Quote:
refers to the changes that occur in the organization of the brain, and in particular changes that occur to the location of specific information processing functions, as a result of the effect of experience during development and as mature animals. A common and surprising consequence of brain plasticity is that the location of a given function can "move" from one location to another in the brain due to repeated learning or brain trauma.
It is a common belief that the brain is "hard-wired" from birth and further hardwired by genetics and severe trauma such as a head injury. The sections of the brain are mapped out. This controls This. This tells This what to do.
Conditions suffered by stroke victims and depression sufferers are generally treated by blanket methods of therapy and drugs in some attempt to change the condition of the patient. Physical therapy is met with some success. Drugs are given usually to mask the symptom and so on.
Basically some kind of external conditioning is rendered and it is hoped that the brain will somehow follow suit.
Researchers have finally begun to see the light. Through cognative therapy they have found has just a profound effects on mental states than drugs and that through such therapy the change was actually made in their brain and that it stays. In other words.. the mind changed the matter. Pretty much what people like Buddhists have been saying all along. They now have been getting Tibetan Buddists who are adept in various meditive techniques and have been having them meditate under thier machines.
In a nutshell, they are discovering more and more evidence that the brain's systems are not quite that hard-wired. Mediation actually does cause an actual change in neuropathways in the brain that sustains. This has been wondered about for some time but now it's starting to get some publicity it seems.
The big deal about Buddhism is that these people have an actual long-tried and long-tested practice in these things, way more than anyone within the Western psyche would have. Now finally perhaps Science can begin digesting some of these ancient wisdoms. The Dalai Lama and his peeps and a nice slew of scientists are working on it right now.
If done right this could prove to be quite revolutionary as the powers of the mind are further promoted causing people to actually think inward more than ever before.
but here's the question.
If they started teaching Buddhist meditative techniques in Elementary schools... would people in this country EVER accept that? if it is found that meditation (especially begun at a young age) could be the true catalyst for curing addiction, breaking old family habits such as abusive emotions, depression, memory, attention deficit and all of that ******** could be totally done away with by just thinking yourself out of them; then shouldn't this be one of the most important studies in school?
The main problem is... When the hell does a working class bloke have time to fúcking meditate anyway?
here's a link
http://www.nbc5.com/health/10726702/detail.html