Modern Discoveries in Neuroscience... And What They Reveal About You (Collection)

Book description

3 remarkable books reveal what neuroscientists have just learned about your brain — and you!

Neuroscientists have made absolutely stunning discoveries about the brain: discoveries that are intimately linked to everything from your health and happiness to the age-old debate on free will. In these three extraordinary books, leading scientists and science journalists illuminate these discoveries, helping you understand what they may mean — and what may come next. In Brains: How They Seem to Work, Dale Purves reviews the current state of neuroscientific research, previewing a coming paradigm shift that may transform the way scientists think about brains yet again. Building on new research on visual perception, he shows why common ideas about brain networks can’t be right, uncovers the factors that determine our subjective experience, sheds new light on the so-called “ghost in the machine,” and points towards a far deeper understanding of what it means to be human. Next, in Pictures of the Mind, Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald uses images from the latest fMRI and PET scanners to illuminate science’s new understanding of the brain as amazingly flexible, resilient, and plastic. Through masterfully written narrative and stunning imagery, you'll watch human brains healing, growing, and adapting… gain powerful new insights into the interplay between environment and genetics… begin understanding how people can influence their own intellectual abilities and emotional makeup… and join scientists in tantalizing discoveries about everything from coma to PTSD and Alzheimer’s. Finally, in The Root of Thought, Andrew Koob shows why glial cells — once thought to be merely “brain glue” — may actually hold the key to understanding intelligence, treating psychiatric disorders and brain injuries, and perhaps even curing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. You'll learn how these crucial cells grow and develop... why almost all brain tumors are comprised of them… and even their apparent role in your every thought and dream!

From world-renowned scientists and science journalists, includingDale Purves, Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald, and Andrew Koob

