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The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, How New Discoveries about the Brain Are Revolutionizing Medicine and Science
Despite everything that has been written about the brain, a very important part of this vital organ has been overlooked in most books -- until now. The Other Brain is the story of glia, which make up approximately 85 percent of the cells in the brain. Long neglected as little more than cerebral packing material ("glia" means glue), glia are sparking a revolution in brain s...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
December 29th 2009
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 2009)
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This book is largely a review of research done on non-neuronal nervous system cells (ie, glial cells). To make it a palatable book that tells a story, he creates a narrative that basically places glial cells in the role of Jan Brady and neurons in the role of Marsha. Marsha gets all the attention because she is sexy and Jan is hard to understand because she is boring on the surface despite her intellect and greater likelihood for success in adulthood.
Despite the Brady Bunch analogy, this book is...more
Despite the Brady Bunch analogy, this book is...more
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Despite some repetition and meandering in the writing, this book about the "white matter" in our brains by NIH scientist R. Douglas Fields is absolutely fascinating.
Fields has a mission: to convince readers, and possibly his colleagues, that this other part of the brain has been ignored for far too long and that it may play a vital role in far more mental activity than anyone had once believed.
More than half the brain's volume is taken up by these cells, which are known by various names and perf...more
Fields has a mission: to convince readers, and possibly his colleagues, that this other part of the brain has been ignored for far too long and that it may play a vital role in far more mental activity than anyone had once believed.
More than half the brain's volume is taken up by these cells, which are known by various names and perf...more
I started this last August [2011], and I puttered out, I think, back in January. I only have 34 pages to go, but since I started back taking college classes, I haven't been able to justify the "extra reading"! This book is VERY fascinating, and takes some understanding of neurological "workings" but if you have an interest in mental illness(es) this one WILL intrigue you. Interesting note: psychiatrists and other brain scientists are FINALLY agreeing that "most cases of schizophrenia and bipolar...more
It reads like an adventure story, it leaves you in awe of the workings of the brain. It describes processes in an easy to understand gradual manner and then explains the applications. I couldn't recommend this more to both professionals and lay people alike.
Despite everything that has been written about the brain, a very important part of this vital organ has been overlooked in most books - until now. The Other Brain is the story of glia, which make up approximately 85 percent of the cells in t...more
Despite everything that has been written about the brain, a very important part of this vital organ has been overlooked in most books - until now. The Other Brain is the story of glia, which make up approximately 85 percent of the cells in t...more
If you're interested in learning about how your brain is eventually going to destroy your life, look no further than this book. It's jam-packed with startling insights on how glial cells, not neurons, are potentially the true string-pullers behind the brain's fantastic functionality, and also the ways it goes wrong---for example, by the age of 80, 50% of people will develop Alzheimer's, and glia, long overlooked by neuroscientists because they don't communicate electrically like neurons, are to...more
Douglas Fields is brilliant. Brilliant! He somehow managed to make a book on glial cells not only as intriguing as a best seller, but also as simple and easy to understand as one. He provides just enough information to clarify, but not confuse. One of my favorite things about this book was that he starts from the top- the big picture, and then works down to the details in successive chapters.
