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Very Short Introductions #144
The Brain: A Very Short Introduction
The Brain: A Very Short Introduction provides a non-technical introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research and gives a sense of how neuroscience addresses questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind. Short, clear discussions on the mechanical workings of the brain are offered and the details of brain science are covered in an accessible style. Explanations of the more familiar implications of the brain's actions, such as memories, perceptions, and motor control are integrated throughout the book. It has chapters on brain processes and the causes of "altered mental states," as well as a final chapter that discusses possible future developments in neuroscience, touching on artificial intelligence, gene therapy, the importance of the Human Genome Project, drugs by design, and transplants. Up-to-date coverage of the newest developments in brain research and suggestions for future research on the brain are also included.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
160 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2003
192 people are currently reading
2453 people want to read
About the author
Michael O'Shea
39 books7 followersMichael O’Shea is Professor of Neuroscience and co-Director of the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics at the University of Sussex in the UK. Before taking up his present position he was Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Geneva, Switzerland and Associate Professor at the University of Chicago in the USA. He held Research Fellowships at the University of Cambridge and the University of California at Berkeley. He is author of more than 100 scholarly articles on cellular, molecular and computational neuroscience and biologically inspired robotics. He is a keen amateur astronomer and an armchair philosopher.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
March 22, 2017
This series of very short introductions by Oxford are in genral little big books with a lot of information and well structured and written.
Thi one is in my opinion outstanding because makes in a short book the no easy task of touch the extremely complex subject of the brain and it does it well.
I will give arelation of the chapters wih a textual series of reflections and facts by the author
1
Thinking about the brain.
"Think for a few moments about a special machine,your brain (a machine made of nanomachines that again are made of molecular nanomachines ),a organ of just 1,2 Kg containing one hunded billion of nerve cells ,none of which alone has any idea who or what you are.However conscious awareness of oneself comes just from that : neurons comunicating one with one another by a hundred trillion interconections."
"thinking about your brain is itself something a conudrum because you can only think about your brain with your brain.
So it seems we are caught in the logical paradox of selfreference and in this case in a self reference system.
As a neuron has hundred or thousands of modificable and modulated conections with other neurons it seems extremely unlikely that the brain is simply performing computational algoritms,so we can not expect computers that perform like brains."
"We have no idea how conscious arises from a physical machine and in trying to undestand how the brain does that we may well be up against the most akward of scientific challenges.
That is not say that the problem can not in principle be solved,just that the brain is a finite machine and presumabily has a finite capacity of understanding"
2
From humors to cells : components of the mind.
Here we find a histhory of the meaning and structure of the brain,fom the theory of humors of Hipocrates to the conclussion by Santiago Ramon y Cajal that the brain is composed by cells,he depicte the neurons and by that begining the modern age of neuroscience.
3
Signalling the brain : getting conected.
Inthis chapter is explained how the nervous signals are transmitted as electric pulses,how the signals are transmited across the synaptic conections from the axon to dendritic terminations ,mediatedby chemicals known as neurotransmisors,as for example Dopamina,and thereinforce of electric signals using potasiun and sodium chanels in molecular gates in the axon membrane,also remarks the paper of glial cells in the functioning of the neurons.
"If as now seems probable the neurons and glial cells aretogether esential for information processing,then considering only neurons we have a vastly underestimated the complexity of the brain machine.There are 100 glial cells for every neuron and we are only begining to understand his paper in the brain computations and in many other ways regulating synaptics transmision."
"This then- the neurons and their conections and their histhory,the companion glial cells,yhe multitude of chemical messengers and receptors-is basically all there is to be the brain.We are far of understanding how it works as a whole but there is nothing more.no magic,no aditional components to account for every thought,each perception and emotion,all our memories,our personality,fears ,loves,and curiosities."
4
From the big bang to the big brain.
In this chapter the author briefly describes the evolution of the nervous system and the process of encephalization til reach the human level.
This evolution is in some way repeated in the embrionic development.
5
Sensing ,perceiving and acting.
In ths chapter isdescribed the structure at large ofthe brain and in some way a detailed explanation of the working of the sight and hear senses,its process at different lrvel of the brain and the working of voluntary and involuntary movements of the body.
6
Memories are made of this.
Here is explained the formation of memory by the Eric Kandel theory.
The short term memory consist in a temporal streghtening of synapses by a flush of neurotransmiters and a modificationof existen proteins.
The long term memory consist in a message send from the synapse to the nucleus ,the activation of some genes the creation of new proteins that make a more or les long time permanent streght of the synapse.
7
Broken brain : invention and intervention.
The author here tell the develops an advances in conectig a brain to a electronic device as the can hel to the brain in make moves ,hear or see.
"This is a prospect both seductive and frightening and that demands serious ethical reflections.One are that deserves scrutiny is military implications of this technologie,implications that have not escaped the attention of the US Defence Advance Research Projects Agency with it funding brain-machine interface research.Seriously provocative new weapons capabilities could be placed under direct control of an individuals thoughts by pasing human reticence and ethical reflections "
The author is not very hopefull of standard computer technology
"The worlds most powerful supercomputer weights a tonne,is the size of a average room and comsums more that a million times that a human brain,while at the same time being no match for it on any measure of creative intelligence"
"A fly brain contains about 100000 neurons (has a big capacity of proces to fly betwwen a bush) requiring building instructions of 20000 genes.A human brain with ten million more components can be constructed with twice of genes "
"Convetional computers are so inefficient and inherently uninteligent hat computer scientists are now turning theirattention to neuroscience for inspiration in the creation of a new generation of efficient and adaptatively inteligent machines"
A very recomendable introductory book for those interested in the inner workin of the brain
Thi one is in my opinion outstanding because makes in a short book the no easy task of touch the extremely complex subject of the brain and it does it well.
I will give arelation of the chapters wih a textual series of reflections and facts by the author
1
Thinking about the brain.
"Think for a few moments about a special machine,your brain (a machine made of nanomachines that again are made of molecular nanomachines ),a organ of just 1,2 Kg containing one hunded billion of nerve cells ,none of which alone has any idea who or what you are.However conscious awareness of oneself comes just from that : neurons comunicating one with one another by a hundred trillion interconections."
"thinking about your brain is itself something a conudrum because you can only think about your brain with your brain.
So it seems we are caught in the logical paradox of selfreference and in this case in a self reference system.
As a neuron has hundred or thousands of modificable and modulated conections with other neurons it seems extremely unlikely that the brain is simply performing computational algoritms,so we can not expect computers that perform like brains."
"We have no idea how conscious arises from a physical machine and in trying to undestand how the brain does that we may well be up against the most akward of scientific challenges.
That is not say that the problem can not in principle be solved,just that the brain is a finite machine and presumabily has a finite capacity of understanding"
2
From humors to cells : components of the mind.
Here we find a histhory of the meaning and structure of the brain,fom the theory of humors of Hipocrates to the conclussion by Santiago Ramon y Cajal that the brain is composed by cells,he depicte the neurons and by that begining the modern age of neuroscience.
3
Signalling the brain : getting conected.
