<p>I am currently reading the book <em><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/570172.The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Brain that Changes Itself</a></em> and I ran across a passage that explains how habits &quot;take over a bit of the brain map.&quot; By this, I thought it meant that each habit forms some connections between neurons (please clarify). It also states that this is why it is hard to break a bad habit. If our brains have so much capacity, why would some pathways being occupied affect the formation of others?</p>
<p>Below is an excerpt of the paragraph I got this from:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>But when we learn a bad habit, it takes over a brain map, and each time we repeat it, it claims more control of that map and prevents the use of that space for &quot;good&quot; habits. That is why 'unlearning' is often a lot harder than learning, and wy early childhood education is so important- it's best to get it right early, before the 'bad habit' gets a competitive advantage.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Doidge, N. (2007). <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/570172.The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science.</a> Penguin.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-01T06:23:15.460Z
What does brain map mean in this context? Does it maybe refer to a cue or a trigger for a bad habit?
Borut Flis
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-09T18:51:08.080Z
I am not entirely sure, but I believe it means the neuronal pathways responsible for a particular action.
Spencer Gibson
<neuroscience><plasticity><habituation>
Neuroplasticity and Habit Formation
Spencer Gibson
# Neuroplasticity and Habit Formation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-07-30)

I am currently reading the book *[The Brain that Changes Itself](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/570172.The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself)* and I ran across a passage that explains how habits "take over a bit of the brain map." By this, I thought it meant that each habit forms some connections between neurons (please clarify). It also states that this is why it is hard to break a bad habit. If our brains have so much capacity, why would some pathways being occupied affect the formation of others?

Below is an excerpt of the paragraph I got this from:

> But when we learn a bad habit, it takes over a brain map, and each time we repeat it, it claims more control of that map and prevents the use of that space for "good" habits. That is why 'unlearning' is often a lot harder than learning, and wy early childhood education is so important- it's best to get it right early, before the 'bad habit' gets a competitive advantage.

Doidge, N. (2007). [The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science.](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/570172.The_Brain_that_Changes_Itself) Penguin.

**Tags:** neuroscience, plasticity, habituation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What does brain map mean in this context? Does it maybe refer to a cue or a trigger for a bad habit?  
> **username_0**: I am not entirely sure, but I believe it means the neuronal pathways responsible for a particular action.  

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## 0 answers

