Memories Are Made of This: How Memory Works in Humans and Animals (Maps of the Mind)

Book Description

Memory enables us to make experience meaningful and to form coherent identities for ourselves and intelligible perceptions of others. Indeed, our ability to imagine, anticipate, and create the future is directly commensurate with our ability to retrieve and recollect past experiences.

But for all its vital importance in human cognition, for all that it seems so ordinary and obvious, memory remains in many ways as complex and mysterious today as it seemed to ancient philosophers. We need only to think about the "tip-of-the-tongue" experience to wonder how memories are formed, where they reside in our brains, and why some are retained, while others are forgotten. What is the difference between long- and short-term memory? Can memory be strengthened? Memories Are Made of This is an account of current memory science that offers answers to these and a host of other questions, comprehensively distilling much diverse and

rigorous science. It delves into the biology of memory functions and researches into the

mechanics and genetics of memory and the importance of emotions, particularly those resulting from trauma, in the memory process. Of special focus are investigations of cognition in other species. Are we the only animals who remember and forget? If not, are there commonalties in the memories of different species? The book also surveys our understanding of the effects of injury and disease on memory and concludes with an assessment of emerging pharmacological efforts to preserve and protect our memories and, in turn, ourselves.

Average customer rating:

Neuroscience for philosophers - even for amateurs
Philosophy meets neuroscience accessibly and controversially
Not traditional philosophy (thank goodness!)
Hardly philosophy
Disappointing

Brain-Wise: Studies in Neurophilosophy
Patricia Smith Churchland
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Medicine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 026253200X

Book Description

Progress in the neurosciences is profoundly changing our conception of ourselves. Contrary to time-honored intuition, the mind turns out to be a complex of brain functions. And contrary to the wishful thinking of some philosophers, there is no stemming the revolutionary impact that brain research will have on our understanding of how the mind works.

Brain-Wise is the sequel to Patricia Smith Churchland's Neurophilosophy, the book that launched a subfield. In a clear, conversational manner, this book examines old questions about the nature of the mind within the new framework of the brain sciences. What, it asks, is the neurobiological basis of consciousness, the self, and free choice? How does the brain learn about the external world and about its own introspective world? What can neurophilosophy tell us about the basis and significance of religious and moral experiences?

Drawing on results from research at the neuronal, neurochemical, system, and whole-brain levels, the book gives an up-to-date perspective on the state of neurophilosophy--what we know, what we do not know, and where things may go from here.

Customer Reviews:

Neuroscience for philosophers - even for amateurs.......2007-09-09

While tough sledding in sections for those without a grounding in biology, this volume weds an overview of philosophy from Aristotle to the moderns, to the latest studies in how the brain and its constituent parts actually "work", and discusses in clear language the tentative conclusions that can be currently drawn. Since it discusses metaphysical subjects, those conclusions will meet a priori disagreement, but all readers will have a solid foundation to judge the issues for themselves.

Philosophy meets neuroscience accessibly and controversially.......2006-05-01

This masterly book summarizes a prodigious amount of research about the workings of the brain. Author Patricia Smith Churchland introduces the basics of neuroscience to the realm of philosophy. She says that present scientific knowledge about the brain makes it implausible that there is any such thing as an immaterial mind or soul. A committed materialist (although she does not make the case for materialism), she puts a mass of incomplete scientific evidence before you and says that more scientific evidence will emerge over the next decade or so to complete the picture and solidify the case. She does not do justice to contrary views, which she introduces as straw men, easily knocked down. That said, we find that Churchland provides a valuable, highly readable discussion of the challenges neuroscience presents to philosophy. She makes it clear that any philosophy of consciousness must be informed by knowledge of the brain.

Not traditional philosophy (thank goodness!).......2005-02-20

Philosophical purists will criticize Churchland for refusing to engage the philosophical "tradition" on its own terms, i.e., she refuses to stick her head in the sand and theorize as if neuroscience and psychology didn't exist. Rather, what Churchland has done is invert this traditional philosphical stance : survey the scientific results on topics philosophers have wanted to claim as their own: consciousness, free will, the self, human knowledge, religion, and the like (each gets a chapter in her book). That is, make a conscious effort to bring empirical results to bear on these thorny problems of human existence. While neuropsychology can't provide decisive answers yet, its data provides new ideas, new constraints, and casts doubt on those doctrines (such as the 'unity of the self') previously taken as sacrosanct by the head-in-the-sand philosophical establishment.

Overall, a very clearly written book, with lots of interesting ideas and data. If you want your traditional convoluted philosophical treatise, go somewhere else. If you want to be invigorated with new ideas and data from cutting edge neuroscience, then pick up this book!

Hardly philosophy.......2004-06-24

This book is only one example of the current practice by philosophers of essentially abandoning their craft and worshiping at the altar of science. Philosophy had always tried to go beyond observation of perceived physical reality alone, and deal with questions such as--in the branch of philosophy known as epistemology--how is knowledge of that reality, or of matters like principles of logic and mathematics, acquired.

What is pitiful is that the author of the book tries to subsume even these questions under physical science, thus putting the cart before the horse. She tries to find answers to what constitutes consciousness by studying the brain, forgetting that our knowledge of the brain and other physical occurrences depends itself on their manifestation in consciousness. We first have to know how reality is constructed in our minds, before exploring further physical particulars.

The author of the book, and she is not the only one to do so, goes as far as attempting to define consciousness in terms of the brain, committing the gross fallacy of equivocation. The fallacy consists in giving a name a new meaning and then trying to prove something about the originally named. But something proved about the newly meant does not thereby apply to what was meant before.

A basic endeavor of Professor Churchland is to eventually in some such way equate consciousness with some part of the brain. But although she tirelessly cites and illustrates minute and extensive studies, she fails to indicate what kind of findings so made would establish that identity. In the process, while a number of times branding other authors with circularity--with assuming a fact before proving it--though she does not say where the circularity resides, she indulges in the persistent circularity of arguing for the brain as the self while beforehand assuming that the brain, as the self, learns and so forth, and she names a chapter accordingly (p.321).