Inthis chapter is explained how the nervous signals are transmitted as electric pulses,how the signals are transmited across the synaptic conections from the axon to dendritic terminations ,mediatedby chemicals known as neurotransmisors,as for example Dopamina,and thereinforce of electric signals using potasiun and sodium chanels in molecular gates in the axon membrane,also remarks the paper of glial cells in the functioning of the neurons.
"If as now seems probable the neurons and glial cells aretogether esential for information processing,then considering only neurons we have a vastly underestimated the complexity of the brain machine.There are 100 glial cells for every neuron and we are only begining to understand his paper in the brain computations and in many other ways regulating synaptics transmision."
"This then- the neurons and their conections and their histhory,the companion glial cells,yhe multitude of chemical messengers and receptors-is basically all there is to be the brain.We are far of understanding how it works as a whole but there is nothing more.no magic,no aditional components to account for every thought,each perception and emotion,all our memories,our personality,fears ,loves,and curiosities."
4
From the big bang to the big brain.
In this chapter the author briefly describes the evolution of the nervous system and the process of encephalization til reach the human level.
This evolution is in some way repeated in the embrionic development.
5
Sensing ,perceiving and acting.
In ths chapter isdescribed the structure at large ofthe brain and in some way a detailed explanation of the working of the sight and hear senses,its process at different lrvel of the brain and the working of voluntary and involuntary movements of the body.
6
Memories are made of this.
Here is explained the formation of memory by the Eric Kandel theory.
The short term memory consist in a temporal streghtening of synapses by a flush of neurotransmiters and a modificationof existen proteins.
The long term memory consist in a message send from the synapse to the nucleus ,the activation of some genes the creation of new proteins that make a more or les long time permanent streght of the synapse.
7
Broken brain : invention and intervention.
The author here tell the develops an advances in conectig a brain to a electronic device as the can hel to the brain in make moves ,hear or see.
"This is a prospect both seductive and frightening and that demands serious ethical reflections.One are that deserves scrutiny is military implications of this technologie,implications that have not escaped the attention of the US Defence Advance Research Projects Agency with it funding brain-machine interface research.Seriously provocative new weapons capabilities could be placed under direct control of an individuals thoughts by pasing human reticence and ethical reflections "
The author is not very hopefull of standard computer technology
"The worlds most powerful supercomputer weights a tonne,is the size of a average room and comsums more that a million times that a human brain,while at the same time being no match for it on any measure of creative intelligence"
"A fly brain contains about 100000 neurons (has a big capacity of proces to fly betwwen a bush) requiring building instructions of 20000 genes.A human brain with ten million more components can be constructed with twice of genes "
"Convetional computers are so inefficient and inherently uninteligent hat computer scientists are now turning theirattention to neuroscience for inspiration in the creation of a new generation of efficient and adaptatively inteligent machines"
A very recomendable introductory book for those interested in the inner workin of the brain
April 5, 2011
This is one of the best books in the VSI series, and I've read well over thirty by now. It gives a very good introduction to the basic neuroanatomy of the brain, and explains many important brain functions. The book is intended for laypeople, but even those (like me) who are familiar with the subject can benefit from reading it. Oftentimes neuroscience textbook overwhelm with details, and it is sometimes hard to see the forest from the trees. This book provides a good bird's eye perspective on the field, and its many references and recommended books make it a valuable reference. Very importantly, the book is up to date in some of the more recent discoveries, including some current controversies like grandma neuron, the idea that the brain has a neuron devoted just for recognizing each family member.
A good, well written and well organized book. I highly recommend it.
A good, well written and well organized book. I highly recommend it.
December 22, 2023
فصل نخست: اندیشیدن دربارهٔ مغز
فصل دوم: از عناصر چهارگانهٔ مزاج تا سلولهای عصبی: سازههای ذهن
فصل سوم: شیوهٔ پیامرسانی در مغز
فصل چهارم: از انفجار بزرگ تا مغز بزرگ
فصل پنجم: حس کردن، ادراک کردن، عمل کردن
فصل ششم: عناصر سازندهٔ خاطرهها
فصل هفتم: مغز در هم ریخته
سه فصل اول برای من مطالب تکراری داشت، چون توی واحدهای دانشگاهی و متفرقه خونده بودم. فصلهای بعدی هم سوالاتی مطرح شده بود که خب به خاطر اینکه کتاب در ۲۰۰۵ نوشته شده، کمی قدیمی هستش و کم و بیش جزو اطلاعات پایهی علوم اعصاب حساب میشه. من فصل آخر رو بیشتر دوست داشتم، چون به مواردی اشاره کرده بود که بهشون جایی برنخورده بودم، با اینکه مطالب بدیهی و سادهای بود.
برای آشنایی اولیه با مغز خوبه، هرچند خیلی تخصصی نیست و ازش انتظاری هم نمیره باشه.
فصل دوم: از عناصر چهارگانهٔ مزاج تا سلولهای عصبی: سازههای ذهن
فصل سوم: شیوهٔ پیامرسانی در مغز
فصل چهارم: از انفجار بزرگ تا مغز بزرگ
فصل پنجم: حس کردن، ادراک کردن، عمل کردن
فصل ششم: عناصر سازندهٔ خاطرهها
فصل هفتم: مغز در هم ریخته
سه فصل اول برای من مطالب تکراری داشت، چون توی واحدهای دانشگاهی و متفرقه خونده بودم. فصلهای بعدی هم سوالاتی مطرح شده بود که خب به خاطر اینکه کتاب در ۲۰۰۵ نوشته شده، کمی قدیمی هستش و کم و بیش جزو اطلاعات پایهی علوم اعصاب حساب میشه. من فصل آخر رو بیشتر دوست داشتم، چون به مواردی اشاره کرده بود که بهشون جایی برنخورده بودم، با اینکه مطالب بدیهی و سادهای بود.
برای آشنایی اولیه با مغز خوبه، هرچند خیلی تخصصی نیست و ازش انتظاری هم نمیره باشه.
December 4, 2019
Neuroscientist and Co-Director of the Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics, Michael O'Shea's knowledges about the brain are wide-ranging, truly admirable... and it shows! From Hippocrates to 'neuron theory' he flies over the history of our understanding of the brain. He delves into physics and chemistry to display how fascinating is the functioning of our neural network (a baffling interplay between electrical signals and chemical messengers). He takes us through evolutionary biology and embryology so as to help shedding light on its development. He discusses how the brain processes sensual experiences and memories. He speculates about the possibilities offered by interface technologies (the 'brain machines' of not a so far away future...). In a word: here's a stylish and very complete tour of one of the most complex machinery ever (the human brain) as exciting as it is wide ranging!
Sure, it certainly is not an easy read. The works of the relevant scientists are explained in vivid details; the nervous system and its relevance to neurology are addressed thoroughly; the chapter on memory (revealing synapses as dynamic joints rendering the clear cut divide nature-nurture completely obsolete) is quite tough to go through... This tiny little book is as difficult to read as it is enthralling, but, how rewarding!
It claims to be a 'very short introduction'. Don't be fooled! It's dense, and certainly nowhere short when it comes to provide a deeper understanding, appreciation, and sense of wonder for what laid within our skulls. In fact, the author doesn't only describes how the brain works; he also fills us with a sense of excitement as to the future possibilities offered by technologies, if applied to our biology.
