A woman perpetually falling : rescued by the man who discovered the plasticity of our senses -- Building herself a better brain : a woman labeled "retarded" discovers how to heal herself -- Redesigning the brain : a scientist changes brains to sharpen perception and memory, increase speed of thought, and heal learning problems -- Acquiring tastes and loves : what neuroplasticity teaches about sexual attraction and love -- Midnight resurrections : stroke victims learn to move and speak again -- Brain lock unlocked : using plasticity to stop worries, obsessions, compulsions, and bad habits -- Pain : the dark side of plasticity -- Imagination : how thinking makes it so -- Turning our ghosts into ancestors : psychoanalysis as a neuroplastic therapy -- Rejuvenation : the discovery of the neuronal stem cell and lessons for preserving our brains -- More than the sum of her parts : a woman shows us how radically plastic the brain can be -- The culturally modified brain -- Plasticity and the idea of progress.