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Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life Paperback – October 14, 2013

by Dr. Michael Merzenich PhD (Author)

501 ratings

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What if you had the power to change your brain for the better?
In Soft-Wired, Dr. Michael Merzenich--a world authority on brain plasticity--explains how the brain rewires itself across the lifespan, and how you can take control of that process to improve your life. In addition to fascinating descriptions of how your brain has produced your unique memories, skills, quirks, and emotions, Soft-Wired offers sound advice for evaluating your brain and gives clear, specific, scientifically proven guidance for how to rejuvenate, remodel, and reshape your brain to improve it at any age.

Print length

266 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 14, 2013
Dimensions

6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0989432823
ISBN-13

978-0989432825
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Michael Merzenich, PhD is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California at San Francisco, a member of both the National Academies of Science and the Institute of Medicine, and the co-founder of Scientific Learning and Posit Science. Often called "the father of brain plasticity," he is one of the scientists responsible for our current understanding of brain change across the lifespan. To learn more, visit www.soft-wired.com.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Parnassus Publishing; 2nd edition (October 14, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0989432823
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0989432825
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #46,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #72 in Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychology
- #318 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
501 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		18%
3 star		6%
2 star		4%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Murray Duffin

Wonderful (obvious in retrospect) insights

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2018

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I am surprised at the negative reviews. I have spent about 2000 hours over the last 20 months researching all aspects of cognitive impairment in the elderly. I have read at least 1900 abstracts of scientific papers, 522 complete papers, 6 books besides this one, and at least 200 pertinent articles or blog posts. I am a bit stunned that I never came across this book until now - it is copyrighted 2013. The book is written in layman's language, uses examples and analogies that are easy to connect with, and is very informative. Reading some of the papers that Michael Merzenich has authored/coauthored will give you an idea of how the technical language on this subject can be close to incomprehensible, a problem this book completely overcomes - quite a feat for such an involved technologist/researcher.
I have read a lot on brain plasticity and brain exercises, but this book gave me several new insights that I had not seen before - some that are wonderfully obvious once your attention is called to them. The author gives many examples of why our brains' capabilities decay for lack of
use, in ways that we never think about, and often because of the technological developments we love because they make that disuse possible. Wow!
Some critics perceive the book only as a "come-on" for Posit Science's brain training software. I am thankful that such software exists, so I can now avoid the decay it can prevent or remedy, and I welcome the explanations of why I need it and how I can benefit from it. While I am not considered cognitively impaired by the usual tests, at age 83 I can recognize some of the symptoms (in me) of decline the book describes. I am starting the training immediately.
This book is a "must read" for every loving caregiver who helps an impaired loved one or patient, and for every senior citizen who wants to retain their faculties to the end.
The "Catch 22" of early cognitive impairment is that the impairment can keep the victims from knowing they have the problem. The one star
reviewers have missed the message, and may need the book much more than they realize.
PS - One or more one star reviewers deplored the lack of reference links. Every chapter ends with an instruction to link to the references at www.softwired.com/ref/ch_.

276 people found this helpful

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Marilyn S. Kopp

Wonder why you can't remember names? Try this book

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2019

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I wish I had read this in my 40s instead of my 70s Thorough explanation of what happens to the brain as you age and tells you what you can do to keep your brain active and healthy. I do the brain exercises every day and have already noticed a difference.

47 people found this helpful

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Jorge Silva

If you want to learn about neuroplasticity, read Norman Doidge's "The Brain that Changes Itself"

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2019

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I value Doctor Merzenich work and how it has helped so many, but this book was a disappointment. A tiny bit of science, a moderate amount of anecdotal evidence (written in a boring way), and a lot of advertisement of his own tool to promote neuroplasticity.

At least he acknowledges it: "this book may sound a little like an advertisement. But my own motive is a simple one: these programs represent the grand product of my life's work."

If you want to learn about neuroplasticity, read Norman Doidge's "The Brain that Changes Itself"

23 people found this helpful

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Dee Dum

Your Brilliant Brain

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2018

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This is the best brain book I've read. It actually bases its findings on scientific evidence performed by the author and his partners in the field of medicine. Most other books usually focus on nutrition and brain games. This one promotes his brain training program based on his studies that the brain is plastic and can pretty much change up most maladies that befall our aging body...first and and foremost, an aging brain that forgets, can't track, and struggles in finding the right words in conversations, etc. People with brain injuries or other diseases can now find hope that all is not completely lost. One can recover some of the functions whether of limb or mind by devoting oneself to daily brain training exercises created by the author. The only downside to the book was the huge number of testimonials and studies one had to wade through to get to the salient point: brain training and its amazing benefits. Guess he really wanted to showcase the effectiveness of his program. To me, he's a genius!