Crammed with informations, but riveting and stimulating! A very good little book.
Sure, it certainly is not an easy read. The works of the relevant scientists are explained in vivid details; the nervous system and its relevance to neurology are addressed thoroughly; the chapter on memory (revealing synapses as dynamic joints rendering the clear cut divide nature-nurture completely obsolete) is quite tough to go through... This tiny little book is as difficult to read as it is enthralling, but, how rewarding!
It claims to be a 'very short introduction'. Don't be fooled! It's dense, and certainly nowhere short when it comes to provide a deeper understanding, appreciation, and sense of wonder for what laid within our skulls. In fact, the author doesn't only describes how the brain works; he also fills us with a sense of excitement as to the future possibilities offered by technologies, if applied to our biology.
Crammed with informations, but riveting and stimulating! A very good little book.
September 23, 2015
Very interesting book. It's a really short introduction to "The BrAiN". It presents basic information on how brain developed over millions of years and how it works. If you like science topics it may be a good choice of the book for you to read. Give it a try!
January 6, 2014
This was excellent. I have been working my way through the VSI brain books (see bookshelf) and this was the last one of the selection I have bought. Predominately this is about medicine and biology - not a subject I spend much enthusiasm on outside of " turning to page forty-seven and drawing little beards and moustaches on the sperms", so I was surprised to discover I actually found brain biology to be quite interesting.
The last chapter concentrates on potential future developments and of course the idea of human-computer hybrids. All very Sci Fi, but all the same tantalisingly close and possible.
It also helps that O'Shea has a sense of humour.
The last chapter concentrates on potential future developments and of course the idea of human-computer hybrids. All very Sci Fi, but all the same tantalisingly close and possible.
It also helps that O'Shea has a sense of humour.
September 21, 2009
I found that although the information was useful, the writing was a bit flaccid.
February 8, 2012
This is another cracking little book that gives a very useful starting point to learn more about the subject.
February 19, 2022
Es curioso cómo siendo un libro de la serie A very short introduction al autor le da tiempo a dar bandazos hasta curbir parcialmente un montón de temas.
El libro empieza muy bien, en la frontera entre la filosofía y la medicina, describiendo todas las actividades (bastantes de ellas, es imposible describirlas todas en tan pocas páginas) que el cerebro lleva a cabo mientras el lector lee esas líneas.
El capítulo 2 nos habla de las neuronas, de por qué se tardó tanto en identificarlas como células, menciona a nuestro querido Ramón y Cajal varias veces, y nos cuenta cómo en general se ha ido pasando de la creencia de "la mente está en el corazón" a "la mente es el cerebro". Por ejemplo, se creía que el cerebro constaba solo de tres ventrículos huecos y lo demás era relleno, como refleja este bosquejo de Leonardo:
El capítulo 3 es duro de narices, me perdí repetidas veces en él. Describe la química cerebral a nivel molecular, cómo las neuronas se habla n unas con otras en plan canales de iones sodio y potasio.
El capítulo 4 habla de la evolución del cerebro, basándose en los cerebros de insectos y otros animales "simples", y cómo hemos llegado hasta donde estamos. Interesantísimo. El 5º nos habla de cómo podemos distinguir entre un sonido que viene de frente o de espaldas, por la derecha o por la izquierda, y dependiendo de su frecuencia. Esto es interesantísimo: si el sonido es de frecuencia alta, el cerebro sabe distinguir perfectamente de qué lado viene el sonido porque la propia cabeza atenúa muchísimo las frecuencias altas, por lo que el cerebro interpreta que el sonido viene del lado donde lo oye más alto. A frecuencias bajas, sin embargo, necesita otro mecanismo, y resulta que hay un complejo sistema de capas de neuronas que son capaces de medir diferencias de tiempo de milisegundos para saber a cuál de los dos oídos ha llegado antes el sonido. Espectacular.
Para saber cómo hace el cerebro para identificar sonidos delante y detrás, que llegan a los dos oídos a la vez y con la misma intensidad, solo puedo recomendar este vídeo de Jaime Altozano sobre la "música en ocho dimensiones" que es una obra de arte de la divulgación.
El capítulo 6 habla sobre la formación de los recuerdos, a nivel molecular, tanto para la memoria a corto plazo (memoria de trabajo) como a largo plazo. Y es otra vez una voladura de cabeza. Recuerdo hace muchos años haber leído en un libro de Crick (lo pongo incluso en el resumen que hago del libro) que había una posibilidad de que la memoria, molecularmente hablando, fueran iones de calcio que quedan fijados en el cerebro.
La explicación que nos da el autor para la formación de recuerdos a largo plazo es muchísimo más compleja y requiere que moléculas como la serotonina interaccionen con los genes mismos para generar activaciones permanentes de neuronas. Espectacular.
El capítulo 7 habla de enfermedades mentales, de cómo el cerebro puede dejar de funcionar bien, y de cómo podemos simularlo (para entenderlo) e incluso, en un futuro distante, mejorarlo (nos habla, por ejemplo, de los primeros experimentos para mezclar neuronas con silicio. El autor es codirector del Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics de la Universidad de Sussex).
En conjunto creo que como libro introductorio se pasa de frenada por complejo varias veces, pero cuenta otras cosas que son absolutamente maravillosas. El conjunto me ha encantado.
El libro empieza muy bien, en la frontera entre la filosofía y la medicina, describiendo todas las actividades (bastantes de ellas, es imposible describirlas todas en tan pocas páginas) que el cerebro lleva a cabo mientras el lector lee esas líneas.
Reading, when reduced to the rather prosaic level of motor actions, depends on the brain’s ability to orchestrate a series of eye movements. Now, as you read these words, your brain is commanding your eyes to make small but very rapid (about 500° per second) left-to-right movements called saccades (right-to-left or up-and-down for some other written languages). You are not consciously aware of it, but these rapid movements are frequently interrupted by brief periods when the eyes are fixed in position. Watch someone reading and you will see exactly what I mean. You’ll notice that the eyes do not sweep smoothly along the line of text, rather they dart from one ��xation to another. It is only during the fixations, when the eyes dwell for about a fifth of a second, that the brain is able to examine the text in detail. Reading is not possible during the darting saccadic movements because the eyes are moving too quickly across the page. You are not aware of the blur and confusion during a saccade because fortunately there is a brain mechanism that suppresses vision and protects you from visual overload.
El capítulo 2 nos habla de las neuronas, de por qué se tardó tanto en identificarlas como células, menciona a nuestro querido Ramón y Cajal varias veces, y nos cuenta cómo en general se ha ido pasando de la creencia de "la mente está en el corazón" a "la mente es el cerebro". Por ejemplo, se creía que el cerebro constaba solo de tres ventrículos huecos y lo demás era relleno, como refleja este bosquejo de Leonardo:
El capítulo 3 es duro de narices, me perdí repetidas veces en él. Describe la química cerebral a nivel molecular, cómo las neuronas se habla n unas con otras en plan canales de iones sodio y potasio.
