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Meaning In The Brain
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Book Synopsis The Brain and the Meaning of Life by : Paul Thagard
Download or read book The Brain and the Meaning of Life written by Paul Thagard and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-02-14 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defending the superiority of evidence-based reasoning over religious faith and philosophical thought experiments, Thagard argues that minds are brains and that reality is what science can discover. Brains come to know reality through a combination of perception and reasoning. Just as important, our brains evaluate aspects of reality through emotions that can produce both good and bad decisions. Our cognitive and emotional abilities allow us to understand reality, decide effectively, act morally, and pursue the vital needs of love, work, and play. Wisdom consists of knowing what matters, why it matters, and how to achieve it."--Jacket.
Book Synopsis Discovering the Brain by : National Academy of Sciences
Download or read book Discovering the Brain written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."
Book Synopsis The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning by : Iain McGilchrist
Download or read book The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning written by Iain McGilchrist and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this 10,000-word essay, written to complement Iain McGilchrist's acclaimed The Master and His Emissary, the author asks why - despite the vast increase in material well-being - people are less happy today than they were half a century ago, and suggests that the division between the two hemispheres of the brain has a critical effect on how we see and understand the world around us. In particular, McGilchrist suggests, the left hemisphere's obsession with reducing everything it sees to the level of minute, mechanistic detail is robbing modern society of the ability to understand and appreciate deeper human values. Accessible to readers who haven't yet read The Master and His Emissary as well as those who have, this is a fascinating, immensely thought-provoking essay that delves to the very heart of what it means to be human.
Book Synopsis The Master and His Emissary by : Iain McGilchrist
Download or read book The Master and His Emissary written by Iain McGilchrist and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-26 with total page 615 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of the bestselling classic – published with a special introduction to mark its 10th anniversary This pioneering account sets out to understand the structure of the human brain – the place where mind meets matter. Until recently, the left hemisphere of our brain has been seen as the ‘rational’ side, the superior partner to the right. But is this distinction true? Drawing on a vast body of experimental research, Iain McGilchrist argues while our left brain makes for a wonderful servant, it is a very poor master. As he shows, it is the right side which is the more reliable and insightful. Without it, our world would be mechanistic – stripped of depth, colour and value.
Book Synopsis Postcards from the Brain Museum by : Brian Burrell
Download or read book Postcards from the Brain Museum written by Brian Burrell and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes one man a genius and another a criminal? Is there a physical explanation for these differences? For hundreds of years, scientists have been fascinated by this question. In Postcards from the Brain Museum, Brian Burrell relates the story of the first scientific attempts to locate the sources of both genius and depravity in the physical anatomy of the human brain. It describes the men who studied and collected special brains, the men who gave them up, and the sometimes cruel fate of the brains themselves. The fascination with elite brains was an aspect of the scientific mania for measurement that gripped the Western world in the mid-nineteenth century, along with a passionate interest in the biological basis of genius or exceptional talent. Many leading intellectuals and artists willed their brains to science, and the brains of notorious criminals were also collected by eager anatomists ghoulishly waiting in the execution chamber with a bag full of sharp metal tools. Focusing on the posthumous sagas of brains belonging to Byron, Whitman, Lenin, Einstein, the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, and many others, Burrell describes how the brains of famous men were first collected--by means both fair and foul--and then weighed, measured, dissected, and compared; exhaustive studies analyzed their fissural complexity and cell or neuron size. In various cities in Europe, Russia, and the United States, brain collections were painstakingly assembled and studied. A veritable who's who of literary, artistic, musical, scientific, and political achievement waited in Formalin-filled jars for their secrets to be unlocked. The men who built the brain collections werecolorful and eccentric figures like Rudolph Wagner, whose study of the brain of Carl Friedrich Gauss led to one of the great scientific debates of the nineteenth century. In America, the Fowler brothers brought phrenology to the United States and made a convert of Walt Whitman, whose brain was donated to science and disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Eventually, this project was abandoned, and with the discovery of new technologies the study of the brain has moved on to a higher plane. But the collections themselves still exist, and today, in Paris, London, Stockholm, Philadelphia, Moscow, and even Tokyo, the brains of nineteenth century geniuses sit idle, gathering dust in their jars. Brian Burrell has visited these collections and looked into the original intentions and purposes of their creators. In the process, he unearths a forgotten byway in the history of science--a tale of colorful eccentrics bent on laying bare the secrets of the human mind.