Circularity, the act of begging the question, is, to be sure, another fallacy, and the book contains additional lapses of logic. Earlier in the book (p.55) its author suggests that if A implies B then not-A implies not-B. This commits the fundamental fallacy of "denying the antecedent", and the book exhibits other failures in reasoning. Its author, concerning again definition, argues (p.267) that "the indivisible", which was the original meaning of "atom", turned out to be divisible. This is of course a glaring contradiction. The word "atom" was later applied to a physical unit found divisible, but this was merely a redefinition. The book asserts similar nonsense regarding parallel lines. They are in geometry defined as straight lines that never meet, and the book's author claims they meet. She is obviously not only illogical but insufficiently acquainted with geometry, in some of which parallel lines are said not to exist, rather than to, contradictorily, meet. "Half knowledge is worse than no knowledge", as they say, and a similar warning can apply in general when philosophers dabble in science.

By wanting to in the preceding manner downgrade past understandings, the book tries in the main, as do related ones, to forcibly dispense with the presence of consciousness by insistence that it must be material, instead of viewing it, alongside other events connected with matter, as the phenomenon it is, and by which all reality is ascertained.

Disappointing.......2004-01-26

Brain-wise is, to say the least, a less than impressive effort from a philosopher as prominent in philosophy of mind as Churchland is. A short list of complaints includes:

-Churchland collapses the distinction between 'consciousness' in the phenomenal sense ('subjective character of experience') & 'consciousness' in the psychological sense (awareness or self-consciousness)(see Chalmers, 'The Conscious Mind')

-most of her conclusions are simply asserted rather than argued, & when she does make arguments they are startlingly simple-minded

-the book completely overstates the progress of neuroscience, a field still very much in its infancy. She speaks about neuroscience as if she were in complete awe, which is quite unjustified, & she seems to have a bad case of science-envy

-she assumes that all sciences are reducible, which ignores the fact that (as Chomsky argues, although to say he 'argues' this neglects to express the obviousness of his conclusion) we are cognitively limited beings, & that there may simply be aspects of the world that are beyond the reach of our scientific capacities.

-she hauls out the tired vitalist analogy

-she admits the failure of logical supervenience of the phenomenal on the physical, yet fails to see why this counts against materialism (again, see Chalmers)

-the section on religion is just feeble, & includes not one original thought. Most of her 'insights' are along the lines of 'the prospect of [death] ... need not be [unsettling] ... one can live a richly purposeful life of love and work--of family, community, wilderness, music, and so forth--cognizant that it makees sense to make the best of this life'.

Book Description

It has been nearly 10 years since the material for the original edition of this book was prepared. During that time, there has been dramatic growth in the fields of theory of mind, autism, and cognitive neuroscience. This new edition includes a whole section on the cognitive neuroscience of "mind-reading", bringing together varied research methods such as functional neuro-imaging, single cell recording, and neuropsychology. In addition, there is expanded coverage of primate studies and the evolution of a theory of mind, and new information relating theory of mind in clinical populations other than autism, such as schizophrenia. The original section on normal development has been updated, as has the debate over the relationship between theory of mind deficits and autism. Understanding other Minds: Perspectives from Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience remains the key sourcebook for this important area, which attracts researchers and clinicians in psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and primatology . The new material in this edition will ensure that it is essential reading for these groups. From reviews of the first edition: [This book] will be of absorbing interest to all those involved in the fields of autism and child development. It also contains thought-provoking ideas of relevance to psychology and psychiatry in general. L. Wing, National Autistic Society This book would be of great interest to researchers of child development but also to many clinicians and teachers working with individuals with autism. British Journal of Psychiatry

Customer Reviews:

Stunning Work.......2000-12-05

This is perhaps the definitive source on the nature of autism. I particularly enjoyed the bit on cognitive neuroscience.

A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness

Average customer rating:

Damage control for constructivists, connectoplasm
apples and oranges
A turning point that deserves to become a classic.
A Game of Words
Consciousness from genetic thru cultural evolution

A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness
Merlin Donald
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Cognitive | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0393323196

Book Description

In this masterful rebuttal to the prevailing neuroscientific arguments that seek to explain away consciousness, Merlin Donald presents "a sophisticated conception of a multilayered consciousness drawing much of its power from its cultural matrix" (Booklist). Donald makes "a persuasive case...for consciousness as the central player in the drama of mind" (Peter Dodwell), as he details the forces, both cultural and neuronal, that power our distinctively human modes of awareness. He proposes that the human mind is a hybrid product, interweaving a super-complex form of matter (the brain) with an invisible symbolic web (culture) to form a "distributed" cognitive network. This hybrid mind, he argues, is our main evolutionary advantage, for it allowed humanity as a species to break free of the limitations of the mammalian brain.

Customer Reviews:

Damage control for constructivists, connectoplasm.......2007-01-05

This is a strange book, and I couldn't figure out why until about page 225. Donald starts out even on page one lumping a collection of psychologists into a group, and then stereotyping and belittling them. This went on until about page 50. The problem: many of them actually disagreed with each other about the nature of the mind. It was clear that his attacks were unfair. But why?

Then he grandly claims to have a new, improved theory of consciousness. Here is where the book becomes strangely split. One the one hand, he proposes some structures of the mind that may be novel, but which look somewhat like the work of some of the researchers that he had just belittled. He describes structures of the brain and proposes a function he calls episodic awareness. This is the part of the book that I like. But then he insists on welding this new structure to a hypothesis that I find highly speculative (read wrong). He claims that the human brain is a hybird, partly built by biology and partly built by culture. Nothing in his brain / mind science requires that this odd connection be made. Because of this claim, he takes a number of odd positions, such as that novelists are better psychologists that psychologists are, and that language is a cultural skill rather than an instinct. He makes the whopper of a claim that the associative learning of neural nets is responsible for consciousness.

