The Human Brain: A Guided Tour - Softcover

Greenfield, Susan A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753801558 ISBN 13: 9780753801550

Publisher: Phoenix, 1997

Synopsis

Locked away remote from the rest of the body in its own custom-built casing of skull bone, with no intrinsic moving parts, the human brain remains a tantalising mystery. But now, more than ever before, we have the expertise to tackle this mystery - the last 20 years have seen astounding progress in brain research.

Susan Greenfield begins by exploring the roles of different regions of the brain. She then switches to the opposite direction and examines how certain functions, such as movement and vision, are accommodated in the brain. She describes how a brain is made from a single fertilized egg; the fate of the brain is traced through life as we see how it constantly changes as a result of experience to provide the essence of a unique individual.

'Dr Susan Greenfield ... is rightly admired as a popular communicator and The Human Brain: A Guided Tour will appeal as a Baedeker to the brain, even to the non-scientist' The Times

About this title

About the Author

Susan Greenfield has held fellowships in the Department of Physiology, Oxford; the College de France, Paris and NYU Medical Center, New York. The title of Professor of Pharmacology was conferred in 1996. She became Director of The Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1998. She heads a group of 18 scientists studying Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease, and developed an interest in the physical basis of the mind. She published her own theory of consciousness Journey to the Centres of the Mind and Ego: The Neuroscience of the Self. In 1994 she was the first woman to give the Royal Institution Christmas lectures. She recently authored The Human Brain: A Guided Tour which was published as paperback in 1998. She was included as one of the 50 most powerful women in Britain by the Guardian and ranked number 14 in the "50 Most Inspirational Women in the World" by Harpers and Queen. She has recently received the Michael Faraday medal from the Royal Society for making the most significant contribution in 1998 to the public understanding of science, as well as receiving the "Woman of Distinction" 1998 award from Jewish Care. In January 2000 she was awarded the CBE for her services to the public understanding of science.

From Kirkus Reviews

For the lay reader, a British scientist offers an enlightening look at the human brain and mind, clarifying what researchers now know and what difficult and tantalizing questions they are still struggling to answer. In 1994, Greenfield (Pharmacology/Oxford) was asked to give the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, a popular series aimed at teenagers and broadcast by the BBC. This book, which is aimed at adult readers, derives from that series. In it, the author approaches the brain first as a physical object, exploring its different regions, and then examining certain functions, specifically movement and vision, to demonstrate how these are carried out by the different regions engaging in a kind of ``balanced dialogue.'' Greenfield then shifts her approach and tackles the brain from a cellular level. She begins with a single neuron and explains how the brain is built in increasingly complex circuits. She shows how neurons communicate with each other chemically and how this communication is affected by mood-altering drugs such as nicotine, morphine and its derivative heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy. She next turns to the development of the brain from the beginning of life, showing how its neuronal circuitry constantly changes as a result of experience, and tackling the issue of when consciousness arises. In her final chapter she considers the various kinds of memory, raising tough questions about the relationship of brain to mind. Happily for the reader, Greenfield, who recently began giving free public lectures on the brain in the City of London, has developed a keen sense of what curious nonscientists want to know and, equally important, how to impart scientific information with verve and clarity. (b&w illustrations, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Phoenix
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0753801558
• ISBN 13: 9780753801550
• Binding: Paperback