Highly specialized protein molecules called ion channels restrict this passage of sodium and potassium into and out of the neuron by acting as molecular gatekeepers. Mobile parts of the molecule, ‘gates’, open and close in an orderly sequence. This molecular machinery enables the membrane to control the switching on and off of the sodium and potassium batteries. Each potassium channel has a single gate, known as the activation gate because when opened the flow of potassium is activated. The sodium channel is more complicated and has two gates, the activation gate and an inactivation gate. When the sodium activation gates are open sodium floods into the neuron due to the concentration gradient. This is equivalent to turning ON the 50mv sodium battery, making the inside of the neuron reach its maximum positive potential
of +50mv at the peak of the nerve impulse. When the potassium gates open, equivalent to turning ON the −70mv battery, potassium flows out.
El capítulo 4 habla de la evolución del cerebro, basándose en los cerebros de insectos y otros animales "simples", y cómo hemos llegado hasta donde estamos. Interesantísimo. El 5º nos habla de cómo podemos distinguir entre un sonido que viene de frente o de espaldas, por la derecha o por la izquierda, y dependiendo de su frecuencia. Esto es interesantísimo: si el sonido es de frecuencia alta, el cerebro sabe distinguir perfectamente de qué lado viene el sonido porque la propia cabeza atenúa muchísimo las frecuencias altas, por lo que el cerebro interpreta que el sonido viene del lado donde lo oye más alto. A frecuencias bajas, sin embargo, necesita otro mecanismo, y resulta que hay un complejo sistema de capas de neuronas que son capaces de medir diferencias de tiempo de milisegundos para saber a cuál de los dos oídos ha llegado antes el sonido. Espectacular.
Para saber cómo hace el cerebro para identificar sonidos delante y detrás, que llegan a los dos oídos a la vez y con la misma intensidad, solo puedo recomendar este vídeo de Jaime Altozano sobre la "música en ocho dimensiones" que es una obra de arte de la divulgación.
El capítulo 6 habla sobre la formación de los recuerdos, a nivel molecular, tanto para la memoria a corto plazo (memoria de trabajo) como a largo plazo. Y es otra vez una voladura de cabeza. Recuerdo hace muchos años haber leído en un libro de Crick (lo pongo incluso en el resumen que hago del libro) que había una posibilidad de que la memoria, molecularmente hablando, fueran iones de calcio que quedan fijados en el cerebro.
La explicación que nos da el autor para la formación de recuerdos a largo plazo es muchísimo más compleja y requiere que moléculas como la serotonina interaccionen con los genes mismos para generar activaciones permanentes de neuronas. Espectacular.
El capítulo 7 habla de enfermedades mentales, de cómo el cerebro puede dejar de funcionar bien, y de cómo podemos simularlo (para entenderlo) e incluso, en un futuro distante, mejorarlo (nos habla, por ejemplo, de los primeros experimentos para mezclar neuronas con silicio. El autor es codirector del Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics de la Universidad de Sussex).
En conjunto creo que como libro introductorio se pasa de frenada por complejo varias veces, pero cuenta otras cosas que son absolutamente maravillosas. El conjunto me ha encantado.
December 19, 2016
I would have finished this book in one day. More thrilling and exciting than the best thriller book out there. However, the amount of information in one page is literally HUGE. Whenever I was reading this book, I wondered, if that was a "short introduction", then what would I face if I decided to study the brain and neuroscience in further detail.
Did you know that there are about a hundred trillion interconnections that takes place in a small part of your brain?
Anyone will definitely enjoy this book! :D
Did you know that there are about a hundred trillion interconnections that takes place in a small part of your brain?
Anyone will definitely enjoy this book! :D
December 17, 2015
Frankly, I could not understand the majority of the book as it contains many of the scientific terminologies which I have no knowledge of, yet I think it will be a good starting point for me to read more and more about the brain itself -this fascinating organ- and how it works, hopefully I can understand and become familiar with this kind of reading :))
August 3, 2015
This is only my second foray into the VSI series and I loved it. Michael covers the history of research, the common misconceptions, and the current state of research. His prose are accessible to all readers. A bit of high school chemistry might help with understanding the mechanics of synapses, but it is not required. I found this a very thought provoking read.
October 12, 2010
Brief, straight-forward, if occasionally confusing.
December 27, 2013
Fascinating. Brief but full of important information. I'll need to read this again.
January 19, 2016
Its a very short introduction to the brain
March 5, 2017
The fact that one can get so much useful information out of such a small book is amazing.
May 25, 2021
Broad introduction to the biological function of the brain and it's tendrils into sensory organs, motor function, and other regulatory systems of the body. From this biological framework, the author touches on the concepts of memory, thought, signalling, sensing, perceiving, and acting. It is truly astounding that an organ in every one of our bodies contains still so much mystery. Recommended as a good starting point to anyone interested in these topics.
July 7, 2020
This was perhaps pitched a little too low for me personally, but it was still useful. An interesting if brief overview of synapses, neurotransmitters, the mechanism of learning, and various brain regions / computations. I would have preferred the section on brain–machine interfaces be replaced with something else.
April 6, 2025
I feel like this had a lot of potential but I think maybe I know too much already to really enjoy this book. I was constantly left wanting for more for deeper explanations and dives into the mystery, into the sciences, the diseases and workings.
January 27, 2022
3.5 stars. A clear and well-written introduction to brain anatomy and function.
August 20, 2025
Michael O’Shea’s The Brain: A Very Short Introduction is the sort of book that makes you wonder how much brilliance can be crammed into just a hundred-odd pages.
The Very Short Introduction series has a reputation for turning heavyweight subjects into concise intellectual journeys, and O’Shea’s contribution on the brain is among the finest examples. He is a neuroscientist who writes like a guide who knows when to pause for breath, when to accelerate, and when to slip in a metaphor that suddenly illuminates a difficult concept.
The opening chapter is almost anatomical in its simplicity—neurons, synapses, neurotransmitters. But O’Shea doesn’t leave them as static pieces of biological kit. He portrays them as the units of a restless city, each flashing with electrical signals and exchanging chemical messages.
The metaphors help, but they also serve a deeper purpose: to remind the reader that something as intimate as thought, love, or memory depends on charged particles moving across membranes. Here O’Shea’s first argument surfaces—that the “magic” of the mind is inseparable from the electrochemical processes of the brain, and yet not reducible to them in any trivial way.
The next chapters expand this basic scaffolding into the grand architecture of networks. We learn how small assemblies of neurons wire together into circuits, and how circuits in turn collaborate to generate perception. What’s striking here is O’Shea’s treatment of the brain not as a rigid organ but as a living system of patterns. He emphasises plasticity—neurons rewiring themselves in response to experience. This opens up the first thematic link: the self is not a fixed essence but an ongoing construction, shaped every moment by learning, memory, and environment. A brain that changes is a self that is always in the making.
Consciousness, inevitably, gets its turn. O’Shea treads carefully, avoiding the temptation to define it into oblivion. Instead, he frames it as the brain’s way of modelling both the external world and its own internal states.
Perception is not passive reception but active construction; what we “see” is partly hallucination constrained by sensory input. This leads him into the famous philosophical puzzles: if the brain creates reality for us, can we ever know reality “as it is”? O’Shea does not claim to solve Kant in twenty pages, but he shows how neuroscience edges the debate forward—suggesting that knowledge is always brain-bound, and truth is a negotiated achievement between neurons and the world.