Finally, past page 200, he comes out of the closet. He is actually a connectivist, one of the tradition that was cut to pieces by Steven Pinker in "How the Mind Works." So the better part of his book is his contribution to mind science, which is not incompatible with evolutionary/modular psychology. However, the book's opening attacks and odd hypothesis of humans as cultural cyborgs comes from his desire to reject the modular theory of the mind for the higher faculties of the human thought. In this book, he tries to allow some of the modular brain organization--and here he may actually be making a contribution to mind science--without relinquishing most of the human mind's unique abilities from the connectivist programme. For more details, see my review on WorldCat.

apples and oranges.......2005-12-05

first: I haven't finished reading the book and am not sure I will
second: Donald readily acknowledges that there are multiple meanings to the word consciousness, he then takes one meaning "the creative engine itself, [...] the center of human genius". He even acknowledges that "this book proposes a theory of consciousness that [...] does not try to 'explain' how awareness could have emerged from a material thing such as a brain". But then he starts to slash against anyone (like e.g. Dennett) who tries to develop such explanations. He is so consumed in fighting against the 'hardliners' that his own theory is invisible and often rests on his (ours) intuition that there must be "somebody home". He even compares the telling of such theories with telling someone that his parents are "Jack the Ripper and Elsa, She-Wolf of the SS" (p. 45). Strong picture but weak argument.

I think his further arguments about complex interactions like an evening long conversation about a film has its merits, showing that there is something more about culture and consciousness, memory and inter-subject communication, than what someone like Dennett (or Pinker) is trying to explain. But that is the point: they are trying to explain a different meaning of the word consciousness: "How does it work on a basic level, how could consciousness 'become' and not how it evolved from there. So Donald in his attacks is comparing apples to oranges and that makes his book a pain to read.

A turning point that deserves to become a classic........2005-07-11

This book is so good and so important, rich in ideas as solid in all its construction one just cannot believe that nobody nominated it to a book award or something of the sort; meanwhile all the attention seems to be directed to a bunch of rambling, pedantic and even dangerous literature on the subject of mind and consciousness. This is the kind of work and reflection that puts an order in the landscape at the same time it delivers a wonderful experience to the reader. Merlin Donald is a psychologist with an important experimental background nevertheless he achieves magnificent philosophical work reaching a level of concretion and clarity related with Wittgenstein's best insights on the true grounds that support meaning and language at the time he achieves as well -I think without realizing about it- the aim of the German thinker Ernst Cassirer in outlining a view of the unity of the multilayered human nature. Yes, that's the guy and he reaches the peak-the summit of what others only envisioned- with humility, maybe without having philosophical concerns as his prime issues. One of the Merlin's Donald great contributions is that he realizes that to defend the very idea of consciousness against the oracles of the mind that sustains it is not much more than a computational device (those who dismiss consciousness as a mere "folk psychology") it is not necessary to adopt a dualist stance on the mind-body problem (In this he converges with John Searle but with a more powerful arsenal of resources). On the contrary on a materialistic approach it is possible to grasp the centrality role of consciousness in the human mind as the only way that it can connect and make transactions with a network of other minds in that environment known as society or culture. Thus Merlin Donald postulates a Biocultural approach, contrasting with the Sociobiology/ Evolutionary-Psychology approach (Pinker) allies (Churchlands) and propagandists (Denett) whom share the problem that they can not grasp the key role of consciousness on the functioning of the mind because they cannot understand the role of enculturation as the decisive turning point in the evolution of our species. At the end their conception of the human mind is for them a solipsistic modular device, with everything already packed in it in order to work. Contrasting with that Merlin Donald shows that a community of minds (culture) scaffolds the level of awareness of each of its nodes(individual minds)by changing their architecture and states, demanding for one and each of them consciousness process in order to follow the coordinates and cues of that artificial environment that overlaps the natural environment. Once this is established he develops its fascinating implications in the domains of human world and action.

Don't waste your time on other overprized books on the subject. This one is crucial. The fact that it seldom features in "listmanias" on mind and consciousness it is either because they are dated or just reflect uncritically the prevalent fashion on the field.

A Game of Words.......2004-01-30

Donald's A MIND SO RARE was an enjoyable read. It is probably the only book that I enjoyed reading, while disagreeing with almost all the conclusions that the author has reached.
I think the attack on hardliners is a game of words. Donald disagrees with how Dennett, for instance, defines consciousness. I think the hardliners might refer to the phenomenological aspects of consciousness as epiphenomenal, however, they view the functional aspects (online represtation of the world) as a crucial to survival.
I found the distinction of different levels of awareness that Donald overviews very helpful. I might disagree however, that all aspects of the intermediate term/long term awareness are conscious. I think that they are reducible to short term memories bound in time by unconscious processes.
The case that Donald makes for enculturation as key for making of the human consciousness is fascinating. I think the book would have been much better if he got straight into that point. It is confusing to try to connect his arguments in the begging of the book to those at the end. However, I give this book 4 stars for being such a great source of information.

Consciousness from genetic thru cultural evolution.......2002-08-07

As a concerned reader I will explain, briefly, what I took from the book, and not critique the negatives. One strength seems to be a multidisciplinary approach. Merlin Donald is a research psychologist and makes an effort to draw from Psychological, Cognative, Neurological, and Evolutionary sciences; as well as literature.

Points: the shift of evolutionary importance from genetic to cultural in the hominid line; recognition of a fourth layer in human mental evolution, that of cultural memory (which he calls "external" memory in his fourth or Theoretic layer); and consideration of the whole of human consciousness.

Donald has expanded on his "Origins of the Human Mind" ('93) with exploring how culture has outstripped genetics in co-evolution with supporting the emergence of Homo Erectus, and then structuring the extended consciousness and symbol manipulation of Homo Sapiens Sapiens.

He postulated a fourth Theoretic layer (after Episotic, Mimetic, and Mythic layers) as an "external symbolic universe", or recorded symbols, or "external memory". But before recorded symbols, the past was only recovered by recall, by both speaker and, often, the listener. Recall must be distinguished from memory (as recorded symbols), for recall of past events or thoughts or moods must be incomplete and personal, whereas using recorded symbols is about interpretation, which is as complete as the writer and reader choose to make it, and is social. If people insist in using 'memory' for 'recall', then recorded symbols should be called 'cultural memory', but it is critically different.

