We have been told the following myths about our Brain:
- The brain has limited capacity for recovery – you have to live with the cards you are dealt
- Age-related changes in the brain efficiency are facts of life
- Two years after a stroke, further recovery is impossible
- Biochemical patterns in the brain can be dealt with only by taking drugs
- The brain cannot re-learn
All of these are myths. Our growing knowledge about the brain shows these old ideas are incorrect. According to Robert Shin of the Department of Neurology at the University Maryland School of Medicine states, “For a long time we really didn’t think the brain had the capacity to recover after injury but now there is an increasing understanding that that is not true, that actually brain can adapt, it can reorganize.” (1)
If you have a weak muscle in your body, exercise can increase its strength. If you have inefficiencies in brain functioning, you can exercise that function and increase the efficiency. How is this possible? Through what is termed brain “Neuroplasticity” and by Neurofeedback (Brain Training)
(1) “Biofeedback for the Brain” – Paul G. Swingle, Ph.D.