A groundbreaking collaboration between neuroscience and Buddhism.

In this fascinating and far-reaching book, Newsweek science writer Sharon Begley reports on how cutting-edge science and the ancient wisdom of Buddhism have come together to reveal that, contrary to popular belief, we have the power to literally change our brains by changing our minds. Recent pioneering experiments in neuroplasticity�the ability of the brain to change in response to experience�reveal that the brain is capable of altering its structure and function, and even of generating new neurons, a power we retain well into old age. The brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma, compensate for disabilities, rewire itself to overcome dyslexia, and break cycles of depression and OCD. And as scientists are learning from studies performed on Buddhist monks, it is not only the outside world that can change the brain, so can the mind and, in particular, focused attention through the classic Buddhist practice of mindfulness.

With her gift for making science accessible, meaningful, and compelling, Sharon Begley illuminates a profound shift in our understanding of how the brain and the mind interact and takes us to the leading edge of a revolution in what it means to be human.

Sharon Begley, science columnist and a senior editor at Newsweek magazine, was previously the science columnist for The Wall Street Journal, where she inaugurated the paper's "Science Journal" in 2002. In addition to Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, she co-authored The Mind and the Brain and has won many awards for her articles. She is a frequent guest on radio and television, including The Charlie Rose Show, Today Weekend, and CBS's The Early show. She lives in New York.

	Contents: Train your Mind Change your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves
	Foreword by the Dalai Lama	vii
	Preface by Daniel Goleman	xi
	Acknowledgments	xv
1	Can We Change?	3
	Challenging the Dogma of the Hardwired Brain
2	The Enchanted Loom	26
	The Discovery of Neuroplasticity
3	New Neurons for Old Brains	49
	Neurogenesis
4	A Child Shall Lead Them	73
	The Neuroplasticity of Young Brains
5	Footprints on the Brain	110
	Sensory Experience Reshapes Adult Brains
6	Mind over Matter	131
	Mental Activity Changes the Brain
7	Nature through Nurture	161
	Turning on Genes in the Brain
8	Blaming Mom?	183
	Rewired for Compassion
9	Transforming the Emotional Mind	212
	Challenging the Happpiness "Set Point"
10	Now What?	243
	Appendix	255
	Notes	263
	Index	277