Memory and learning form the emotional heart of the book. O’Shea explains synaptic strengthening, long-term potentiation, and the biochemical processes that underpin how experiences leave traces. But more importantly, he illustrates how fragile those traces are—memories shift, decay, and are constantly rewritten.
The thematic resonance here is almost literary: identity itself is memory, but memory is unstable. The “self” we cling to is both miraculous and precarious, a sandcastle rebuilt each day by waves of neuronal activity.
O’Shea’s discussion of disorders and drugs grounds the theory in the harsh reality of malfunction. Depression, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia—these are not just diseases but windows into how the brain works when its delicate balance of transmitters and receptors tips out of alignment. Psychoactive drugs, in turn, expose how easily mood and cognition can be shifted by chemistry. The insight here is double-edged: we are resilient organisms capable of adaptation, but also terrifyingly fragile, just a molecule away from collapse.
The final chapters widen the lens to the big questions: can the brain ever understand itself? O’Shea acknowledges the paradox: the organ doing the investigating is the very thing under investigation. But he resists a nihilistic conclusion. Instead, he suggests that partial understanding is itself enough to transform how we live—through medicine, education, and the arts. The brain may be the most complex object in the known universe, yet each discovery enriches our picture of what it means to be human.
What makes this slim volume so rewarding is its refusal to separate science from philosophy. The neurons and synapses are never just biological trivia; they are stepping stones to questions about consciousness, free will, identity, and mortality. O’Shea distills without diluting, writing in crisp bursts that almost mimic the firing of the neurons he describes. The book’s brevity becomes its strength, delivering a series of concentrated insights that leave the reader with a mind buzzing—ironically, much like the brain itself.
In the end, The Brain: A Very Short Introduction succeeds because it reminds us that the brain is not just a biological organ sitting in our skulls, but the stage on which our entire reality is performed.
To understand even fragments of it is to see more clearly what it means to be alive, to think, and to wonder.
The Very Short Introduction series has a reputation for turning heavyweight subjects into concise intellectual journeys, and O’Shea’s contribution on the brain is among the finest examples. He is a neuroscientist who writes like a guide who knows when to pause for breath, when to accelerate, and when to slip in a metaphor that suddenly illuminates a difficult concept.
The opening chapter is almost anatomical in its simplicity—neurons, synapses, neurotransmitters. But O’Shea doesn’t leave them as static pieces of biological kit. He portrays them as the units of a restless city, each flashing with electrical signals and exchanging chemical messages.
The metaphors help, but they also serve a deeper purpose: to remind the reader that something as intimate as thought, love, or memory depends on charged particles moving across membranes. Here O’Shea’s first argument surfaces—that the “magic” of the mind is inseparable from the electrochemical processes of the brain, and yet not reducible to them in any trivial way.
The next chapters expand this basic scaffolding into the grand architecture of networks. We learn how small assemblies of neurons wire together into circuits, and how circuits in turn collaborate to generate perception. What’s striking here is O’Shea’s treatment of the brain not as a rigid organ but as a living system of patterns. He emphasises plasticity—neurons rewiring themselves in response to experience. This opens up the first thematic link: the self is not a fixed essence but an ongoing construction, shaped every moment by learning, memory, and environment. A brain that changes is a self that is always in the making.
Consciousness, inevitably, gets its turn. O’Shea treads carefully, avoiding the temptation to define it into oblivion. Instead, he frames it as the brain’s way of modelling both the external world and its own internal states.
Perception is not passive reception but active construction; what we “see” is partly hallucination constrained by sensory input. This leads him into the famous philosophical puzzles: if the brain creates reality for us, can we ever know reality “as it is”? O’Shea does not claim to solve Kant in twenty pages, but he shows how neuroscience edges the debate forward—suggesting that knowledge is always brain-bound, and truth is a negotiated achievement between neurons and the world.
Memory and learning form the emotional heart of the book. O’Shea explains synaptic strengthening, long-term potentiation, and the biochemical processes that underpin how experiences leave traces. But more importantly, he illustrates how fragile those traces are—memories shift, decay, and are constantly rewritten.
The thematic resonance here is almost literary: identity itself is memory, but memory is unstable. The “self” we cling to is both miraculous and precarious, a sandcastle rebuilt each day by waves of neuronal activity.
O’Shea’s discussion of disorders and drugs grounds the theory in the harsh reality of malfunction. Depression, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia—these are not just diseases but windows into how the brain works when its delicate balance of transmitters and receptors tips out of alignment. Psychoactive drugs, in turn, expose how easily mood and cognition can be shifted by chemistry. The insight here is double-edged: we are resilient organisms capable of adaptation, but also terrifyingly fragile, just a molecule away from collapse.
The final chapters widen the lens to the big questions: can the brain ever understand itself? O’Shea acknowledges the paradox: the organ doing the investigating is the very thing under investigation. But he resists a nihilistic conclusion. Instead, he suggests that partial understanding is itself enough to transform how we live—through medicine, education, and the arts. The brain may be the most complex object in the known universe, yet each discovery enriches our picture of what it means to be human.
What makes this slim volume so rewarding is its refusal to separate science from philosophy. The neurons and synapses are never just biological trivia; they are stepping stones to questions about consciousness, free will, identity, and mortality. O’Shea distills without diluting, writing in crisp bursts that almost mimic the firing of the neurons he describes. The book’s brevity becomes its strength, delivering a series of concentrated insights that leave the reader with a mind buzzing—ironically, much like the brain itself.
In the end, The Brain: A Very Short Introduction succeeds because it reminds us that the brain is not just a biological organ sitting in our skulls, but the stage on which our entire reality is performed.
To understand even fragments of it is to see more clearly what it means to be alive, to think, and to wonder.
June 20, 2017
This book is very interesting indeed.
It gives you a good perspective on the knowledge that humans currently have about their brains. It also follows a timeline, which lets you understand how human's brains have come up with this knowledge. By using a timeline, the writer is able to tell you about some of the important research methods and different branches of brain related sciences. He is also able to tell you that in the past, it was believed that the brain's job was cooling the blood; because, well, it kind of looks like a radiator.
All of which are cool things to know.
My only complaint is that the book was not long enough to contain all of that knowledge, specially the part about brain physiology. I felt like I was passing a lot of billboards in a highway, and trying to read a name and as much as I could about that name from them. I was fine when I haven't heard that weird name in the first place, but when I read it, I inevitably wanted to know more about it. I think they should have either cut that part altogether, or have elaborated on it in more chapters.
It gives you a good perspective on the knowledge that humans currently have about their brains. It also follows a timeline, which lets you understand how human's brains have come up with this knowledge. By using a timeline, the writer is able to tell you about some of the important research methods and different branches of brain related sciences. He is also able to tell you that in the past, it was believed that the brain's job was cooling the blood; because, well, it kind of looks like a radiator.
All of which are cool things to know.