Donald attempts an evolutionary analysis of the integrated, whole of consciousness. Since I am more interested in the human emotional (value) systems than in consciousness, I have one critical comment. Donald ignores the role of emotions in consciousness, which is to leave out feelings (which are the conscious perception of emotions), and the role of emotions in guiding consciousness. Emotions (or values) on several layers interact with most cognative functions.

Average customer rating:

Original, Informative, Hopeful

Ooops! There go the piano lessons

seriously disappointed

Exercise your brain

BRAIN PLASTICITY IN ACTION

The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older
Elkhonon Goldberg
Manufacturer: Gotham
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Aging | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Memory Improvement | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Biology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Anatomy | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Biology | Biological Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind

Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential

Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are

The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life

The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force

Accessories:

RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device

Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator (AED)

ASIN: 1592401104
Release Date: 2005-02-21

Book Description

A provocative look at how new research is highlighting the emerging powers of the aging mind

In The Wisdom Paradox, world-renowned neuropsychologist Elkhonon Goldberg argues that though some mental abilities (such as recent-memory recall) decline as the mind enters the Â“autumn seasonÂ” of our life span, the brain becomes more powerful in its ability to recognize patterns. As a result, we are able to make decisions at more intuitive and effective levelsÂ—a late- emerging mental strength he terms Â“wisdom.Â”

In lively, accessible prose, Goldberg delves into the mechanisms of the mind, outlining how the elegant structures of the brain develop and change over the course of a lifetime as they work increasingly in concert. Drawing on recent and historical examples of leaders and artists who achieved their greatest successes late in lifeÂ—from Roosevelt to Thatcher to Reagan, from Goethe to Grandma MosesÂ—Goldberg illustrates the effects of an emerging scientific understanding of the biology of wisdom. Drawing on the latest research in brain function, he takes to task outdated neurological concepts and argues that new neurons can be created throughout our lives, the left brainÂ's specialization in pattern recognition accounts for its increased activity as we age, and the strengthening of neural pathways in later years accelerates decision-making processes. Most provocatively, he outlines how a Â“cognitive fitnessÂ” program can both curtail the negative mental effects of aging and enhance our decision-making powers.

Customer Reviews:

Original, Informative, Hopeful.......2007-07-21

Elkhonon Goldberg brings to fore many insights about the brain, but the overriding theme of the book is that as we age our brain shifts focus from a right-hemisphere dominated approach to a left-hemisphere dominated approach. New evidence has generally shown that, contrary to older studies, the right hemisphere is used to 'learn new things' and the left hemisphere is used for pattern recognition. As we age, we shift our brain dominance from right to left. Goldberg explains how we can take advantage of our awareness of this shift. (For example: keep our brain active so it doesn't atrophy -- especially the right hemisphere.)

Just as our brain shifts focus, this book shifts focus as we read along, too. The first part of the book is generally fact and hypothesis based. Goldberg explains his theories interlaced with personal narrative. The book then shifts focus to what we can do to maintain our cognitive abilities as we age. Goldberg outlines cognitive exercises we can do to keep our brain sharp. This chapter comes immediately following a chapter summarizing recent research proposing that humans grow neurons their entire life -- how many we grow and where they migrate to is up to us (in theory).

This is a positive book, bringing hope and some scientific rigor to those older folk interested in the life-cycle of their brain. Goldberg comes across as a competent scientist and, at over 50, still hasn't lost his writing ability. (If you read the book you'll learn, from a technical point of view, why this isn't so surprising. Hint: writing is a mostly left-hemisphere activity.)

Ooops! There go the piano lessons.......2006-06-26

This is the book that got me interested, once again, in neuropsychology and neuroanatomy. Yes, the immediate interest is that business of not wanting "to go gently into that good night." as Dylan Thomas wrote. How much will cognitive delcine affect me as I age (something we are all doing since birth - it isn't only the old who are aging).

I think Goldberg, motivated by his own need to "rage, rage against the dying of the light," used his enormous knowledge of neuropsychology to create a work that should benefit all who want to know what their chances are (or of relatives/friends) of continuing to lead a useful life despite the inevitable (and many) ways we decline in capacity as we age.

This book is not necessarily an easy read for a generation used to soundbites, e-mail abreviations, evening news pseudo-profundity, or dumbed-down magazine articles. One has to realize that neurology is the subject medical students fear most. And with good reason. The human brain has been described as the most complex thing we know of. Somehow, in a way not yet fully understood, consciousness emerges from the healthy, mature human brain to give us (finally in human evolution) the ability to study effectively with recent functional brain scanning techniques the very organ system that allows us to smell a perfume and recall a long ago romance, to see a face in the crowd and recognize someone we have not seen for ten years (or fifty years), to freeze with terror as the amygdala (as close as we can come to Freud's Id) brings to mind a terrible incident from childhood, to meditate and find a place of peace where some of our systems shut down like that scene in the film "2001" in which HAL, the space ship's computer, gets his memory modules unpluged after trying to kill the crew.

Frankly, I liked Goldberg's making the book not a text, but a personal exploration. Textbooks are the most boring article ever devised by the human mind - but necessary until in some new century slouching up towards Jerusalem we get microchip implants that make us into Borgs, don't snicker, people are having chips placed subdermal just so they can wave their arm at a door and have it open. Think how willing people will be score of years hence to suffer the implant of cerebral devices that give us many terabytes of updatable data storage or like "The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy" Marvin, the robot with a brain the size of a planet, unlimited intelligence. What Faustian deals will we make in centuries to come?

Get out your magic marker and color all those amazing bits of research and speculation about how our brains age. His theory is that we will get by nicely, thank you very much, on the sheer acumulation of left brain (that's not your creative side, sorry) routines which will enable us to be useful on the job and not too dull in our personal lives. This is despite the loss of some brain capacity (literally, the brain shrinks), memory loss, lessened creativity and such. It helps to have been bright and active using the brain in one's occupation.

However, we still don't know definitively what causes Alzheimer's disease or many other serious forms of cognitive decline. The good news is that we have a better chance than not of living our life to the full without disabling mental decline. It is not a 'neuropsychology for dummies' work. It is not well illustrated - see my review of Rita Carter's "Mapping the Mind" which is - but one keens at Goldberg's expertise in his field (he specializes in the frontal lobes, which, incidentally, is where the part of the mind that seems to be YOU is located - maybe).