Download or read book The Ravenous Brain written by Daniel Bor and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2012-08-28 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consciousness is our gateway to experience: it enables us to recognize Van Gogh's starry skies, be enraptured by Beethoven's Fifth, and stand in awe of a snowcapped mountain. Yet consciousness is subjective, personal, and famously difficult to examine: philosophers have for centuries declared this mental entity so mysterious as to be impenetrable to science.In The Ravenous Brain, neuroscientist Daniel Bor departs sharply from this historical view, and builds on the latest research to propose a new model for how consciousness works. Bor argues that this brain-based faculty evolved as an accelerated knowledge gathering tool. Consciousness is effectively an idea factory -- that choice mental space dedicated to innovation, a key component of which is the discovery of deep structures within the contents of our awareness.This model explains our brains"; ravenous appetite for information -- and in particular, its constant search for patterns. Why, for instance, after all our physical needs have been met, do we recreationally solve crossword or Sudoku puzzles? Such behavior may appear biologically wasteful, but, according to Bor, this search for structure can yield immense evolutionary benefits -- it led our ancestors to discover fire and farming, pushed modern society to forge ahead in science and technology, and guides each one of us to understand and control the world around us. But the sheer innovative power of human consciousness carries with it the heavy cost of mental fragility.Bor discusses the medical implications of his theory of consciousness, and what it means for the origins and treatment of psychiatric ailments, including attention-deficit disorder, schizophrenia, manic depression, and autism. All mental illnesses, he argues, can be reformulated as disorders of consciousness -- a perspective that opens up new avenues of treatment for alleviating mental suffering.A controversial view of consciousness, The Ravenous Brain links cognition to creativity in an ingenious solution to one of science's biggest mysteries.
Book Synopsis Your Brain Is Always Listening by : Daniel G. Amen, MD
Download or read book Your Brain Is Always Listening written by Daniel G. Amen, MD and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestselling author Dr. Daniel Amen equips you with powerful weapons to battle the inner dragons that are breathing fire on your brain, driving unhealthy behaviors, and robbing you of joy and contentment. Your brain is always listening and responding to these hidden influences and unless you recognize and deal with them, they can steal your happiness, spoil your relationships, and sabotage your health. This book will teach you to tame the: Dragons from the Past that ignite your most painful emotions; Negative Thought Dragons that attack you, fueling anxiety and depression; They and Them Dragons, people in your life whose own dragons do battle with yours; Bad Habit Dragons that increase the chances you’ll be overweight, overwhelmed, and an underachiever; Addicted Dragons that make you lose control of your health, wealth, and relationships; and Scheming Dragons, advertisers and social media sites that steal your attention. Dr. Daniel Amen shows you how to recognize harmful dragons and gives you the weapons to vanquish them. With these practical tools, you can stop feeling sad, mad, nervous, or out of control and start being happier, calmer, and more in control of your own destiny.
Book Synopsis Language in Our Brain by : Angela D. Friederici
Download or read book Language in Our Brain written by Angela D. Friederici and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2017-11-16 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive account of the neurobiological basis of language, arguing that species-specific brain differences may be at the root of the human capacity for language. Language makes us human. It is an intrinsic part of us, although we seldom think about it. Language is also an extremely complex entity with subcomponents responsible for its phonological, syntactic, and semantic aspects. In this landmark work, Angela Friederici offers a comprehensive account of these subcomponents and how they are integrated. Tracing the neurobiological basis of language across brain regions in humans and other primate species, she argues that species-specific brain differences may be at the root of the human capacity for language. Friederici shows which brain regions support the different language processes and, more important, how these brain regions are connected structurally and functionally to make language processes that take place in milliseconds possible. She finds that one particular brain structure (a white matter dorsal tract), connecting syntax-relevant brain regions, is present only in the mature human brain and only weakly present in other primate brains. Is this the “missing link” that explains humans' capacity for language? Friederici describes the basic language functions and their brain basis; the language networks connecting different language-related brain regions; the brain basis of language acquisition during early childhood and when learning a second language, proposing a neurocognitive model of the ontogeny of language; and the evolution of language and underlying neural constraints. She finds that it is the information exchange between the relevant brain regions, supported by the white matter tract, that is the crucial factor in both language development and evolution.
Book Synopsis From Neurons to Neighborhoods by : National Research Council
Download or read book From Neurons to Neighborhoods written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-11-13 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.
Download or read book The Brain Book written by Liam Drew and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's a wrinkly, spongy mass the size of a cauliflower that sits in our heads and controls everything we do! Welcome to the world of the brain... What is the brain made of? How does it work? Why do we need one at all? Discover the answers to these questions and much more in this fun, fact-packed introduction to the brain. Filled with colorful illustrations and bite-sized chunks of information, this book covers everything from the anatomy of the brain and nervous system to how information is collected and sent around the body. Other topics include how we learn, memory, thinking, emotions, animal brains, sleep, and even questions about the brain that are yet to be answered. With entertaining illustrated characters, clear diagrams, and fascinating photographs, children will love learning about their minds and this all-important organ. The Brain Book is an ideal introduction to the brain and nervous system. Perfect for budding young scientists, it is a great addition to any STEAM library.