My only complaint is that the book was not long enough to contain all of that knowledge, specially the part about brain physiology. I felt like I was passing a lot of billboards in a highway, and trying to read a name and as much as I could about that name from them. I was fine when I haven't heard that weird name in the first place, but when I read it, I inevitably wanted to know more about it. I think they should have either cut that part altogether, or have elaborated on it in more chapters.
March 22, 2017
نشر افق سری کتاب های جان کلام را با هدف در اختیار گذاشتن آثاری کم حجم و پرمحتوا برای علاقه مندان به حوزه های تخصصی فلسفی و اجتماعی منتشر کرده است. این آثار ترجمه مجموعه ای مشابه از انتشارات آکسفورد بوده که برای هر کتاب از بهترین نویسندگان و متخصصان در آن زمینه استفاده شده است، ترجمه بسیار حرفه ای و روان نشر افق نیز مزید بر علت شده و با یک مجموعه حدودا بیست جلدی بسیار حرفه ای و مفید روبرو هستیم
مغز، یکی از آثار این مجموعه است که با رویکردی فلسفی و معرفت شناسی به بررسی عملکرد مغز و چگونگی پردازش اطلاعات در آن میپردازد. تمرکز بر مباحث آناتومی مغز در کمینه ترین حالت ممکن و تحلیل های فلسفی جهت شناخت عملکرد ذهن در بیشینه ترین حالت ممکن در کتاب بیان شده است و اثر بسیار ارزشمندی رو برای علاقه مندان فلسفه ذهن و ارتباط مغز با عملکرد آگاهی آدمی فراهم کرده است
البته شایان ذکر است که این اثر بسیار مختصر و مفید بوده و در واقع گام اول برای علاقه مندان این زمینه است
مغز، یکی از آثار این مجموعه است که با رویکردی فلسفی و معرفت شناسی به بررسی عملکرد مغز و چگونگی پردازش اطلاعات در آن میپردازد. تمرکز بر مباحث آناتومی مغز در کمینه ترین حالت ممکن و تحلیل های فلسفی جهت شناخت عملکرد ذهن در بیشینه ترین حالت ممکن در کتاب بیان شده است و اثر بسیار ارزشمندی رو برای علاقه مندان فلسفه ذهن و ارتباط مغز با عملکرد آگاهی آدمی فراهم کرده است
البته شایان ذکر است که این اثر بسیار مختصر و مفید بوده و در واقع گام اول برای علاقه مندان این زمینه است
August 24, 2017
The last half of the book was 5 stars. Super interesting. The first have was a pain to get through. I know a lot of people feel the history is important but I could care less about the old theories that provided insight but were not actually accurate. I wish he would have just spent the entire book on our current understanding. But yeah, totally worth the read.
October 24, 2023
i read this on holiday, not sure why, it was interesting though
September 30, 2015
Incredibly boring! So, let's face it: As a non-specialist reader, There is nothing anyone can get if he knows all these overwhelming details about the anatomical structure and biological mechanisms of the brain with the related nervous system of the eyes and ears. Let alone the complexity of the ionic and electrical signalling between tiny neurons. This is a mere scientific rhetoric which no one cares about but its specialists. And even when they want to learn more about it, they will never end up with a book from “ A Very Short Introduction”’s series. I thought the book would be concerned about introducing some of the mental problems that may affect the normal people from time to time. Such as our suffering from having a brain that works effectively in almost everything but the current moment. Or at least recommend a further reading about how to liberate my mind from its self-centered chains which make me see anything around as if it is a part of my own personal thoughts, even if it was just a title of a political article. It seems like I looked for the right answer in the wrong place for a question that haunted me alone. However, finishing a boring book like that in 10 days is still a great mental accomplishment that I have to convince my brain to be happy for.
In the very beginning, the Author chose to spend several pages talking about the bias dilemma of judging a human brain by a human brain. He said:
"Think for a few moments about a very special machine, your brain an organ of just 1.2 kg, containing one hundred billion nerve cells, none of which alone has any idea who or what you are. Thinking about your brain is itself something of a conundrum because you can only think about your brain with your brain. You’ll appreciate the curious circularity of this riddle if you consider the consequence of concluding, as you might, that your brain is the most exquisitely complex and extraordinary machine in the known universe. Clearly this is, and may be nothing more than, the opinion of your brain about itself: the brain’s way of thinking about the brain. So it seems we are caught in the logical paradox of a self-referencing, and in this case also a self-obsessed, system. Perhaps the only reliable conclusion from this thought experiment is that the brain is about as conceited as it is possible to be!"
In the following chapters, Michael O’Shea was concerned to give a brief history regarding the development of scientific theories that described the anatomy of the human brain. Starting from the old imaginary “hydraulic theory” which believes that the brain is more like a bowl of fluid and blood until the recent “cellular Theory”. The breakthrough was in 1906, when Cajal won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in recognition of his great discovery of the main unit of the central nervous system; Neurons.:
"Neurons may receive chemical signals from hundreds of other neurons through a thousand or more synapses on their surfaces, each having some influence on the ‘decision’ to fire a nerve impulse and on the firing rate. The complexity of the resulting signalling network in the brain is almost unimaginable: one hundred billion neurons, each with one thousand synapses, producing a machine with one hundred trillion interconnections! If you started to count them at one per second you would still be counting 30 million years from now!"
In spite of the anatomical overdose, I found myself astonished over some general scientific facts about our brain. Such as the significance of our Cerebral Cortex which I always consider it as a mere coverage of our brain. The Author said:
"More than any other brain structure, it is the cerebral cortex that makes us human. Within the cortex plans are made, volitional behavior is initiated, the neural machinery of language is located, and conscious perceptions are assembled from sensory information. It is the locus of all of our creative intelligence and imagination. If indeed we have free will, then it is in the cortex that its secret will be found."
"The cerebral cortex is the convoluted surface of the two cerebral hemispheres and comprises a single folded sheet, about 2–4 mm thick. Information enters and leaves the cortex carried by about one million input–output neurons, but there are more than ten billion internal connections. The cortex therefore spends most of its time talking to other bits of itself. Extensive and pronounced infolding of the cerebral cortex allows a large surface to be accommodated by the skull. If the left and right cerebral cortices were ironed flat they would cover a surface of about 1.6 square meters, approximately four times the area covered by a chimpanzee’s. A deep midline valley, the longitudinal fissure, divides the cortex into its left and right hemispheres. "
Or this fact about the technique that our brain work with. Whereas the right side is responsible for translating the information that collected by the left side and vice versa. As if there is a perpetual peaceful state of check-hand between both sides. When I contemplate this fact, I didn’t see the brain as a conceited organ any more:
"The deep longitudinal fissure that apparently separates the left from the right cortex along the midline conceals a major structure called the corpus callosum, which is of vital importance in bilaterally coordinated cortical function. It is the communications bridge between the cerebral hemispheres and consists of a tract of about one million axons, half of them originating from neurons in the right and half from neurons in the left cerebral cortex. The axons of the corpus callosum allow the left cortex to know what the right cortex is doing, has done, and might do next, and vice versa. If the corpus callosum is cut through, as it is infrequently in the treatment of intractable epilepsy, the two hemispheres can function independently. Following such operations, individuals referred to as ‘split-brain’ patients provided the definitive evidence that the two hemispheres differed in their roles in language."