With all the babyboomers coming along worried about their senior years, I see a bright future for this book - and many others like it. There are just so many more answers to those questions the artist asked: D'ou venons nous? Que sommes nous? Ou allons nous? (Gaugauin, MFA Boston). Goldberg is one of many helping us to understand the latest discoveries and theories in this field. He has some of his own; he's more in favor of the 'distributed processing' theory of brain function, not the highly modular view which has held sway for decades. Incidentally, recent research has shown that the Broca's area and Werneicke's area are less fixed and immutable than formerly thought.

I recommend this book.

seriously disappointed.......2006-03-30

I was unable to finish this book because I found it too academic and pedantic; it is of little use to elderly people who seek guidance in regard to the problems of agying

Exercise your brain.......2006-02-24

I didn't find much new here, but it's an interesting book, especially if you long to find out how "use it or lose it" applies to the grey matter.

BRAIN PLASTICITY IN ACTION.......2005-05-03

This is a terrific book explaining how new knowledge of brain plasticity can be put to use to combat mental decline. It combines state-of-the-art knowledge about the brain delivered in a very clear and lucid manner with enjoyable cultural and historical digressions. I liked Goldberg's other book, The Executive Brain, but this one is even better. It is refreshing to see a serious scientist stepping out of the ivory tower and developing practical applications. The idea of cognitive fitness through cognitive exercise is fascinating and I can't wait to start!

Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind

Average customer rating:

Excellent
Not for those without background
Additions to this book
Best overall for Cogntive Neuroscience
Verbose and EXTREMELY boring

Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind
Michael S. Gazzaniga
Manufacturer: NORTON & COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Cognitive | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Anatomy | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Physiology | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Medicine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393972194

Book Description

Written by leading researchers in the field, Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind shows how the complex processes of the mind--language, memory, attention, feelings--are enabled by the underlying biology of the brain. Relying on patient studies and case histories rather than lab experiments on animals, the authors explore the underlying neurological chemistry behind critical human diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and suggests various treatments. A series of interviews with other researchers bring the science to life as they discuss their pathbreaking discoveries and speculate about new frontiers for the discipline.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2005-09-25

Research in cognitive neuroscience has exploded in the last two decades, mostly due to the rise of experimental techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission topography, but also due to the ability now to simulate neuronal behavior computationally. This book, written by leading experts in the field is written for the student in mind, so anyone with a strong curiosity about what has been accomplished in cognitive neuroscience up till now will gain a lot from reading the book. The study of the brain is fascinating and there is every indication that a thorough understanding of cognitive processes, including the nature of consciousness, will be achieved in this century.

Just a small sample of some of the questions that arise from the reading of the book include:
1. What is the cause of akinetopsia, i.e. loss of motion perception?
2. What is the relationship between learning and memory?
3. How limited is short-term memory and where are sensory memories stored?
4. Why were `working memory' models proposed and what evidence is there to support them?
5. What is the difference between declarative and nondeclarative memories?
6. What is the connection between amnesia and the medial temporal lobe?
7. Just how accurate are the experimental techniques of PET and fMRI?
8. Is damage to the hippocampus sufficient to block the formation of new long-term memories?
9. Does damage to the medial temporal lobe and diencephalic memory systems affect both episodic and semantic memory?
10. What brain systems support procedural memory?
11. Is there any evidence that brain lesions can affect the perceptual representation system but leaving the declarative memory untouched?
12. How much is known about the molecular mechanisms of synaptic strengthening in long-term potentiation?
13. Just how much is known about the neural organization of language?
14. What evidence is there for domain-specific knowledge systems that are evolutionarily adapted?
15. What is the nature of the segmentation problem and what is its relevance in the neuronal modeling of language use and acquisition?
16. Is reading represented by a specialized input system?
17. What are the differences between the modular and interactive models of language comprehension?
18. What evidence is there for the garden-path model of syntactic analysis?
19. What is the nature of agrammatic aphasia and what causes it?
20. What is semantic paraphasia what causes it?
21. What is the nature of Broca's aphasia?
22. What connection, if any, is there between the size of the corpus callosum and autism?
23. Why, from an evolutionary perspective, is it advantageous to have hemispheric specialization?
24. How does the frequency hypothesis explain hemispheric asymmetries in visual perception?
25. How effective are the computational models of visual system?
26. What experiments indicate that cortical cell number cannot by itself fully explain human intelligence?
27. In contrast to nonhuman animals, why do humans try to find patterns in sequences of events, even though they are informed explicitly that the sequences are random?
28. What evidence exists for a `generative assembling device' in the left hemisphere?
29. How are movement plans represented?
30. What is the function of "mirror cells?"
31. To what degree does learning play in producing purposeful actions?
32. Do representations within the motor cortex change as a function of practice?
33. What is the timing hypothesis of the role of the cerebellum in motor learning?
34. What causes Parkinson's disease?
35. What are the executive functions?
36. What is the difference between working memory and associative memory?
37. How is information activated and maintained in working memory?
38. What is the nature of recency memory?
39. What is the dynamic filtering mechanism and what experimental evidence is there to support it?
40. What are schema control units and what role do they play in response selection?
41. How can emotion be defined in order to carry out a neuroscientific science of emotion?
42. What role does the amygdala play in the processing of emotional stimuli?
43. Are the neural systems of emotion and cognition independent? Interdependent?
44. What is a somatic marker and what role does it play in decision-making?
45. What neural systems are responsible for controlling facial expressions?
46. What is genetic specificity and genetic pleiotropy?
47. How can one determine whether a neuronal structure or behavior is functionally significant to the organism in the environment to which is adapted or whether it is an epiphenomenon of evolution?
48. What is the role, if any, of subconscious processing?
49. What is the nature of access-consciousness?
50. How close are neuroscientists to a science of consciousness?