However, there is a reason I have given such a fascinating book only 4 stars. This book is going to be r...more
However, there is a reason I have given such a fascinating book only 4 stars. This book is going to be r...more
This book was absolutely fascinating. The Other Brain focuses entirely on glial cells, which are the other general category of cells that make up the brain and nervous system (i.e. not neurons). Viewed since their discovery as little more than scaffolding and insulation for neurons, glial cells have been traditionally relegated to the sidelines of neuroscience as support cells while everyone focused on neurons. I always saw this as incredibly short-sighted; glial cells make up 85% of the central...more
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Amazing. Even though this is not a reading book, it isn't boring. It has small "stories" that go into the main points of the book,helps you see how everything is connected, and makes you feel like someone is actually talking to you (instead of just hearing a dry lecture of facts). Some of the language is a bit complicated, but not usually. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to know about the brain, or if they are just curious. The book gives you get an in depth look a different typ...more
Time well invested in understanding how I'm understanding. Neuroscientists are focused on this other brain - white matter, glia, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, myelinating, axons. This is not the neural brain: this is Brain Central. The neuron brain works by firing electricity across synapses really fast. That's all it does. Glia and its minions work more slowly to build the brain of a fetus (including supervising myelin sheathing beginning at the cerebral cortex at birth, wrapping toward the fro...more
A much needed expose and addition to the 'neuron doctrine' regarding how our brain functions. Fascinating, informative and entertaining at the same time, R Douglas Fields covers very technical neuroscience research with the flair of a poet. While I was reading, my right hemisphere could not help but conjure up and create wonderful images of how our microscopic neuron/glial and electrochemical world were interacting with each other!The author's use of metaphors certainly helped this process, thus...more
This is one of the most readable and most informative non-fiction books I've read in a long time, especially on a topic as complex as the human brain. Imagine you're an explorer who just discovered a new continent no one was aware of. You don't know all that's there, but you know that this is going to change everything. This book is pioneering explanation of new discoveries in how our brains work that suggests vast areas for exploration and huge potential for treating mental and physical ailment...more
Neurons aren't the only important thing in the brain! That's the thrust of this book, which in large part is an explication of glial cells, their role in diverse mental and bodily processes via interaction with the neuronal network, and a case for their under-appreciation in neuroscience.
While I am persuaded by the author's case and I find the new implications intriguing, the book itself is sometimes topically technical to the point of dryness (unless you're the targeted demographic, i.e. pract...more
While I am persuaded by the author's case and I find the new implications intriguing, the book itself is sometimes topically technical to the point of dryness (unless you're the targeted demographic, i.e. pract...more
One of the best books I have read all year. Dr. Fields introduces a new paradigm on the understanding of brain function and dysfunction which has glia cells playing a central role rather than their traditional peripheral role as supporting cells to the neurons. He explores the potential relationships of glia cells in brain development, learning, memory, aging and diseases, including schizophrenia,epilepsy Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Fields postulates that although glia does not...more
I was surprised how much I liked this book by neuroscientist R. Douglas Fields. The theme is the importance of the glia that coat and surround the neurons in our nervous system and their diverse roles in nervous system development and repair, chronic pain, drug addiction, the development high levels of language, musical, and scientific skills, and other roles. Writing for the curious layperson, the author argues (correctly, I think) that the glia were long falsely considered a relatively inert s...more
I have been helping kids overcome learning problems for more than 30 years, teaching them that we are all smarter than we think we are. Dr. Fields tells us why we are smarter than we think. I had no idea that the "white matter" (the glial-cell brain) comprises 85% of the brain.
We have been referencing only 15% all along (the neuronal-cell brain) and now we have the good news that we have more brain horsepower than we ever thought possible. Thank you, Dr. Fields!
I am grateful that you have writ...more
We have been referencing only 15% all along (the neuronal-cell brain) and now we have the good news that we have more brain horsepower than we ever thought possible. Thank you, Dr. Fields!
I am grateful that you have writ...more
This is a fascinating book about the glia, or "gray matter" in the brain. It is a bit heavy on the scientific terms and approaches to brain research, but the author does try hard to make the science understandable.
It feels like a book in the middle. The scientific community is just starting it's glia research, but there is so much that is still unknown, and so many questions yet to be asked, that this reader felt like she'd just read a mystery novel in which the mystery was never fully answered:...more
It feels like a book in the middle. The scientific community is just starting it's glia research, but there is so much that is still unknown, and so many questions yet to be asked, that this reader felt like she'd just read a mystery novel in which the mystery was never fully answered:...more
I wish books were rated in difficulty before we try them, just like cooking receipes. I expected a book of slighly higher level with more scientific insights regarding the functions of glia. I had high expectations and was systematically frustrated during the reading.
That said, it's very accessible and entertaining. Lengthy start with some brain anatomy explained, for people who have no clue what a neuron and what glia is about. Then each chapter addresses a different topic, introduces the topi...more
That said, it's very accessible and entertaining. Lengthy start with some brain anatomy explained, for people who have no clue what a neuron and what glia is about. Then each chapter addresses a different topic, introduces the topi...more
The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, How New Discoveries about the Brain Are Revolutionizing Medicine and Science by R. Douglas Fields, Ph.D. is an in depth look at the roles, positive and negative, played by glial cells in the central nervous system. This accessible book lays out the many ways the various glia affect early childhood development, recovery from brain and spinal cord injury, psychiatric illness, neurodegenerative disorders, addiction, and stroke. Fields was featured on...more
Brilliant!