The same fact applied to the eyes too:
"Just as the eyes are paired, so too are the lateral geniculate nuclei and primary visual cortical areas. Visual information on the left side is mapped in the right lateral geniculate and the right visual cortex and the map of the right visual world is found in the left target regions. As the visual fields of both eyes overlap extensively, in the so-called binocular field, extensive regions of the left visual field are ‘seen’ by both left and right eyes and vice versa. The visual map in the right-hand side of the brain representing the left side of the visual world, therefore, contains binocular regions that are constructed from information derived from both eyes."
And the whole body as well:
"Movements of the body are controlled by the primary motor cortex, which is a mirror image of the sensory representation of the body surface described above. The left motor area controls the right side of the body and the right the left."
Then there is a separate chapter talking about memory, elaborating Its types; whether it is a short-term, long-term or flash-bulb memory. In addition to some information about how and where each type is formed and saved in our brain. But the fact that frightened me most, was this following one which stated that our long-term memories do affect our genes permanently. We technically carry some people and places inside our DNA forever:
"The distinction between short-term and long-term memory provides a focus for thinking about how the brain is altered by the formation of a memory. We must assume that both types of memory require that something in the physical brain, its chemical and/or electrical properties, must be altered. For short-term memories the changes are transient whereas the changes associated with long term memories must be permanent. Therefore, they would seem to require different mechanisms for their formation and experimental work on animals supports this conclusion. Animal experimentation also shows that memory formation involves alteration or modulation of the properties of synapses in neural circuits. It may also require the formation of new synapses and changes in the electrical excitability of neurons. As for the distinction between short-and long-term memory formation, experiments show that in all cases the most important underlying distinction between the mechanisms is that the latter requires a dialogue between synapses and genes and the former does not. I will return to the physical mechanisms of permanent memory formation, but first it is worth considering the different kinds of long-term memory from a psychological perspective."
Amongst all experiments that have been told in this book, I still adore this well-known one which called “Selective attention test”. It summarizes most, if not all of our emotional, social and intellectual problems as human beings:
https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo
After all, the following lines represent to me the most valuable piece of advice you can get out of this book:
"So the best advice to anyone seeking a better memory and recall ability is to continue to learn. As we have seen, the brain is an extraordinarily plastic and responsive machine. When laying down new memories it makes new proteins and form new synapses; some regions of the brain literally grow in response to the information storage demands placed on them. But just as we grow older we lose muscle power so we lose brain power, in part because neurons die as we age and cannot be replaced. However, physical exercise can dramatically improve the physical condition of young and old alike and today’s neuroscience is telling us that mental exercise can have an equally dramatic effect on the well-being of our plastic brains. The take-home message would seem to be ‘use it or lose it’."
This link below is a marvelous documentary that talks about simple yet amazing psychological mental experiment. Honestly, I don’t know if I am exaggerating its value right now since I am annoyingly sentimental these days, but somehow it made me thinking about my favorite music playlist as if it is my secretive unwritten memoir. So keep yours close, it may save your mind one day, literally I mean.
https://youtu.be/mngp911Nbc8
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2593392/
In the very beginning, the Author chose to spend several pages talking about the bias dilemma of judging a human brain by a human brain. He said:
"Think for a few moments about a very special machine, your brain an organ of just 1.2 kg, containing one hundred billion nerve cells, none of which alone has any idea who or what you are. Thinking about your brain is itself something of a conundrum because you can only think about your brain with your brain. You’ll appreciate the curious circularity of this riddle if you consider the consequence of concluding, as you might, that your brain is the most exquisitely complex and extraordinary machine in the known universe. Clearly this is, and may be nothing more than, the opinion of your brain about itself: the brain’s way of thinking about the brain. So it seems we are caught in the logical paradox of a self-referencing, and in this case also a self-obsessed, system. Perhaps the only reliable conclusion from this thought experiment is that the brain is about as conceited as it is possible to be!"
In the following chapters, Michael O’Shea was concerned to give a brief history regarding the development of scientific theories that described the anatomy of the human brain. Starting from the old imaginary “hydraulic theory” which believes that the brain is more like a bowl of fluid and blood until the recent “cellular Theory”. The breakthrough was in 1906, when Cajal won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in recognition of his great discovery of the main unit of the central nervous system; Neurons.:
"Neurons may receive chemical signals from hundreds of other neurons through a thousand or more synapses on their surfaces, each having some influence on the ‘decision’ to fire a nerve impulse and on the firing rate. The complexity of the resulting signalling network in the brain is almost unimaginable: one hundred billion neurons, each with one thousand synapses, producing a machine with one hundred trillion interconnections! If you started to count them at one per second you would still be counting 30 million years from now!"
In spite of the anatomical overdose, I found myself astonished over some general scientific facts about our brain. Such as the significance of our Cerebral Cortex which I always consider it as a mere coverage of our brain. The Author said:
"More than any other brain structure, it is the cerebral cortex that makes us human. Within the cortex plans are made, volitional behavior is initiated, the neural machinery of language is located, and conscious perceptions are assembled from sensory information. It is the locus of all of our creative intelligence and imagination. If indeed we have free will, then it is in the cortex that its secret will be found."
"The cerebral cortex is the convoluted surface of the two cerebral hemispheres and comprises a single folded sheet, about 2–4 mm thick. Information enters and leaves the cortex carried by about one million input–output neurons, but there are more than ten billion internal connections. The cortex therefore spends most of its time talking to other bits of itself. Extensive and pronounced infolding of the cerebral cortex allows a large surface to be accommodated by the skull. If the left and right cerebral cortices were ironed flat they would cover a surface of about 1.6 square meters, approximately four times the area covered by a chimpanzee’s. A deep midline valley, the longitudinal fissure, divides the cortex into its left and right hemispheres. "
Or this fact about the technique that our brain work with. Whereas the right side is responsible for translating the information that collected by the left side and vice versa. As if there is a perpetual peaceful state of check-hand between both sides. When I contemplate this fact, I didn’t see the brain as a conceited organ any more:
"The deep longitudinal fissure that apparently separates the left from the right cortex along the midline conceals a major structure called the corpus callosum, which is of vital importance in bilaterally coordinated cortical function. It is the communications bridge between the cerebral hemispheres and consists of a tract of about one million axons, half of them originating from neurons in the right and half from neurons in the left cerebral cortex. The axons of the corpus callosum allow the left cortex to know what the right cortex is doing, has done, and might do next, and vice versa. If the corpus callosum is cut through, as it is infrequently in the treatment of intractable epilepsy, the two hemispheres can function independently. Following such operations, individuals referred to as ‘split-brain’ patients provided the definitive evidence that the two hemispheres differed in their roles in language."
The same fact applied to the eyes too:
"Just as the eyes are paired, so too are the lateral geniculate nuclei and primary visual cortical areas. Visual information on the left side is mapped in the right lateral geniculate and the right visual cortex and the map of the right visual world is found in the left target regions. As the visual fields of both eyes overlap extensively, in the so-called binocular field, extensive regions of the left visual field are ‘seen’ by both left and right eyes and vice versa. The visual map in the right-hand side of the brain representing the left side of the visual world, therefore, contains binocular regions that are constructed from information derived from both eyes."