Not for those without background.......2004-02-25

This book is not intended for the general reader, reader with cellular neuroscience background, but has a target audience of advanced undergraduate or graduate level students with relevant background. Also would be useful for the psychology professional without specific or with dated cognitive neuroscience background, or others intending a research or applied clinical career in the area. Appropriate background would necessarily be at least an undergraduate course in cognitive psychology, with additional help provided by biological psychology or a medical professional in neurology. Discussions of principles and mechanisms are at a "functional machinery" level and thus would not make sense to those without some previous training in those principles. It just isn't a basic text, thus, no glossary of basic terms is included. Yes, the material is both abstract and complex, but so is brain function, and we are just beginning to learn. There are very, very few textbooks that survey this area which only became a separate field of study sometime around 1986. Other reading material in the field consists entirely of professional level chapters in compiled and edited texts. The only other broad survey text that I know of is Marie Banich's book on the related area of Cognitive Neuropsychology.

Additions to this book.......2003-09-13

This book is more like a bunch of journals bound together. The authors introduce new words without previous qualifications. For example, in the chapter of binocular vision, they added spatial normalization and various other models, without telling what exactly they are! Also when I tried to find these terms in relatively basic texts I was unable to find them. Same was the case with internet.

It is definitly for advanced learner. (I am doing PhD in neuroscience and still finding it very difficult)To clarify zillions of issue I have to sit with my mentor. Although she is very nice but still the discussion needs a lot of time, which is difficult for her to take out in her busy schedule.

In short, this book is recommended if you are doing a specific research and want to know extremely minute details of the ideas, certainly not for a introductory or intermediate learner.

Best overall for Cogntive Neuroscience.......2003-05-13

I have used it in an upper division undergraduate psychology class, and in my students' rankings of textbooks, this book has consistently been ranked higher than any other text I've used.

The level is beyond a simple introductory psychology text, but is very appropriate for the upper division course.

The numerous full-color illustrations and photographs are especially helpful in illustrating key points.

It covers the full spectrum of the neural basis of cognition, from simple perception through the biology of emotion to the basis of consciousness (with very interesting case studies of brain damaged patients throughout).

Verbose and EXTREMELY boring.......2003-05-02

I am a fourth year neuroscience major and found this book to be extremely verbose and boring. The chapters are 50 pages long at least and the author continually digresses into random tangents so you're left bored and confused at the end of each chapter. Do NOT buy it unless you want to be even more confused in your course than necessary!

Soul, Psyche, Brain: New Directions in the Study of Religion and Brain-Mind Science

Average customer rating:

The New Face of Interdisciplinary Studies of Mind, Brain and Spirituality

Soul, Psyche, Brain: New Directions in the Study of Religion and Brain-Mind Science

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1403965099
Release Date: 2005-10-13

Book Description

Soul, Psyche, Brain is a collection of essays that address the relationships between neuroscience, religion and human nature. The book highlights some startling new developments in neuroscience that have many people rethinking spirituality, the mind-body connection, and cognition in general. Soul, Psyche, Brain explores questions like: What are the neurological effects of meditation and prayer? How does the mind develop psychological and spiritual self-awareness? And what are the practical implications of brain-mind science for religious faith and moral reasoning?

Customer Reviews:

The New Face of Interdisciplinary Studies of Mind, Brain and Spirituality.......2007-09-17

One of the most important undertakings in neuroscience and psychology is to try and achieve a rapprochement between different observations and descriptions of experience: to honor, respect and embrace physical, psychological and spiritual experiences without trying to reduce them to physical accidents.

This undertaking matters: how we see ourselves and our experiences has everything to do with the way in which we treat each other, the other inhabitants of our world and the planet itself. If we allow ourselves to believe the fiction that we live in a meaningless clockwork universe, there is little to restrain the rampant bullying, exploitation and disregard for life that we see all around us. If done well, books like this one can do a great deal to expand our worldview without falling into the traps of materialism or solipsism. And this book is very well done.

The editor - Kelly Bulkeley - teaches Religion and Psychology at San Francisco Theological Seminary and at Santa Clara University in California. His name has become well known in the arena of dream studies: he is a former President of the Association for the Study of Dreams and is the author of several books on dreams.

In Soul, Psyche, Brain he has enlisted a number of experts to contribute essays that address the relationships between neuroscience, religion and human nature.

The book highlights some important new developments in neuroscience that are generally not well known outside the field. Some may have a great many implications for cognition, consciousness, spirituality and link between the mind and body. Each has many practical implications, not only for how we see ourselves, but also for the neuroscience of ethics, morality and the law.

The contributors include religious scholars, psychologists and a physicist. The resulting dialogue and discussion is an excellent example of what can be achieved by a high level multidisciplinary exchange by people who know their own field, as well as comprehending the nuances of others' areas of expertise. It is also striking how far we have come form the days when many authors tried to reduce profound spiritual and mystical experiences to neurological puzzles or some half-understood interpretation of theoretical physics.

Since the contents of the book are not yet available on the Amazon website, and the pre-publication chapter list is slightly different from the one in the book, here is a brief breakdown of the chapters and contributors. Kelly Bulkeley begins with an excellent overview, followed by twelve chapters:

1. Genes, Brains, Minds: The Human Complex: Holmes Rolston III
2. Brain, Mind, and Spirit - A Clinician's Perspective, or, Why I Am Not Afraid of Dualism: James W. Jones
3. Psychoneurology Dimensions of Anomalous Experience in Relation to Religious Belief and Spiritual Practice: Stanley Krippner
4. Sacred Emotions: Robert A. Emmons
5. Where Neurocognition Meets the Master: Attention and Metacognition in Zen: Tracey L. Kahan and Patricia M. Simone
6. From Chaos to Self-Organization: The Brain, Dreaming, and Religious Experience: David Kahn
7. Converting: Toward a Cognitive Theory of Religious Change: Patricia M. Davis and Lewis R. Rambo
8. Cognitive Science and Christian Theology: Charlene P.E. Burns
9. Overcoming an Impoverished Ontology: Candrakirti on Buddhism and the Mind-Brain Problem: Richard K. Payne
10. Religion and Brain-Mind Science: Dreaming the Future: Kelly Bulkeley
11. Religion out of Mind: The Ideology of Cognitive Science and Religion: Jeremy Carrette
12. Brain Science on Ethics: The Neurobiology of Making Choices: Walter J. Freeman

Each chapter has a self-contained reference list, and there is a decent index.

