Cracking Neuroscience

by Jon Turney

For so long, the brain was the great unknown of human biology; an evolved complex of cells, chemicals and electricity, which eluded even the understanding of its own grey matter. Now, in this comprehensive guide, the most complicated concepts from across the field of neuroscience - such as memory, addiction and mind mapping - are broken down into easily understandable bite-sized pieces, to give everyone the chance to understand their own brain.

Includes sections

-The anatomy of the brain
-Neurons, synapses and axons - the building blocks of the brain
-Differences in male and female development
-Modern treatment of mental illness
-The effects on the brain of different food and stimulants
-Memory, senses, cravings
-Fight or flight
-Perception and sensation
-The future of neuroscience

Genres: Neuroscience, Nonfiction

516 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2018

About the author

Science writer

Reviews

[chickpea B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty decent. Lots of information. In a simple way explained. Straight to the point. Interesting topics regarding neuroscience is discussed in this book. It's a nice book to read for neuroscience newbies. I want to read more neuroscience books from now on.

[Gabriel Suescún · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es un buen abrebocas para quienes se interesan en los temas del cerebro y sus funciones. De aquí hay que profundizar aún más, claro está. A mí me fue útil, pues ámbitos como la psicología y la neurociencia me fascinan; sin embargo, no es a lo que quiero dedicarme.

De cualquier forma, conocer cada vez más acerca de cómo funciona nuestra mente es una gran herramienta para la construcción narrativa, tanto para literatura como para cine (los dos ámbitos que más me interesan).

[Aneta Tu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but dear me the font in this book is tiny!

[Michael Kulyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some parts are okay re neurons and cellular communication , also regarding vision and hearing but the book really fails when it comes to describing and explaining areas like emotions and the limbic system. There are some good images relating to brain structure and function but mostly images of everyday things that the author believes illustrate brain mechanisms. The author attempts to write in a light hearted way but often doesn't provide sufficient explanation or writes in an unclear manner
I certainly wouldn't recommend this book and consider it pretty much a waste of time.

[Joe Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introductory book on neuroscience. Basically it is about how the brain works.

[Rhys Fearnley · Rating 2 out of 5]

awful presentation and hard to read at points due to text-over-image.
regardless, interesting and accessible introduction to the broader concepts of neuroscience.

[Richard Angelus · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I want to see the greatness of God, I either look at the vast universe or look into the complex brain. This Cracking series on neuroscience is a good crash-course introduction to the latest scientific knowledge of the workings of the brain 💪 I enjoyed reading Jon Turney's bite-sized chapters (quite wordy as a whole but wonderful graphics makes it doesn't look so) on the field of neuroscience - such as memory, addiction, consciousness, brain waves, mind mapping, etc. - give me the chance to understand the brain, not fully (many things remain a mystery), but enough to be fascinated with it... and a proud owner of one 😉🧠💪

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative book, but only if you’re looking for general information. It has bits of data about different topics, and you definitely have to read more books if you want deeper information. Anyway, it was a fun and short way to learn about various themes of neuroscience.

[Sam Stanley-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love dipping in to this book every couple of days or so. I like the illustrations. It’s a great starter to getting informed about neuroscience and gaining more knowledge of a fun subject.