My Plastic Brain: One Woman's Yearlong Journey to Discover If Science Can Improve Her Mind

by Caroline Williams

Overview

Using herself as a guinea pig, a science journalist explores "neuroplasticity" to find out whether she can make meaningful, lasting changes to the way her brain works. In books like THE HAPPINESS PROJECT, THE NO-SPEND YEAR, and THE YEAR OF YES, individuals have tried a specific experience and then reported on it, sharing the takeaway for the rest of us. In MY PLASTIC BRAIN, Caroline Williams spends a year exploring "neuroplasticity"—the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections—to find out whether she can make meaningful, lasting changes to the way her brain works. A science journalist with access to cutting edge experts and facilities, she volunteers herself as a test subject, challenging researchers to make real changes to the function and performance of her brain. She seeks to improve on everyday weaknesses such as her limited attention span and tendency to worry too much. She then branches out into more mysterious areas such as creativity and the perception of time. From Boston to Oxford, England, and Philadelphia to Freiburg, Germany, Williams travels to labs or virtually meets with scientists and tries their techniques of mindfulness meditation, magnetic brain stimulation, sustained focus exercises, stress response retraining, and more. She shares her intimate journey with readers to discover what neuroscience can really do for us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633883918
Publisher:	Prometheus Books
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Pages:	278
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Caroline Williams is a freelance science writer and editor and a consultant to New Scientist magazine. She also writes for the BBC and has contributed to the Guardian newspaper among other outlets. She is the editor of the New Scientist Instant Expert guides How Your Brain Works: Inside the Most Complicated Object in the Known Universe and Your Conscious Mind: Unravelling the Greatest Mystery of the Human Brain. She has also coproduced and presented the New Scientist podcast, web, and promotional videos.

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From the Introduction
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Excerpted from "My Plastic Brain"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Caroline Williams.
Excerpted by permission of Prometheus Books.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Author's Note 9

Introduction 11

Part 1 Meetings With My Executive Controller

1 The Taming of the Butterfly 45

2 Anxious All Areas 75

3 Let the Creativity Flow 111

Part 2 Space And Time

4 Lost in Space 139

5 Mind-Bending, Time-Bending 173

Part 3 A Logical Mind

6 Number Sense Lost 201

Part 4 What Now?

7 My Brain on Override 225

8 The Road from Here 251

Acknowledgments 269

Notes 271

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2018
Science journalist Williams peers into her own mental skills and limits in this somewhat scientifically conservative overview of human neuroplasticity. She spends a year traveling to laboratories, talking to experts, and experiencing various methods to improve brain performance. Williams uses a well-established approach to first-person narrative reporting: trying things out on herself. Discarding both the discredited idea of improving general brain health through training puzzles and the idea of focusing on structural changes rather than functional ones, Williams pinpoints specific executive function skills to address, such as reducing anxiety and directing attention. Her trials are primarily lab experiences, including physical brain stimulation of the prefrontal cortex to enhance creativity and transcranial random noise stimulation to enhance number skills. A belt that buzzes in the direction of magnetic north, to help train navigation circuits, gets a real-world trial. Williams hones her approach as she learns, discovering that “to build brainpower, it’s not muscle you want, it’s flexibility.” Some chapters include boilerplate advice to exercise, “practice navigating in unfamiliar territory,” and “do some easy math” to keep from getting rusty. Williams is a relatable guide, but readers looking to glean practical advice may find her recommendations uninspiring. Illus. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"An easy-to-read journey through the world of brain research that gives a glimpse of what is happening there, all done with a highly personal touch.” —Kirkus Reviews “It can be difficult to find quality [self-help] works within the sea of quantity. .. Williams strikes a home run in this brilliantly written and expertly researched book. A useful guide.. .. An eye-opening, encouraging, and hopeful discussion of neuroplasticity and how we can improve for the better.”   —Booklist “How plastic is your brain? Is it worth taking the trouble and experimenting with your brain? Caroline Williams invites you to take a journey into the complex world of neuroscience to answer these questions. After taking myriads of tests and checking into leading neuroscience labs, she eventually finds her real self. This lucid, jargon-free masterpiece is an artful combination of engaging enthusiasm, good humor, and an impressive knowledge of mind matters. A satisfying food for the soul.”   —Gyorgy Buzsaki, author of Rhythms of the Brain “I highly recommend this well-written and entertaining account of the Caroline Williams’s hands-on exploration, through the lens of neuroscience, of supposed brain-training techniques. In the process of demolishing some of the myths and promotional hyperbole surrounding these techniques, she provides fascinating insight into how our brains function and how this functioning might be improved with advances in technology.” —Dr. James Alcock, professor of psychology, York University, and author of Belief “A delightful book. Smart, spirited, personal, and stocked with well-researched psychological and neural facts, woven together in an original tapestry.” —Marc Lewis, award-winning author of The Biology of Desire “If your mind has a mind of its own, this is the book that will teach you how to discipline it and stop it from wandering off. Caroline Williams has written an entertaining, smart self-help book for people who hate self-help books. Her great skill is in navigating the complexity of neuroscience to produce a practical, no-nonsense guide to brain training that is also a page-turner.” —Gaia Vince, award-winning author of Adventures in the Anthropocene “

From the Publisher

2018-01-23
A British science writer uses her own brain to explore what researchers have been working on and to discover how her own shortcomings might be overcome.In her debut book, Williams, a consultant for New Scientist magazine and a contributor to the BBC and the Guardian, asks whether recent advances in technology can improve some of her cognitive abilities. She chose six specific areas of focus—attention, anxiety, creativity, navigation, time perception, and number sense—each of which is currently receiving intensive study by neuroscientists and psychologists, in order to understand how performance can be improved. Among other places, the author's research travels took her to centers in Boston, Philadelphia, and Lawrence, Kansas, in the United States, Oxford and Keele universities in England, and Ghent University in Belgium. She briefly profiles the researchers and chronicles her informative interviews with them, also noting her personal experiences with whatever system they were working on. The conditions of Williams' participation vary, and so do the results, often displayed in simple charts and diagrams that add little to the text except perhaps a slight scientific air. Readers hoping to improve their own cognitive abilities may feel a bit of a letdown by the author's old-fashioned, down-to-earth advice: exercise your body, preferably outdoors, learn mindful meditation but also allow your mind to wander, engage in a mentally challenging hobby, and pick the skill you want to improve and practice it in real life. In the concluding chapter, Williams reports that the world of neuroscience is "teetering on the brink of a new world," and based on the advances already underway, the future is likely to be full of technological innovations that may well enhance one's brain power.An easy-to-read journey through the world of brain research that gives a glimpse of what is happening there, all done with a highly personal touch.

Kirkus Reviews