There are many nuggets in this book, but a few of my favorites: Sacred emotions; Attention and metacognition in Zen; Dreaming and religious experience: Candrakirti and the mind-brain problem. I particularly liked the last of these: Candrakirti wrote a famous commentary on the thought of the Buddhist sage Nagarjuna, but I have not seen much about his work that is quite as clear as Richard Payne's essay in this book.

For anyone interested in the interface between the brain, consciousness and spirituality, there is a great deal of exceptionally interesting material in this book, and I recommend it highly.

Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

Mind Wide Open (Library Edition): Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life

Average customer rating:

Journey into the workings of the brain
The Wide-Open Field of Neuroscience
not too thought provoking
It can be understood just by neuroscientists.
waste of time

Mind Wide Open (Library Edition): Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life
Steven Johnson
Manufacturer: Tantor Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Applied Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Personality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1400131162

Amazon.com

Given the opportunity to watch the inner workings of his own brain, Steven Johnson jumps at the chance. He reveals the results in Mind Wide Open, an engaging and personal account of his foray into edgy brain science. In the 21st century, Johnson observes, we have become used to ideas such as "adrenaline rushes" and "serotonin levels," without really recognizing that complex neurobiology has become a commonplace thing to talk about. He sees recent laboratory revelations about the brain as crucial for understanding ourselves and our psyches in new, post-Freudian ways. Readers shy about slapping electrodes on their own temples can get a vicarious scientific thrill as Johnson tries out empathy tests, neurofeedback, and fMRI scans. The results paint a distinct picture of the author, and uncover general brain secrets at the same time. Memory, fear, love, alertness--all the multitude of states housed in our brains are shown to be the results of chemical and electrical interactions constantly fed and changed by input from our senses. Mind Wide Open both satisfies curiosity and provokes more questions, leaving readers wondering about their own gray matter. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

BRILLIANTLY EXPLORING TODAY'S CUTTING-EDGE BRAIN RESEARCH, MIND WIDE OPEN IS AN UNPRECEDENTED JOURNEY INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN PERSONALITY, ALLOWING READERS TO UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES AND THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES AS NEVER BEFORE.

Using a mix of experiential reportage, personal storytelling, and fresh scientific discovery, Steven Johnson describes how the brain works -- its chemicals, structures, and subroutines -- and how these systems connect to the day-to-day realities of individual lives. For a hundred years, he says, many of us have assumed that the most powerful route to self-knowledge took the form of lying on a couch, talking about our childhoods. The possibility entertained in this book is that you can follow another path, in which learning about the brain's mechanics can widen one's self-awareness as powerfully as any therapy or meditation or drug.

In Mind Wide Open, Johnson embarks on this path as his own test subject, participating in a battery of attention tests, learning to control video games by altering his brain waves, scanning his own brain with a $2 million fMRI machine, all in search of a modern answer to the oldest of questions: who am I?

Along the way, Johnson explores how we "read" other people, how the brain processes frightening events (and how we might rid ourselves of the scars those memories leave), what the neurochemistry is behind love and sex, what it means that our brains are teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs, why music moves us to tears, and where our breakthrough ideas come from.

Johnson's clear, engaging explanation of the physical functions of the brain reveals not only the broad strokes of our aptitudes and fears, our skills and weaknesses and desires, but also the momentary brain phenomena that a whole human life comprises. Why, when hearing a tale of woe, do we sometimes smile inappropriately, even if we don't want to? Why are some of us so bad at remembering phone numbers but brilliant at recognizing faces? Why does depression make us feel stupid?

To read Mind Wide Open is to rethink family histories, individual fates, and the very nature of the self, and to see that brain science is now personally transformative -- a valuable tool for better relationships and better living.

Download Description

"BRILLIANTLY EXPLORING TODAY'S CUTTING-EDGE BRAIN RESEARCH, MIND WIDE OPEN IS AN UNPRECEDENTED JOURNEY INTO THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN PERSONALITY, ALLOWING READERS TO UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES AND THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES AS NEVER BEFORE. Using a mix of experiential reportage, personal storytelling, and fresh scientific discovery, Steven Johnson describes how the brain works -- its chemicals, structures, and subroutines -- and how these systems connect to the day-to-day realities of individual lives. For a hundred years, he says, many of us have assumed that the most powerful route to self-knowledge took the form of lying on a couch, talking about our childhoods. The possibility entertained in this book is that you can follow another path, in which learning about the brain's mechanics can widen one's self-awareness as powerfully as any therapy or meditation or drug. In Mind Wide Open, Johnson embarks on this path as his own test subject, participating in a battery of attention tests, learning to control video games by altering his brain waves, scanning his own brain with a $2 million fMRI machine, all in search of a modern answer to the oldest of questions: who am I?

Customer Reviews:

Journey into the workings of the brain.......2007-08-29

Part of this book is focused on the author's curiosity about the workings of the brain which led him to conduct experiments on himself and monitor what happens in his brain and in what parts of his brain when he is involved in different activities. Part of this book attempts to cover discoveries from neuroscience and delves into what part of the brain processes what kind of information as well as how different hormones and neuro-chemicals influence thinking, feelings and behavior.

The Wide-Open Field of Neuroscience.......2007-03-02

This is not a technical science book. It is a work of narrative non-fiction that profiles a tool every one of us has: the brain. Johnson provides an excellent layman's understanding about the way the brain works. He subjects himself to all kinds of neurological tests (like any good journalist covering the brain should), and writes about his experiences. Johnson tries out neuralfeedback helmets, takes an fMRI brain scan, talks to "mind-reading" experts, and tries out many other things. The author is obviously fascinated by the brain and its abilites, and this fascination comes through in the writing. After reading Mind Wide Open I have been motivated to dig deeper into this fascinating subject. If you treat this book as a primer on the fascinating world of neuroscience, you can't go wrong.

not too thought provoking.......2007-02-26

what appeared to be a good read from the description, in all reality, proved to be a bunch of poorly connected ideas that all in all did nothing to enhance my understanding of the functioning of the human mind.