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Brains: How They Seem to Work
    1. Copyright Page
    2. Dedication Page
    3. Contents
    4. Praise for Brains
    5. Preface
    6. 1. Neuroscience circa 1960
    7. 2. Neurobiology at Harvard
    8. 3. Biophysics at University College
    9. 4. Nerve cells versus brain systems
    10. 5. Neural development
    11. 6. Exploring brain systems
    12. 7. The visual system: Hubel and Wiesel redux
    13. 8. Visual perception
    14. 9. Perceiving color
    15. 10. The organization of perceptual qualities
    16. 11. Perceiving geometry
    17. 12. Perceiving motion
    18. 13. How brains seem to work
    19. Suggested reading
    20. Glossary
    21. Illustration credits
    22. Acknowledgments
    23. About the author
    24. Index
    25. Financial Times Press
  3. Pictures of the Mind: What the New Neuroscience Tells Us About Who We Are
    1. Copyright Page
    2. Dedication Page
    3. Contents
    4. Praise for Pictures of the Mind
    5. Introduction
    6. Part I: Snapshots
      1. 1. Life, death, and the middle ground
        1. Picturing awareness
        2. A rare mistake?
        3. A spectrum of awareness
        4. A new class of consciousness
        5. Silent witness
        6. The future of consciousness imaging
      2. 2. The good, the bad, and the ugly: powerful emotions and our power to work with them
        1. Weathering the storm
        2. Watching our minds watch themselves
        3. Retraining the traumatized mind
        4. Why go it alone?
        5. Healing brains, healing institutions
      3. 3. Happiness on the brain
        1. The asymmetrical brain
        2. Pleasure is nice, until it isn’t
        3. Happily ever after?
        4. Teaching happiness
        5. What counts as “smart”?
      4. 4. Cooling the flame: pictures of addiction, chronic pain, and recovery
        1. Weak character or treatable brain condition?
        2. Your brain on drugs
        3. Your brain on pain
        4. Mind control
        5. The pictures
    7. Part II: Landscape
      1. 5. Where does morality live, and when is it home?
        1. Right or wrong, up close and personal
        2. Young brains, old choices
        3. Prevention versus punishment
        4. Watching our judgments
        5. Wired for selflessness
      2. 6. The making and breaking of memories
        1. Holding onto history
        2. The dark network sheds light
        3. Exercise the body, exercise the brain
        4. Therapeutic forgetting
      3. 7. Where am “I”? Experiences of self, other, and neither
        1. Decentralized self
        2. Of two minds?
        3. No separate self
        4. No self at all
        5. Beyond self-concept
        6. Paying attention
        7. Think “human”
        8. Our curious identity
    8. Resources
      1. Brain imaging and health on the Web
      2. Teachings on mindfulness-based therapies and practical meditation techniques
    9. Notes
      1. Introduction
      2. Chapter 1
      3. Chapter 2
      4. Chapter 3
      5. Chapter 4
      6. Chapter 5
      7. Chapter 6
      8. Chapter 7
    10. Acknowledgments
    11. About the Author
    12. Index
    13. Financial Times Press
  4. The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia—The Brain Cell That Will Help Us Sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury, and Treat Brain Disease
    1. Copyright Page
    2. Contents
    3. 1. Cities and Highways
      1. References
    4. 2. Dust Settles on the Battlefield
      1. References
    5. 3. I Sing the Body Electric
      1. References
    6. 4. Meet the Astrocyte
      1. References
    7. 5. Riding the Calcium Wave
      1. References
    8. 6. Hey Neuron, It’s Me, Glia
      1. References
    9. 7. Developing Relationships
      1. References
    10. 8. The Time Machine
      1. References
    11. 9. Sing a New Song
      1. References
    12. 10. Albert Einstein’s Abundant Astrocytes
      1. References
    13. 11. I Dream of Glia
      1. References
    14. 12. Gliadegenerative Disease
      1. References
    15. 13. Don’t Insult Me
      1. References
    16. 14. The Seething Breeding Glioma
      1. References
    17. 15. Cities and Highways Revisited
    18. Acknowledgments
    19. About the Author
    20. Index
    21. Ft Press
    22. 1. The adolescent genome
      1. genetic imperfection
      2. unselfish genes
      3. how genes work and why they come in different flavors
      4. three reasons why genes might make us sick
  5. The Cerebellum: Brain for an Implicit Self
    1. Copyright Page
    2. Dedication Page
    3. Contents
    4. Preface
    5. Acknowledgments
    6. About the Author
    7. 1. Neuronal Circuitry: The Key to Unlocking the Brain
      1. 1-1. Introduction
      2. 1-2. Decomposition and Reconstruction
      3. 1-3. Neurons and Synapses
      4. 1-4. Neural Networks
      5. 1-5. Systems Control Mechanisms in the CNS
      6. 1-6. Reflexes and Voluntary Movements
      7. 1-7. Integration of reflexes
      8. 1-8. Motor Actions
      9. 1-9. Thought as a Control Mechanism
      10. 1-10. Beyond Movements
      11. 1-11. Scope of This Monograph
      12. 1-12. Summary
    8. 2. Traditional Views of the Cerebellum
      1. 2-1. Introduction
      2. 2-2. Morphological Map
      3. 2-3. Motor Skills
      4. 2-4. Microscopic Features
      5. 2-5. Summary
    9. 3. The Cerebellum as a Neuronal Machine
      1. 3-1. Introduction
      2. 3-2. The 1960s
      3. 3-3. The Marr-Albus Model
      4. 3-4. Long-Term Depression
      5. 3-5. Adaptive Control
      6. 3-6. Cerebellar Internal Models
      7. 3-7. Cognitive Functions of the Cerebellum
