Brain Story: Why Do We Think and Feel as We Do?

by Susan A. Greenfield

The human brain remains the last great unconquered frontier of science. Somehow, that mass of grey sludge locked inside our skulls creates a whole inner world heaving with emotions, memories, ideas and desires. Everything we see, touch, hear and fell -- the illusion of reality -- is generated by this inscrutable organ. For centuries scientist have probed the brain, searching for clues that might shed light on its mysterious workings. Recently, however, with the advent of modern technology and developments in neuroscience, the brain has begun to yield its secrets. The time is ripe to start to make sense of how the brain becomes a mind and how it accounts for our uniquely differing personalities. In this highly readable and often mind-boggling tour, Susan Greenfield brings the reader up to date on the latest theories and controversies. Drawing on the personal stories of many individuals and talking to a wide range of scientists in many parts of the world, she tackles head-on the big questions that touch on all our lives. Where are memories stored? Are our brains a product of nature or nurture? Will we ever build thinking robots? And are free will and consciousness nothing more than illusions produced by the subconscious mind? Illustrated with the latest brain-scanning images that are revolutionizing neuroscience, this book -- which accompanies the BBC television series Brain Story -- gives a fascinating insight into just what makes us tick.

Genres: Science, Psychology, Nonfiction, Neuroscience

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Greenfield is Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford. On 1 February 2006, she was installed as Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Until 8 January 2010, she was director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain

Reviews

[Deyth Banger · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is Documentary films based on the book, as for now I think it's important and very useful people to know what's their problem. For example something has happen to you, and you can't see a image, or you can't recognize a face or you can't remember the name of a word... This is really alwful, but you must go here without afraid and to check out what's everything about, it's not so difficult just go and follow if you have question you can proffesionalists about this or check out in the internet. If you think that you have FFI, better go and check yourself better to live with the truth which hurts than one lie and one moment to die and to don't know from what. Isn't it alwful?

If the one sister doesn't have FFI, then does it mean that the other have it?
...(I just dreammed how everyone I lose in the real life, isn't it alwful???, you don't want to lose everyone)... better check out for something do you have done to live with the unknown, because you go in the unknown. Fuck what people say!

[Minh Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you watched the BBC Planet Earth? If Planet Earth is the most spectacular series of documentaries about our planet then this book is the summary of the most successful series of BBC documentaries about human’s brain. The book introduces fundamental knowledge of our brain’s composition and the role of each component in creating our emotions, memories and consciousness. For example, in Chapter 4, it describes exhaustively how memories are created, both short-time (working) memories and long-term memories. The hippocampus is crucially involved in mediating the consolidation of long-term memories.

This research is also a good reference to learn how memories are created. The book contains a lot of color fMRI images and illustrations which are very helpful for readers who are not professional in neurology to learn about the brain's mechanism. That’s why I recommend this book as the first step into the learning journey of neuroscience.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good intro to neurology for the layman, though it isn't very thorough- it just skims the surface.

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

De TV serie was leuker...