and clinical success. A long, informal collaboration with physicist Henry Stapp enabled Schwartz to overcome the problem of free will and moral action, and one of his major achievements was proving the neuroplasticity of the adult brain, thanks to which the formation of new transmission routes coincides with that of new neurons. Schwartz and Begley bring to life the thinking and work of many original investigators in a book that thoughtful readers will enjoy. William Beatty
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (October 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060988479
• ISBN-13: 978-0060988470
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

137 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consciousness addressed by science, November 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force (Hardcover)

I was having a bit of a philosophical crisis when I went looking for a book on free will and determinism -- I had discovered that deep down, I really didn't believe in free will. That was a surprise, since consciously I thought the idea of fate was absurd. I always thought that my brain had been programmed to be the way it was through my genes and the way I was raised, and that the best I could do was to not get too upset about the way I am, do whatever came to me, and hope for some life-changing experience to make things better.

After some research on the internet I decided to do what William James and Abraham Maslow did and "act as if" I had free will, and see if I got the same extraordinary results they did (both had been depressed determinists and were "cured" once they gave free will an active try). I still wanted intellectual confirmation though, and I came across this book at the bookstore and bought it on a hunch.

This book has blown my mind. Schwartz' cognitive-therapy work with obsessive-compulsive patients leads us to ask the question, "How is it that a strictly mental process can result in measurable brain changes as shown on PET scans?" Is it caused by another part of the brain? Even if it is, that just postpones the question, because what caused that part of the brain to be any different this time? He makes the case that conscious experience isn't reduceable to anything more fundamental -- try having a colorblind researcher truly understand the color "red" by tracing physical and chemical changes in the brain. Combine that with the fact in quantum mechanics that observation affects which reality it is that shows up, and he proposes a kind of fundamental "mental force" and does a much better job of explaining it than I've done here.

One problem is that in the middle of the book there is a lot of scientific history of particular studies that would support his theory, but they aren't really necessary because they don't say much more than what he's already said, and there's lots of detail that isn't necessary for making his point. It can get dry and uninteresting in those parts, and it seems more like he's just trying to give these unsung scientists their due.

That can't negate, however, how great the rest of the book is. It has a very powerful argument against strict materialism, especially for this atheist/materialist who didn't believe in free will last week. (I can't *believe* how many things this book explains with regard to spiritual claims.) So, don't get discouraged by the scientific history if you get bored by it, and see the book through. And have fun.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall, a very worthwhile read, September 10, 2005

By	Larry H in Austin (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force (Hardcover)

There's a lot of interesting and useful information in this book, but it's not without it's flaws. On the positive side:
- The descriptions of experiments on the brain are fascinating. So are the descriptions of experiments in quanta mechanics and the resulting paradoxes.
- I find the conclusions regarding the brain's ability to rewire itself quite inspiring.
- I also find very interesting the idea that Buddhist meditation may be driving neuroplastic changes; it is implied that this physiological change--unbeknownst to the practitioner--is what is actually gained through meditation.
- I admire authors' drive to bring science to questions regarding sentience, although it isn't clear how successful they are; as others have said, taking the evidence provided to the conclusions provided requires a leap of faith. In any case, it's a start from which others may build.

On the flip side:
- I found myself reading reworded versions of the same idea over and over. It was as if the authors were themselves trying to rewire the reader's brain through repetitive exercises. Unfortunately, this makes the reader lose attention, thus undermining this goal.
- There is a lot of text that attempts to add a human interest perspective. Maybe this was considered important to the commercial appeal the book. But, for this reader, it only diluted the value.
- As mentioned by many others, the authors do not provide convincing evidence to support their conclusions on free will. For example, the authors provide very interesting details about quanta mechanics and the evidence that the universe is not deterministic. While I agree that a deterministic universe eliminates the possibility of free will, the inverse is not true: proof of a non-deterministic universe does not result in proof of the existence of free will.

On the whole debate over free will, I have concluded there are two levels at which people discuss this question: (1) a real-world, practical view and (2) a theoretical view. In the real-world view, as long as one consciously believes he has the ability to make choices, he has free will. There may be a perspective that exists, maybe from the view of deities or the afterlife, in which it is clear that free will is just an illusion; this possibility is the theoretical view. But this theoretical view just doesn't matter in the real world. The answer to the theoretical view of free will, whatever it is, has no moral implications to this world (the book is very concerned that the answer has deep moral implications). The fact is, sentient creatures believe that they make decisions under their own volition and believe that these decisions have consequences to themselves and others.

The authors start out with the theoretical question and proceed to prove only the real-world view. But I don't know if the real-world view of free will needs proving. Doesn't everyone believe they experience volition?

42 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where Neuroscience Came From, June 25, 2007

By	Dale R. Seng (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

On the plus side, I loved reading about the experiments and gaining an understanding about what the results mean and how that works with neuroplasticity. I believe that the brain can be changed with "exercise" and that's what made me pick-up this book.

But I personally was hoodwinked by the whole "the mind is not of this world" thing. It seemed to me, an admitted novice, but not a complete dolt, that Dr. Schwartz should have been up-front with counter arguments. I think it was nearly 100 pages into the book before he mentioned that it could be that one part of the brain was changing another. We do have a "reptile brain" with a more modern brain added later...I could see where one part could teach the other part something! I wouldn't expect him to argue forcefully for the other camp, but I recognized (with some other readings) that the other position was distorted to improve his (rather weak) argument.

Something the other reviews didn't mention was that this was a bit of a biography for Schwartz. He tells us when, where, who, what they talked about. It's also a bit of a history lesson; sometimes I'd be excited about a topic, only to find out the experiment was in the 1800's (and there's no fMRI results).

I'm in the camp with some of the other reviewers that got tired of the repetition. If the repetition was eliminated, the folksy "I was with 'Mr. Cool' on this day" was eliminated, and especially the drumbeat of how the mind exists outside of reality, you'd have a much more readable and interesting book.

The physical brain can be "all there is" and still operate upon itself! Nothing in this book convinced me otherwise.