And the whole body as well:
"Movements of the body are controlled by the primary motor cortex, which is a mirror image of the sensory representation of the body surface described above. The left motor area controls the right side of the body and the right the left."
Then there is a separate chapter talking about memory, elaborating Its types; whether it is a short-term, long-term or flash-bulb memory. In addition to some information about how and where each type is formed and saved in our brain. But the fact that frightened me most, was this following one which stated that our long-term memories do affect our genes permanently. We technically carry some people and places inside our DNA forever:
"The distinction between short-term and long-term memory provides a focus for thinking about how the brain is altered by the formation of a memory. We must assume that both types of memory require that something in the physical brain, its chemical and/or electrical properties, must be altered. For short-term memories the changes are transient whereas the changes associated with long term memories must be permanent. Therefore, they would seem to require different mechanisms for their formation and experimental work on animals supports this conclusion. Animal experimentation also shows that memory formation involves alteration or modulation of the properties of synapses in neural circuits. It may also require the formation of new synapses and changes in the electrical excitability of neurons. As for the distinction between short-and long-term memory formation, experiments show that in all cases the most important underlying distinction between the mechanisms is that the latter requires a dialogue between synapses and genes and the former does not. I will return to the physical mechanisms of permanent memory formation, but first it is worth considering the different kinds of long-term memory from a psychological perspective."
Amongst all experiments that have been told in this book, I still adore this well-known one which called “Selective attention test”. It summarizes most, if not all of our emotional, social and intellectual problems as human beings:
https://youtu.be/vJG698U2Mvo
After all, the following lines represent to me the most valuable piece of advice you can get out of this book:
"So the best advice to anyone seeking a better memory and recall ability is to continue to learn. As we have seen, the brain is an extraordinarily plastic and responsive machine. When laying down new memories it makes new proteins and form new synapses; some regions of the brain literally grow in response to the information storage demands placed on them. But just as we grow older we lose muscle power so we lose brain power, in part because neurons die as we age and cannot be replaced. However, physical exercise can dramatically improve the physical condition of young and old alike and today’s neuroscience is telling us that mental exercise can have an equally dramatic effect on the well-being of our plastic brains. The take-home message would seem to be ‘use it or lose it’."
This link below is a marvelous documentary that talks about simple yet amazing psychological mental experiment. Honestly, I don’t know if I am exaggerating its value right now since I am annoyingly sentimental these days, but somehow it made me thinking about my favorite music playlist as if it is my secretive unwritten memoir. So keep yours close, it may save your mind one day, literally I mean.
https://youtu.be/mngp911Nbc8
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2593392/
April 16, 2020
Granted, this is a book about the brain, that sponge-like blob of neurons and axons, which together control and ensure the smooth workings of the central neverous system.
When something is described as accessible, I assume the read will be easygoing, but in this instance, I encountered a large amount of tricky terminology that I just had to swallow without true comprehension of what they meant l.
Notwithstanding this criticism, this book served as an insightful and sound introductory book into one of the most complex phenomenon of humanity.
As is the case with these very short introduction books, the author covers many topic areas, including: how to repair dysfunctional brains, through brain/computer interfaces and artifical nervous networks; the construction of short and long term memory; the history of neuroscience; technologies used to monitor brain activity; and a comparative discussion about how the brain and central nervous system have evolved since time immemorial.
If I could, I would give this 3.5 stars.
When something is described as accessible, I assume the read will be easygoing, but in this instance, I encountered a large amount of tricky terminology that I just had to swallow without true comprehension of what they meant l.
Notwithstanding this criticism, this book served as an insightful and sound introductory book into one of the most complex phenomenon of humanity.
As is the case with these very short introduction books, the author covers many topic areas, including: how to repair dysfunctional brains, through brain/computer interfaces and artifical nervous networks; the construction of short and long term memory; the history of neuroscience; technologies used to monitor brain activity; and a comparative discussion about how the brain and central nervous system have evolved since time immemorial.
If I could, I would give this 3.5 stars.
September 4, 2020
This book stays true to its name and gives a good overview of the brain and how it works. Considering how short it is, the book covers an incredible variety of topics and mechanisms in a reasonable amount of detail. I completely understand that this kind of topic requires the use of some technical language and I feel the author did a good job of using it sparingly - but there were some chapters where I lost track of what exactly was being explained and/or got bored.
The final three chapters (6/7/8) were the saving grace of this book for me. The introduction was also very good, but these chapters really did give interesting insights into memory function, the interface of neurology and engineering (I'm biased here since it's my personal area of research) and the limitations of using FMRI for monitoring brain activity- which was exceedingly interesting since FMRI is paraded as a kind of holy grail/ground truth in my area for monitoring brain activity.
All in all recommended - but don't feel bad about skipping a few pages or a chapter if its not that interesting to you.
The final three chapters (6/7/8) were the saving grace of this book for me. The introduction was also very good, but these chapters really did give interesting insights into memory function, the interface of neurology and engineering (I'm biased here since it's my personal area of research) and the limitations of using FMRI for monitoring brain activity- which was exceedingly interesting since FMRI is paraded as a kind of holy grail/ground truth in my area for monitoring brain activity.
All in all recommended - but don't feel bad about skipping a few pages or a chapter if its not that interesting to you.
June 13, 2024
Definitely more of a spring board into the subject than a swim around the whole pool, but then this is a very short introduction. O'Shea has selected a few key topics and tried these to bare essentials. Hence, sensations and perception are covered by vision, with a brief nod to coordination with hearing while emotion is by and large ignored, and memory is covered by in 13 brief pages. Aside from the odd slip on the part of the editing team, O'Shea's writing is clear, well thought out, and very readable. He makes it clear that thinking about the brain in terms of a computer is woefully inadequate and AI as it stands is far from achieving the capacity of a fly's capability, let alone the creativity of a human brain. Useful for a lay person who will hopefully go on to check out some other pop science books in the field (Susan Greenfield is good for an overview and Steve Rose wrote an excellent book on memory while Antonio Damasio and Joseph Le Doux have both written on the place of emotions in cognition and reasoning).
April 15, 2021
Michael O'Shea's The Brain: A Very Short Introduction contains just what you would expect and want to find in a volume having that title, including:
* A brief history of brain research from antiquity to the present
* A description of the workings of the brain's smallest components
* A functional breakdown of key substructures
* Descriptions of how the brain fulfils sample tasks: seeing and hearing
* An explanation of how the brain modifies itself based on environmental stimuli (short and long term memory)
* A discussion of some common disfunctions and remedies
* Discussion of the relation between natural and artificial intelligence, with potential biological and engineering applications
A solid contribution which could serve as a template for other volumes in the series.
* A brief history of brain research from antiquity to the present
* A description of the workings of the brain's smallest components
* A functional breakdown of key substructures
* Descriptions of how the brain fulfils sample tasks: seeing and hearing
* An explanation of how the brain modifies itself based on environmental stimuli (short and long term memory)
* A discussion of some common disfunctions and remedies
* Discussion of the relation between natural and artificial intelligence, with potential biological and engineering applications
A solid contribution which could serve as a template for other volumes in the series.
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