Mar 14, 2012
Ms.pegasus
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone contemplating a career in science; anyone interested in neuroscience
Recommended to Ms.pegasus by:
Kevin of Goodreads' list of "to read"
Shelves:
neuroscience,
nonfiction
Whether summarizing scientific history, describing what amounts to a parallel yet symbiotic nervous system (glia) driven by chemistry rather than electrical impulses, or proposing theories as to the dynamics between these two systems, Dr. Fields' passion for his subject is apparent. The prose leaps from metaphor to metaphor. Glia, once thought of as mere “housekeepers,” or “bubble wrap,” are captured as restless actors, studded with chemical receptors that regulate the flow of calcium, potassium...more
Incredible book that certainly fulfills a specific niche. I would recommend this book to those interested in neuroplasticity, including those who enjoyed "The Brain that Changes Itself", because our malleable brain is only partially attributed to grey matter, which is the primary focus of that book.
I think many ardent followers of pop psychology/neuroscience will be initially attracted to this, but a more developed passion for the science is required to get through the book in its entirety. Desp...more
I think many ardent followers of pop psychology/neuroscience will be initially attracted to this, but a more developed passion for the science is required to get through the book in its entirety. Desp...more
3.5 stars. This was a very interesting and thought provoking book. Dr. Fields makes a very compelling argument for the importance of glia. (Which after reading the book, I'm convinced the word glia should be thrown out altogether because there are different types of glia that do different things that just got thrown together and called glia (neural glue) because neurologists didn't really understand the functions of glia.) I did find it a bit surprising that this book was just recently published...more
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If you put Jonah Lehrer and Dan Brown in a blender, you'd end up with this book. It's all about brain science, presenting it in simple, approachable terms, and ensuring that the practical implications are discussed. But it's all phrased like a movie trailer designed to get you excited about what's on the next page…which is just more of the same that was on the page before.
The information contain within is good. I could have done without all the blatant hype.
The information contain within is good. I could have done without all the blatant hype.
Through this book I discovered that I didn't like neurology and will probably never look at books of the same genre ever again. I was expecting some case studies that would explain the ailments of the brain that can be explained through neuroscience but what I got was scientific discoveries made in the labs late at night. The only positive thing I can say I came out of from this book was the fact that I can be sure that neuroscience isn't my thing.
This may actually be a five if I understood it. :)
Best line:
"Vital clues were overlooked o dismissed because, as in every mystery story, they were hidden in the blind spot of preconceived ideas."
Substitute "ideas" for "clues" and apply to human nature, especially bureaucratic human nature.
This book gave a new word which I must now try to insert into my conversation: "glia".
Best line:
"Vital clues were overlooked o dismissed because, as in every mystery story, they were hidden in the blind spot of preconceived ideas."
Substitute "ideas" for "clues" and apply to human nature, especially bureaucratic human nature.
This book gave a new word which I must now try to insert into my conversation: "glia".
Fantastic book for anyone wanting to learn about the latest science concerning the brain. It is technical, yet the writing is good. For anyone interested in brain biology, it is an excellent read. There is much encouraging hope for possible cures in the next 10-20 years as the biology is becoming more and more identified.
An in depth exploration of the other cells in the brains that are not neurons and what they do and how they affect basically every part of our lives. Very interesting although a bit heavy on the science. It would be a very interesting read for anybody interested in medicine or neuropsychology.
Fascinating work if you're into brain science and mental health. Glia makes up about 85 percent of our brains, but very little has been known about it until now. Explore the mysteries of the "the other brain" in this challenging, but rewarding work.
This was definitely a good read. However, I can see this book being a pretty difficult read for anyone that doesn't have a strong background in the sciences (or at least a commitment to do some additional research).
This book reminded me of a long New Yorker article where I came out informed and fascinated, but a little tired, too. Interesting read on how brain works.
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