Product Description

It has been remarked that if the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. Commencing with a brief history of neuroscience, from the ancient practice of drilling holes in the head to relieve headaches to the latest results from MRI and CT scans, this accessible guide sets out to explore exactly what we do know about the brain. Including the most up-to-date research on the cerebral processes behind a wide array of human activity - from our capacity for language to how we remember - this lively and entertaining introduction assumes no previous scientific knowledge and offers a tantalizing glimpse into man's most complex organ.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #277008 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
A virtuoso performance! The book is technical, easy to read and entertaining. --Garth Nicholson, Associate Professor of Medical Genetics, University of Sydney

An excellent introduction which explains some difficult concepts in a clear and entertaining way. --Nigel Leigh, Professor of Neurology, King's College, London

This is a thoughtfully set out book that is more accessible than the Oxford very short introduction for the general reader. --Scientific and Medical Network

About the Author
Ammar Al-Chalabi is Honorary Honorary Consultant Neurologist at King's College Hospital and Senior Lecturer in Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics at King's College London Martin R. Turner is a Specialist Registrar in Neurology at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, and a Clinical Tutorial Fellow at Green College, Oxford University. R. Shane Delamont is a Consultant Neurologist at King s College Hospital.

Customer Reviews

A frontal-lobe workout for the rest of us...
This thoughtful guide to the brain is designed to give more depth and detail to the average lay person’s knowledge about that squidgy grey lump of goo in our heads which looks innocuous enough but is probably the most amazing thing in the known universe. This was not recognised until recently, however, for example ancient cultures used to think that the intellect resided in the heart, illustrated nicely by the anecdote of “Mike the headless chicken”, who managed to survive 18 months after being decapitated!

I’ve read a few of these sorts of books during my days as a psychology student, and this is the best I’ve read so far for giving an overview of everything from cell structure to brain anatomy to evolutionary psychology to philosophical epistemology. Whilst these subjects aren’t treated in a huge amount of depth (the book’s only 200-odd pages!), they are all linked together very well and accurately reflect the state of current thinking.

Although the book tackles some very complex subjects it remains readable and engaging throughout. It would make a good introductory text for students in psychology, philosophy, or medicine, or just the intelligent reader who is curious to learn more. It might also make a good read for an “expert patient” with a neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, or Parkinson’s.