Brain Science

Will increased scientific understanding of our brains overturn our beliefs about moral and ethical behavior? How will increasingly powerful brain imaging technologies affect the ideas of privacy and of self-incrimination? Such thought-provoking questions are rapidly emerging as new discoveries in neuroscience have raised difficult legal and ethical dilemmas. Michael Gazzaniga, widely considered to be the father of cognitive neuroscience, investigates with an expert eye some of these controversial and complex issues.

An entertaining, scientifically rigorous exploration of the social and biological effects of our wireless world. The way we use technology is affecting our health and happiness. Engaging and entertaining yet scientifically rigorous, this fully revised and updated second edition of i-Minds comprehensively explores an era of screen-based technology's assimilation into our lives, pondering it as both godsend and plague. i-Minds is for anyone interested in fostering health and happiness or who is struggling with the role of screened technology in our lives.

Alva Noë is one of a new breed - part philosopher, part cognitive scientist, part neuroscientist - who are radically altering the study of consciousness by asking difficult questions and pointing out obvious flaws in the current science. In Out of Our Heads, he restates and reexamines the problem of consciousness, and then proposes a startling solution: Do away with the 200-year-old paradigm that places consciousness within the confines of the brain.

Should you really read to your baby? Can teaching a baby sign language boost IQ? Should you pipe classical music into the nursery? Dr. Jill Stamm translates the latest neuroscience findings into clear explanations and practical suggestions, demonstrating the importance of the simple ways you interact with your child every day. It isn't the right edutainment that nurtures an infant's brain. It is as simple as attention, bonding, and communication, and it's within every parent's ability to provide.

Why do we vividly recall a traumatic childhood event but forget where we left our keys five minutes ago? How can a scent take us back fifty years while a colleague's name eludes us? In this compact introduction, two leading psychological researchers describe memory—how it works and why it sometimes doesn't; how it can be tricked, trained, or improved; and what changes with time. In a manner as engaging as it is informative, Fergus Craik and Larry Jacoby explain the strengths and weaknesses of memory.

In accessible language and with periodic references to Star Trek, motorcycle daredevils, and near-classic movies of the '80s, developmental molecular biologist John Medina explores the neurological and evolutionary factors that drive teenage behavior and can affect both achievement and engagement. Then he proposes a research-supported counterattack: a bold redesign of educational practices and learning environments to deliberately develop teens' cognitive capacity to manage their emotions, plan, prioritize, and focus.

More than 90 percent of sexually active women have only been given a very limited amount of information about how birth control works, often right at the beginning when they start their first pill or patch. Not all of us enjoy biology lessons, and figuring out the complexities of hormones, cycles, and our bodies can feel a little too much. But it doesn’t need to be rocket science. Getting a better insight into how your body really works can empower you and open up choices and possibilities so that you make the best decisions for yourself. After all, this is your body!

You've probably seen it before: a human brain dramatically lit from the side, the camera circling it like a helicopter shot of Stonehenge, and a modulated baritone voice exalting the brain's elegant design in reverent tones... to which this book says: Pure nonsense.

What does your brain have to do with experiencing joy? A lot more than most of us realize. In this breakthrough book, Dr. Earl Henslin reveals how the study of brain imaging turned his practice of psychotherapy upside down—with remarkably positive results. Listen to this practical, easy-to-understand, and often entertaining book, and you'll know exactly how to nourish your mind, balance your brain, and help others do the same. After all, the capacity for joy is a terrible thing to waste.

Ever wondered why we yawn and have eyebrows, what happens at absolute zero and why some tunes get stuck in our heads? If you’ve spent your days searching for the answers to these and life’s other big questions then look no further. Why We Yawn From the bestselling author of Why Don't Penguin's Feet Freeze and Farts Aren’t Invisible is the gift of enlightenment that you never knew you needed! Shining a light on some of life’s trickiest questions across science, history, society and the universe.

Justin Yerbury made a promise to his mother while she was dying of motor neurone disease (MND) that he would do everything he could to find a cure. MND had already taken several members of Justin's family, and he learned that they carried a rare genetic form of the disease that gave them a fifty-fifty chance of inheritance. Desperate to help his loved ones, Justin went to university to study science, eventually becoming a professor of molecular biology at the University of Wollongong and one of the world's leading experts on MND.

In Cool, the neuroscientist and philosopher Steven Quartz and the political scientist Anette Asp bring together the latest findings in brain science, economics, and evolutionary biology to form a provocative theory of consumerism, revealing how the brain's "social calculator" and an instinct to rebel are the crucial missing links in understanding the motivations behind our spending habits.

Don't leave your best days to chance. Be happier, more focused and less stressed with Sharp's 50 simple strategies. Cognitive scientist Therese Huston unpacks the latest neuroscience research to deliver a goldmine of techniques to help you feel your sharpest at work, at home or in relationships, including:. - how a calming deep breathing technique improves decision-making;. - exactly what kind of exercise helps you think on your feet;. - what brain science says scary movies can do to help you learn; and. - how drinking tea can help you to focus on your most unfocused days.

Activators are more than influencers; they are leaders who leverage neuroscience to energize and inspire their people, launching them toward their potential. The most successful leaders of the future will be those who know how to apply cutting-edge, brain-boosting principles to bring out the best in their people. Blending contemporary behavioral research and neuroscience, workplace psychologist and leadership expert Dr. Jason Jones, has created an innovative method to boost employee brainpower and performance.

Hormonal contraception is something most women will use at some point during their life. But the reach of the pill goes far beyond the small number of targeted effects we take it for. It affects almost every system in our body. Column inches and anecdotal conversations prove there are many questions about the pill and its effects yet until now we have known very little about. In this trailblazing book expert psychologist Dr Hill reveals the latest science on the pill and how it's changing women and the world, for better and for worse.

From adrenaline to dopamine, most of us are familiar with the chemicals that control us. They are the hormones and neurotransmitters that our brains run on, and Overloaded looks at the role they play in every aspect of our lives, from what we remember, how we make decisions and who we love to basic survival drives such as hunger, fear and sleep.

In Best of the Brain, top neuroscientist Floyd E. Bloom has selected the most fascinating brain-related articles from Scientific American and Scientific American Mind since 1999. Bloom garnishes the impressive lineup with his own introduction. The articles are grouped in three sections: "Mind", "Matter", and "Tomorrow's Brain".

Understanding the human mind and how it relates to the world of experience has challenged scientists and philosophers for centuries. How do we even begin to think about ‘minds’ that are not human? That is the question explored in this ground-breaking book. Award-winning science writer Philip Ball argues that in order to understand our own minds and imagine those of others, we need to move on from considering the human mind as a standard against which all others should be measured.

Brain Wash builds from a simple premise: Our brains are being gravely manipulated, resulting in behaviours that leave us more lonely, anxious, depressed, distrustful, illness-prone and overweight than ever before. Based on the latest science, the audiobook identifies the mental hijacking that undermines each and every one of us, and it presents the tools necessary to think more clearly, make better decisions, strengthen bonds with others and develop healthier habits.

The Mature Mind delivers good news for those in the second half of life, with an extraordinary account of cutting-edge neuroscience, groundbreaking psychology, fascinating vignettes from history and case studies, and practical advice for personal growth strategies. Gene Cohen, a renowned psychiatrist and gerontologist, draws from more than thirty years of research to show that surprising positive changes in our brains have the powerful potential to enhance, not diminish, our lives after fifty.