Book Synopsis Foundations of Language by : Ray Jackendoff
Download or read book Foundations of Language written by Ray Jackendoff and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2002-01-24 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does human language work? How do we put ideas into words that others can understand? Can linguistics shed light on the way the brain operates? Foundations of Language puts linguistics back at the centre of the search to understand human consciousness. Ray Jackendoff begins by surveying the developments in linguistics over the years since Noam Chomsky's Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. He goes on to propose a radical re-conception of how the brain processes language. This opens up vivid new perspectives on every major aspect of language and communication, including grammar, vocabulary, learning, the origins of human language, and how language relates to the real world. Foundations of Language makes important connections with other disciplines which have been isolated from linguistics for many years. It sets a new agenda for close cooperation between the study of language, mind, the brain, behaviour, and evolution.
Book Synopsis Imagination and the Meaningful Brain by : Arnold H. Modell
Download or read book Imagination and the Meaningful Brain written by Arnold H. Modell and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of the biology of meaning that integrates the role of subjective processes with current knowledge of brain/mind function.
Book Synopsis Language and the Brain by : Yosef Grodzinsky
Download or read book Language and the Brain written by Yosef Grodzinsky and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2000-02-28 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of language has increasingly become an area of interdisciplinary interest. Not only is it studied by speech specialists and linguists, but by psychologists and neuroscientists as well, particularly in understanding how the brain processes meaning. This book is a comprehensive look at sentence processing as it pertains to the brain, with contributions from individuals in a wide array of backgrounds, covering everything from language acquisition to lexical and syntactic processing, speech pathology, memory, neuropsychology, and brain imaging.
Book Synopsis The Brain from Inside Out by : György Buzsáki MD, PhD
Download or read book The Brain from Inside Out written by György Buzsáki MD, PhD and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-18 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is there a right way to study how the brain works? Following the empiricist's tradition, the most common approach involves the study of neural reactions to stimuli presented by an experimenter. This 'outside-in' method fueled a generation of brain research and now must confront hidden assumptions about causation and concepts that may not hold neatly for systems that act and react. György Buzsáki's The Brain from Inside Out examines why the outside-in framework for understanding brain function has become stagnant and points to new directions for understanding neural function. Building upon the success of 2011's Rhythms of the Brain, Professor Buzsáki presents the brain as a foretelling device that interacts with its environment through action and the examination of action's consequence. Consider that our brains are initially filled with nonsense patterns, all of which are gibberish until grounded by action-based interactions. By matching these nonsense "words" to the outcomes of action, they acquire meaning. Once its circuits are "calibrated" by action and experience, the brain can disengage from its sensors and actuators, and examine "what happens if" scenarios by peeking into its own computation, a process that we refer to as cognition. The Brain from Inside Out explains why our brain is not an information-absorbing coding device, as it is often portrayed, but a venture-seeking explorer constantly controlling the body to test hypotheses. Our brain does not process information: it creates it.
Book Synopsis Mirrors in the Brain by : Giacomo Rizzolatti
Download or read book Mirrors in the Brain written by Giacomo Rizzolatti and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2008 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When we witness a great actor, musician, or sportsperson performing, we share something of their experience. It become clear just how this sharing of experience is realised within the human brain. This text provides an accessible overview of mirror neurons, written by the man who first discovered them.
Book Synopsis Am I Just My Brain? by : Sharon Dirckx
Download or read book Am I Just My Brain? written by Sharon Dirckx and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2019-05-01 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looking at the body, mind and soul to answer the question: What exactly is a human being? Modern research is uncovering more and more detail of what our brain is and how it works. We are living, thinking creatures who carry around with us an amazing organic supercomputer in our heads. But what is the relationship between our brains and our minds-and ultimately our sense of identity as a person? Are we more than machines? Is free-will an illusion? Do we have a soul? Brain Imaging Scientist Sharon Dirckx lays out the current understanding of who we are from biologists, philosophers, theologians and psychologists, and points towards a bigger picture that suggests answers to the fundamental questions of our existence. Not just "What am I?", but "Who am I?"-and "Why am I?" Read this book to gain valuable insight into what modern research is telling us about ourselves, or to give a sceptical friend to challenge the idea that we are merely material beings living in a material world.
Book Synopsis Consciousness and the Brain by : Stanislas Dehaene
Download or read book Consciousness and the Brain written by Stanislas Dehaene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-01-30 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE 2014 BRAIN PRIZE From the acclaimed author of Reading in the Brain and How We Learn, a breathtaking look at the new science that can track consciousness deep in the brain How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks to clever psychological and brain-imaging experiments, scientists are closer to cracking this mystery than ever before. In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state. We can now pin down the neurons that fire when a person reports becoming aware of a piece of information and understand the crucial role unconscious computations play in how we make decisions. The emerging theory enables a test of consciousness in animals, babies, and those with severe brain injuries. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, Consciousness and the Brain will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying consciousness.