It can be understood just by neuroscientists........2007-02-21

I am a software engineer and I like to read about other sciences, but this book has disappointed me to have ideas about neuroscience. In my reading experience I found it as the most confusing book, the author talks about his life more than the science indicated in the title of the book.

waste of time.......2007-01-20

Rather bland and boring; covering overly general neuroscience topics. Many better neuroscience books have been written covering the same material.

The Biology of Mind: Origins and Structures of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness

Average customer rating:

I can't imagine a better intro to neuroscience
Good review.
Perfect !
Synthsizing Knowledge
A comprehensive and brilliant look at our integrated selves.

The Biology of Mind: Origins and Structures of Mind, Brain, and Consciousness
Deric Bownds
Manufacturer: FITZGERALD SCIENCE PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Anatomy | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Physiology | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Medicine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1891786075

Book Description

This new book makes state-of-the-art research on the human mind accessible and exciting for a wide variety of readers. It covers the evolution of mind, examines the transitions from primate through early hominid to modern human intelligence, and reviews modern experimental studies of the brain structures and mechanisms that underlie vision, emotions, language, memory, and learning.

Customer Reviews:

I can't imagine a better intro to neuroscience.......2005-06-27

I really cannot imagine a better introduction to neuroscience and the mind in general. For one, the book covers all the practical bases of an intro book by offering book recommendations at the end of each chapter and interesting additions such as the "self-experiments" scattered throughout the book. What truly impressed me, however, was how much insight Bownds brings to each of the topics being discovered (especially impressive considering it is introductory). He incorporates several themes into the book and uses them to tie all the ideas together. I highly recommend this to anyone with a budding interest in the brain/mind and also to those who want to gain a better understanding of human nature and society.

Good review........2002-01-06

This book is essentially a review of current neuroscience. It is not at all technical, and very clearly written. It should serve as an introductory text, and it is not intended to be anything more. Do not expect the advancement of controversial theories or cutting edge research. It is all quite fundamental. The focusing in evolution, embodiement, top down and top up approaches, makes it a complete volume, a solid introduction to neuroscience. The consciousness section is not very interesting. It considers somo work by dennett and Llinas, but nothing really original. It is a fun and easy book to read, and unless you are an expert or someone who is very familiar with the field, you should find a lot of useful information.

Perfect !.......2001-11-26

One of the best books that introduces how consciousness, selfhood, emotion, etc. arise from the brain, under the intertwined effects of evolution, genes, environment and cultures. Topics covered are broad and adequate for both students and general readers. The book is wisely organized and easy to read. Each chapter contains an outline at the start and a comprehensive summary at the end. Important points are emphasized in the margins. Also there are many interesting self-experiments that are not only entertaining but also very helpful for readers to understand important concepts in the book. There are thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter that encourage one to think and explore deeper. Although a copy of the book is available online, I recommend readers to buy it since it is inexpensive.

Synthsizing Knowledge.......2000-07-04

I am a psychiatrist with a life long passion for understanding the common meeting ground of psychology, biology, spirituality, neurocognitive science,and experiential therapy. This book is the best introduction to and synthesizing of an understanding of how the brain/mind operates as the center of that nexus. He integrates evolutionary priciples, linguistic theory, constructionist models, and experiential principles with a wholistic understanding of humans as persons. Great basis for those in all fields that want to move outside the narrow confines of their own area.

A comprehensive and brilliant look at our integrated selves........1999-10-14

THE BIOLOGY OF MIND authored by M. Deric Bownds from Madison, Wisconsin takes us on a wonderful journey into realms about thinking and feeling and willing that so many people have written so much about. Who among us has not been drawn to ideas and possibilities about who we are and from whence we come? This book is a bit different from others I have read on this engrossing topic. This one talks with us not at us; Dr. Bownds engages us as we read about perception, vision, language, growth, senses, adaptations, origins, development and, of course, brain and mind and what all that means. There are many self-experiments - excercises that we can do as we read the book that help us understand by direct application that which Dr.Bownds is telling us. I have read the book twice now and am sure to do it again. I, sometimes, just pick THE BIOLOGY OF MIND off my book shelf and just read a chapter that I select at random. I am always struck with Dr. Bownds' ability to bring out and introduce ideas allowing us to assimilate them at our own pace. Oh..and the cover is terrific! Enjoy the read. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Seeing and Visualizing: It's not what you Think (Life and Mind: Philosophical Issues in Biology and Psychology)

Average customer rating:

Seeing and Visualizing: It's not what you Think (Life and Mind: Philosophical Issues in Biology and Psychology)
Zenon W. Pylyshyn
Manufacturer: MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Cognitive Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Medicine | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0262661977

Book Description

In Seeing and Visualizing, Zenon Pylyshyn argues that seeing is different from thinking and that to see is not, as it may seem intuitively, to create an inner replica of the world. Pylyshyn examines how we see and how we visualize and why the scientific account does not align with the way these processes seem to us "from the inside." In doing so, he addresses issues in vision science, cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, and cognitive neuroscience.

First, Pylyshyn argues that there is a core stage of vision independent from the influence of our prior beliefs and examines how vision can be intelligent and yet essentially knowledge-free. He then proposes that a mechanism within the vision module, called a visual index (or FINST), provides a direct preconceptual connection between parts of visual representations and things in the world, and he presents various experiments that illustrate the operation of this mechanism. He argues that such a deictic reference mechanism is needed to account for many properties of vision, including how mental images attain their apparent spatial character without themselves being laid out in space in our brains.

The final section of the book examines the "picture theory" of mental imagery, including recent neuroscience evidence, and asks whether any current evidence speaks to the issue of the format of mental images. This analysis of mental imagery brings together many of the themes raised throughout the book and provides a framework for considering such issues as the distinction between the form and the content of representations, the role of vision in thought, and the relation between behavioral, neuroscientific, and phenomenological evidence regarding mental representations.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books