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The Man with the Phantom Twin: Adventures in Neuroscience of the Human Brain
Oliver Sacks meets Steven Pinker in a fascinating exploration of what makes humans and their brains uniqueawith revelations about the cutting-edge science of mirror neurons.
What makes humans different from other beings? Can science explain the nature of human creativity and empathy? While Darwinian science explains how humans evolved just as animals did, modern neuroscience is now unlocking the keys to those less tangible traits that set humans apart. Internationally renowned physician and neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran now gives us twenty-first-century answers to these age-old questions, showcasing the most current researcha much of it his ownainto physical mechanisms in the brain, including the mysterious mirror neurons.
Just as Oliver Sacks has entertained a generation of readers with fascinating patient stories, "The Man with the Phantom Twin" features incredible case studies of bizarre behavior, such as a patient who becomes progressively demented yet creates beautiful paintings of extraordinary realism; a woman who suffers from a paranoid terror of the strangers who live in mirrors; a stroke victim who can no longer understand metaphors; and a patient who sees each number as being tinged with a color. Revealing a stunning new approach to the intersection of science and creativity, "The Man with the Phantom Twin" will forever change the way you think about what makes you beautiful and special.
What makes humans different from other beings? Can science explain the nature of human creativity and empathy? While Darwinian science explains how humans evolved just as animals did, modern neuroscience is now unlocking the keys to those less tangible traits that set humans apart. Internationally renowned physician and neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran now gives us twenty-first-century answers to these age-old questions, showcasing the most current researcha much of it his ownainto physical mechanisms in the brain, including the mysterious mirror neurons.
Just as Oliver Sacks has entertained a generation of readers with fascinating patient stories, "The Man with the Phantom Twin" features incredible case studies of bizarre behavior, such as a patient who becomes progressively demented yet creates beautiful paintings of extraordinary realism; a woman who suffers from a paranoid terror of the strangers who live in mirrors; a stroke victim who can no longer understand metaphors; and a patient who sees each number as being tinged with a color. Revealing a stunning new approach to the intersection of science and creativity, "The Man with the Phantom Twin" will forever change the way you think about what makes you beautiful and special.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 10, 2008
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About the author
V.S. Ramachandran
28 books1,235 followersVilayanur S. "Rama" Ramachandran is a neurologist best known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and psychophysics. He is currently the Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, Professor in the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor of Biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Ramachandran initially obtained an M.D. at Stanley Medical College in Madras, India, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. Ramachandran’s early work was on visual perception but he is best known for his experiments in behavioral neurology which, despite their apparent simplicity, have had a profound impact on the way we think about the brain.
Ramachandran has been elected to fellowships at All Souls College, Oxford, and the Royal Institution, London (which also awarded him the Henry Dale Medal). He gave the 2003 BBC Reith Lectures and was conferred the title of Padma Bhushan by the President of India in 2007. He has been called “The Marco Polo of neuroscience” by Richard Dawkins and "the modern Paul Broca" by Eric Kandel. Newsweek magazine named him a member of "The Century Club", one of the "hundred most prominent people to watch" in the 21st century.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilayanu...
Ramachandran initially obtained an M.D. at Stanley Medical College in Madras, India, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. Ramachandran’s early work was on visual perception but he is best known for his experiments in behavioral neurology which, despite their apparent simplicity, have had a profound impact on the way we think about the brain.
Ramachandran has been elected to fellowships at All Souls College, Oxford, and the Royal Institution, London (which also awarded him the Henry Dale Medal). He gave the 2003 BBC Reith Lectures and was conferred the title of Padma Bhushan by the President of India in 2007. He has been called “The Marco Polo of neuroscience” by Richard Dawkins and "the modern Paul Broca" by Eric Kandel. Newsweek magazine named him a member of "The Century Club", one of the "hundred most prominent people to watch" in the 21st century.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilayanu...
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January 20, 2011
MIRROR NEURONS... If you are interested in the brain you should fully understand the significance of these neurons and the role they play in everyday conscious and subconscious behavior. Luckily, Ramachandran breaks it down and has a way with words as much as brains.
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