From simple reflexes to complex choreographies of movement, all animal behavior is governed by a nervous system. But what kind of government is it—a dictatorship or a democracy?Nervous systems consist of circuits of interconnected nerve cells (neurons) that transmit and receive information via electrical signals. Every moment, each neuron adds up stimulating and inhibiting inputs from many other neurons to determine whether to send an electrical signal to its recipients. Some circu...

Everybody needs to know something about their brain. But who wants to wade through a tedious textbook that tells you far more than you want to know? This Core Ideas of Neuroscience also probably tells you more than you want to know too. But it does not cost anywhere near the $100 or more you would spend for a traditional text. Moreover, my book is organized as modules explaining the basic principles of 75 core ideas. You don't have to wade through it. You can dance through it, easily getti...

Neuroscience is one of the most fascinating and complex areas of scientific research, with new advances being made every day. In 50 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know, Mo Costandi condenses all we know about the brain and how it works into series of introductions to the most important concepts.Outlining both long-standing theories - such as the function of neurons and synaptic transmission - and cutting-edge ideas - including neuroethics and brain-computer interfacing - with...

Linden sets the record straight about the construction of the human brain; rather than the “beautifully-engineered optimized device, the absolute pinnacle of design” portrayed in many dumbed-down text books, pop-science tomes, and education televisions programs, Linden’s organ is a complicated assembly of cobbled-together functionality that created the mind as a by-product of ad-hoc solutions to questions of survival. His guided tour of the glorious amalgam of “crummy parts” includes pit-s...

How does the brain work? How different is a human brain from other creatures' brains? Is the human brain still evolving? In this fascinating book, Michael O'Shea 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. Chapters tackle subjects such as brain processes, perception, memory, motor control and the causes of 'altered mental stat...

Studies of mechanisms in the brain that allow complicated things to happen in a coordinated fashion have produced some of the most spectacular discoveries in neuroscience. This book provides eloquent support for the idea that spontaneous neuron activity, far from being mere noise, is actually the source of our cognitive abilities. It takes a fresh look at the co-evolution of structure and function in the mammalian brain, illustrating how self-emerged oscillatory timing is the brains fundam...

Designed as a cover to cover read which leaves the reader with a working knowledge of the human brain from its first evolution 2 billion years ago to the present day. A light-hearted look at the brain aimed at a lay audience. It especially focuses on the neurobiology of emotional intelligence and in many ways is the neurobiological explanation of why emotional intelligence is so important to health, wealth and happiness.

Brought together for the first time in a single volume, these eight important and fascinating essays by Nobel Prize-winning psychiatrist Eric Kandel provide a breakthrough perspective on how biology has influenced modern psychiatric thought. Complete with commentaries by experts in the field, Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and the New Biology of Mind reflects the author's evolving view of how biology has revolutionized psychiatry and psychology and how potentially could alter modern psychoana...

An extensively revised third edition of this introduction to neuroethology - the neuronal basis of animal behaviour - for zoology, biology and psychology undergraduate students. The book focuses on the roles of individual nerve cells in behaviour, from simple startle responses to complex behaviours such as route learning by rats and singing by crickets and birds. It begins by examining the relationship between brains and behaviour, and showing how study of specialised behaviours reveals ne...

Illuminating the processes and patterns that link genotype to phenotype, epigenetics seeks to explain features, characters, and developmental mechanisms that can only be understood in terms of interactions that arise above the level of the gene. With chapters written by leading authorities, this volume offers a broad integrative survey of epigenetics. Approaching this complex subject from a variety of perspectives, it presents a broad, historically grounded view that demonstrates the utili...

Whether our personality, intelligence, and behavior are more likely to be shaped by our environment or our genetic coding is not simply an idle question for today's researchers. There are tremendous consequences to understanding the crucial role that environment and genes each play. How we raise and educate our children, how we treat various mental diseases or conditions, how we care for our elderly--these are just some of the issues that can be informed by a better understanding of brain ...

"This book is excellent in its coverage of neurobiological underpinnings through perception, measurement, and communication...a great resource for researchers and clinicians." Score: 94, 4 stars. --Doody's Medical Reviews"This is an expertly constructed volume, due mainly to an expert composition of authors forthe individual chapters. Every chapter is like opening a door to a different laboratory, eachexamining a unique corner of the tactile research universe."--