24 people found this helpful

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Mike Mertens

Brain Plasticity and a great guide on how to use it to your advantage!

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2015

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Dr. Michael Merzenich has written an easy to read and very valuable resource on the latest information on brain plasticity (the idea that we are not hard-wired but soft-wired - it even includes a few pages on how he came to "see the light" in this area) and how we can use it to improve our lives at any age. It is important to understand that neuroplasticity can work to our advantage or disadvantage and he gives examples of each throughout this book.

Here are just a few of the valuable topics covered in this book:
* 10 Fundamentals of Brain Plasticity. These are core principles including: "change is mostly limited to those situations in which the brain is in the mood for it", "learning-driven changes in connections increase cell-to-cell cooperation, which is crucial for increasing reliability", "initial changes are just temporary", and "brain plasticity is a two-way street; it is just as easy to generate negative changes as it is to produce positive ones"
* His top ten list of changes that that have been demonstrated by the research to date
* His 8 brain fitness rules including "try to work on a demanding level" and "find exercises that are inherently satisfying and rewarding"
* As a runner, I really benefited from his 6 rules in planning one's exercise routines (and the need to vary the challenges we give our bodies as well as our minds)
* His chapter on "Taking a Holistic approach to improving your life". This includes my favorite "Continuously enrich your life on small and larger scales."

Throughout the book he uses examples to illustrate the concepts in memorable ways. He discusses the impact of aging and the brain and how to limit and counteract the challenges that come with age. It is clear that Merzenich has a true passion for brain science and wants us all to use the information from brain science to enrich our lives and improve our well-being. I hope that you benefit as much as I did from reading this book and putting the ideas into practice!

Note: I also recommend reading the book by Norman Doidge "The Brain that Changes Itself" for some fascinating stories and examples of plastic changes that are truly remarkable

79 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ria

REPETITIVE!!!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2019

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Never before in my life have I given a 1 star review.....

...From where to begin!!
The book's actual PRACTICAL HELP begins on PAGE 200!!!!!
Until then there is ENDLESSSSS repetition about what brain plasticity is and there are numerous examples given about how people have been helped thanks to the author's/doctor's brain plasticity program (he kept on citing his damn program WITHOUT TELLING US how to help ourselves!!!!) and I would literally read one sentence, only to read the exact same thing but in a different way in the next one.....

As for the "practical help" that is given in the book, the usual crap about meeting new people, being aware of your body etc; these things one can find every-freakin-where on the Internet (I could easily find all of his suggestions listed in one single random article).

I swear to god, I pity the money I gave for this trash. I was reading it and wondering "DID NO ONE NOTICE THAT EACH SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH IS A REPETITION OF THE PREVIOUS ONE???! How could someone even pay to have this trash published!!!" - but oh, I forgot, that guy's a doctor, so it's bound to sell, right???
I was seduced by the "FATHER of brain plasticity" written in this product's description... if only I knew.

tldr; repetitive, the practical advice can be found anywhere on the Internet, he keeps on trying to sell his brain-plasticity program.
This book's useful information could literally fit in 20 pages.

Shame for the author and shame for the ones who published this trash.

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Fascinating topic, but I have found it difficult to stay interested whilst reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

I bought this book because I am fascinated by the topic of brain plasticity and I deeply respect the author and his contribution in the scientific field. However, I found that this book is very difficult to read and maintain interest. There is often repetition of the same ideas throughout the chapters. There is very little practical advice in this book and it really comes close to the final chapters.In my opinion this book could’ve been half the size was still delivering the same message. Nevertheless it presents quite different and scientifically validated point of view on brain and physical exercise.

5 people found this helpful

JOAO MARQUES LEITAO

A must read in the field.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Very good.
A little bit biased, perhaps...

One person found this helpful

radu

Informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

A very informative book. Gives good tips how to sustain out mental health and the advantages of doing that.

Ed

A book everyone should read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2016

Verified Purchase

A enlightening read on a subject that all should be exposed to. Too many people resign themselves to their problems, when there are many things we can do to overcome them. This book in part shows us a way.

3 people found this helpful

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