      8. 3-8. Summary
    10. 4. Input and Output Pathways in the Cerebellar Cortex
      1. 4-1. Introduction
      2. 4-2. Mossy Fibers
      3. 4-3. Granule Cells
      4. 4-4. Unipolar Brush Cells
      5. 4-5. Purkinje Cells
      6. 4-6. Climbing Fibers
      7. 4-7. Beaded Fibers
      8. 4-8. Summary
    11. 5. Inhibitory Interneurons and Glial Cells in the Cerebellar Cortex
      1. 5-1. Introduction
      2. 5-2. Basket Cells and Stellate Cells
      3. 5-3. Golgi Cells
      4. 5-4. Lugaro Cells
      5. 5-5. Small Inhibitory Neurons in the Granular Layer
      6. 5-6. Bergmann Glia
      7. 5-7. NG2+ Cells
      8. 5-8. Summary
    12. 6. Pre- and Post-Cerebellar Cortex Neurons
      1. 6-1. Introduction
      2. 6-2. Cells of Origin of Mossy Fibers
      3. 6-3. Inferior Olive and Preolivary Nuclei
      4. 6-4. Cells of Origin of Beaded Fiber
      5. 6-5. Cerebellar Nuclear Neurons
      6. 6-6. Vestibular Nuclear Neurons and Other Brainstem Neurons
      7. 6-7. Summary
    13. 7. Conjunctive Long-Term Depression (LTD)
      1. 7-1. Introduction
      2. 7-2. Properties of Conjunctive LTD
      3. 7-3. Major Signal Transduction Pathways
      4. 7-4. Other Signal Transduction Pathways
      5. 7-5. Summary
    14. 8. Multiplicity and Persistency of Synaptic Plasticity
      1. 8-1. Introduction
      2. 8-2. Synaptic Plasticity in Purkinje Cells
      3. 8-3. Synaptic Plasticity in Basket/Stellate Cells
      4. 8-4. Synaptic Plasticity in Other Cerebellar Cortical Synapses
      5. 8-5. Synaptic Plasticity in Cerebellar/Vestibular Nuclear Neurons
      6. 8-6. Persistency of Synaptic Plasticity
      7. 8-7. Protein Synthesis
      8. 8-8. Summary
    15. 9. Network Models
      1. 9-1. Introduction
      2. 9-2. Mossy Fiber-Granule Cell Relay
      3. 9-3. Purkinje Cell Models
      4. 9-4. The Granule Cell-Golgi Cell Loop
      5. 9-5. The Inferior Olive-Climbing Fiber System
      6. 9-6. Multilayered Network Models
      7. 9-7. Nuclear Circuits
      8. 9-8. Microcomplexes
      9. 9-9. Summary
    16. 10. Ocular Reflexes
      1. 10-1. Introduction
      2. 10-2. The Vestibuloocular Reflex (VOR)
      3. 10-3. VOR Adaptation and the Flocculus
      4. 10-4. Neuronal circuit for VOR adaptation
      5. 10-5. Vestibular Compensation
      6. 10-6. Optokinetic Eye-Movement Response (OKR)
      7. 10-7. The Ocular Following Response (OFR)
      8. 10-8. Integrated Control of Ocular Reflexes by the Cerebellum
      9. 10-9. Saccadic Eye Movement
      10. 10-10. Summary
    17. 11. Somatic and Autonomic Reflexes
      1. 11-1. Introduction
      2. 11-2. The Stretch Reflex and Posture Under Selected Conditions
      3. 11-3. Nociceptive Withdrawal Reflex
      4. 11-4. Locomotion
      5. 11-5. Eye-Blink Conditioning
      6. 11-6. Sympathetic Reflexes
      7. 11-7. Summary
    18. 12. Adaptive Control System Models
      1. 12-1. Introduction
      2. 12-2. Adaptive Control of Ocular Reflexes
      3. 12-3. Two Models of the Flocculus-VOR System: Forward Versus Recurrent Pathways
      4. 12-4. Two Memory Sites for VOR/OKR Adaptation
      5. 12-5. Inverse Model of the Eyeballs
      6. 12-6. The Saccade Control System
      7. 12-7. Adaptive Control of Somatic Reflexes
      8. 12-8. Two Prototypes of Adaptive Control of Reflexes
      9. 12-9. Summary
    19. 13. Voluntary Motor Control
      1. 13-1. Introduction
      2. 13-2. Load Compensation and Reaction Time Task
      3. 13-3. Multijoint Arm Movements for Reaching
      4. 13-4. Hand Grip
      5. 13-5. Operant Conditioning
      6. 13-6. Source(s) of Central Instruction Signals
      7. 13-7. Summary
    20. 14. Voluntary Eye Movement
      1. 14-1. Introduction
      2. 14-2. The Frontal Eye Field
      3. 14-3. Smooth Pursuit
      4. 14-4. Voluntary Saccades
      5. 14-5. Vergence
      6. 14-6. The Dorsomedial Frontal Cortex
      7. 14-7. Summary
    21. 15. Internal Models for Voluntary Motor Control
      1. 15-1. Introduction
      2. 15-2. Internal Forward Model
      3. 15-3. Internal Inverse Model
      4. 15-4. Sensory/Motor Signals and Forward/Inverse Models
      5. 15-5. Climbing Fiber Signals
      6. 15-6. Combination of Forward and Inverse Models
      7. 15-7. Transition from Reflex Control to Voluntary Control
      8. 15-8. Sensory Cancellation
      9. 15-9. Summary
    22. 16. Motor Actions and Tool Use
      1. 16-1. Introduction
      2. 16-2. Action Controllers in the Premotor Cortex
      3. 16-3. Body Schema and Motor Schema
      4. 16-4. Roles of the Cerebellum in Motor Actions
      5. 16-5. Mirror Neurons
      6. 16-6. Self-Monitoring of Motor Actions
      7. 16-7. Tool Use
      8. 16-8. Summary
    23. 17. Cognitive Functions
      1. 17-1. Introduction
      2. 17-2. Neural Systems for Thought
      3. 17-3. Cerebral Cortical Model for Thoughts
      4. 17-4. Cerebellar Internal Model for Thought
      5. 17-5. Explicit and Implicit Thoughts
      6. 17-6. Cognitive Activity in the Cerebellum
      7. 17-7. Mental Disorders Associated with Cerebellar Dysfunction
      8. 17-8. Summary
    24. 18. Concluding Thoughts
      1. 18-1. What Is the Cerebellum in a Nutshell?
      2. 18-2. Seven Questions
      3. 18-3. The Cerebellum and the Basal Ganglia
      4. 18-4. How Might Cerebellar Research Now Develop?
    25. References
    26. Index
    27. Financial Times Press

Product information

  • Title: Modern Discoveries in Neuroscience... And What They Reveal About You (Collection)
  • Author(s): Dale Purves Masao Ito Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald, Andrew Koob
  • Release date: February 2012
  • Publisher(s): Pearson
  • ISBN: 9780133039665