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The disordered mind : what unusual brains tell us about ourselves / by Kandel, Eric R.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.What brain disorders can tell us about ourselves -- Our intensely social nature : the autism spectrum -- Emotions and the integrity of the self : depression and bipolar disorder -- The ability to think and to make and carry out decisions : schizophrenia -- Memory, the storehouse of the self : dementia -- Our intrinsic creative capability : brain disorders and art -- Movement : Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases -- The interplay of conscious and unconscious emotion : anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and faulty decision-making -- The pleasure principle and freedom of choice: addictions -- Sexual differentiation of the brain and gender identity -- Consciousness : the great remaining mystery of the brain -- Conclusion : coming full circle.Eric R. Kandel, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his foundational research into memory storage in the brain, is one of the pioneers of modern brain science. His work continues to shape our understanding of how learning and memory work and to break down age-old barriers between the sciences and the arts. In his seminal new book, The Disordered Mind, Kandel draws on a lifetime of pathbreaking research and the work of many other leading neuroscientists to take us on an unusual tour of the brain. He confronts one of the most difficult questions we face: How does our mind, our individual sense of self, emerge from the physical matter of the brain? The brain's 86 billion neurons communicate with one another through very precise connections. But sometimes those connections are disrupted. The brain processes that give rise to our mind can become disordered, resulting in diseases such as autism, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson's, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. While these disruptions bring great suffering, they can also reveal the mysteries of how the brain produces our most fundamental experiences and capabilities--the very nature of what it means to be human. Studies of autism illuminate the neurological foundations of our social instincts; research into depression offers important insights on emotions and the integrity of the self; and paradigm-shifting work on addiction has led to a new understanding of the relationship between pleasure and willpower. By studying disruptions to typical brain functioning and exploring their potential treatments, we will deepen our understanding of thought, feeling, behavior, memory, and creativity. Only then can we grapple with the big question of how billions of neurons generate consciousness itself.
Subjects: Mental illness.; Neuropsychology.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The creating brain : the neuroscience of genius / by Andreasen, Nancy C.;
Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-188).The nature of creativity: the ingenious human brain -- In search of Xanadu: understanding the creative person and the creative process -- Reaching Xanadu: how does the brain create? -- Genius and insanity: creativity and the brain disease -- What creates the creative brain? -- Building better brains: creativity and brain plasticity.
Subjects: Neuropsychology.; Genius.; Creative ability.;
© c2005., Dana Press,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The optimism bias : a tour of the irrationally positive brain / by Sharot, Tali.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.Prologue: a glass forever half full? -- Which way is up?: illusions of the human brain -- Are animals stuck in time?: the evolution of prospection -- Is optimism a self-fulfilling prophecy?: how the mind transforms predictions into reality -- What do Barack Obama and Shirley Temple have in common?: when private optimism meets public despair -- Can you predict what will make you happy?: The unexpected ingredients for well-being -- Crocuses popping up through the snow?: when things go wrong: depression, interpretation, and genes -- Why is Friday better than Sunday?: the value of anticipation and the cost of dread -- Why do things seem better after we choose them?: the mind's journey from expectation to choice and back -- Are memories of 9/11 as accurate as they seem?: how emotion changes our past -- Why is being a cancer survivor better than winning the Tour de France?: how the brain turns lead into gold -- A dark side to optimism?: from World War II to the credit crunch, underestimating risk is like drinking red wine -- Epilogue: a beautiful mademoiselle or a sad old lady?: from prediction to perception to action.
Subjects: Neuropsychology.; Optimism;
© c2012., Vintage Books,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Six weeks to a brain upgrade : a student's quick-start guide for using brain research to boost learning / by Zadina, Janet N.;
Week 1 - Learning and Success Start in Your Brain -- Week 2 - Using Your Senses to Enhance Learning -- Week 3 - Make Emotions Work for You, Not Against You -- Week 4 - Good Frontal Lobes = Success and a Good Life -- Week 5 - Make Remembering Easier -- Week 6 - Become a Better Learner for Now and for Life.This book could change your life. Scientists have discovered that you can change your brain and you can become more intelligent. This book is going to show you how. With only 30 brief tips you will learn how to be smarter, not just get a better grade. You can make important changes to your brain (inside book).
Subjects: Brain.; Thought and thinking.; Education.; Neuropsychology.;
© 2014., s.n.,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The shallows [sound recording] : [what the Internet is doing to our brains] / by Carr, Nicholas G.,1959-; Garcia, Paul Michael.nrt; Blackstone Audiobooks.;
Read by Paul Michael Garcia.Describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by "tools of the mind", from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways. Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, the author makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic, a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence.The watchdog and the thief -- Hal and me -- The vital paths -- A digression on what the brain thinks about when it thinks about itself -- Tools of the mind -- The deepening page -- A digression on Lee De Forest and his amazing audion -- A medium of the most general nature -- The very image of a book -- The juggler's brain -- A digression on the buoyancy of IQ scores -- The church of Google -- Search, memory -- A digression on the writing of this book -- A thing like me -- Human elements.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; Compact discs.; Attention.; Internet.; Neuropsychology.; Thinking.; Neuropsychology.; Intellect.; Internet; Internet; Electronic information resource searching.;
© p2010., Blackstone Audio,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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The dreaming brain / by Hobson, J. Allan,1933-;
Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-310) and index.Introduction. A brain-based approach to dreaming -- 1. The study of dreaming in the nineteenth century -- 2. Psychoanalysis and dreaming -- 3. Dream investigation in the early twentieth century -- 4. A spark of nature's fire : the electrical brain -- 5. The regulation of consciousness by the brain stem -- 6. The discovery of REM sleep and dreaming -- 7. A window on the brain : neural activity -- 8. A war of nerves : the reciprocal-interaction model of REM-sleep generation -- 9. The brain as a dream machine : an activation-synthesis hypothesis of dreaming -- 10. The form of dreams -- 11. The form of dream sensation -- 12. The form of dream movement -- 13. The bizarreness of dreams -- 14. The interpretation of dream form -- 15. The functions of REM sleep and dreaming.
Subjects: Dreams.; Neuropsychology.; Brain; Dreams; Sleep;
© ©1988., Basic Books,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Endangered minds : why children don't think--and what we can do about it / by Healy, Jane M.;
Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-366) and index.Changing brains -- Language, fuzzy thinking, and the languishing left hemisphere -- Attention, lifestyles, and learning disabilities -- Clashing cultures -- Minds of the future.Author links the inability of children to concentrate to the electronic media, changes in life-styles, and the decline of literacy.
Subjects: Learning, Psychology of.; Learning; Learning; Neuropsychology.;
© [1999], Simon & Schuster,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Your brain on food : how chemicals control your thoughts and feelings / by Wenk, Gary Lee.;
Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-170) and index.Introduction : food, drugs, and you -- Memories, magic, & a major addiction -- Euphoria, depression, & madness -- Your brain's anchor to reality -- Marijuana in the brain -- Simple molecules that turn you on and off -- Sleeping versus waking -- Remnants of an ancient past -- Brain enhancement and other magical beliefs -- A little quiz.Why is eating chocolate so pleasurable? Can the function of just one small group of chemicals really determine whether you are happy or sad? Does marijuana help to improve your memory in old age? Is it really best to drink coffee if you want to wake up and be alert? Why is a drug like PCP potentially lethal? Why does drinking alcohol make you drowsy? Do cigarettes help to relieve anxiety? What should you consume if you are having trouble staying in your chair and focusing enough to get your work done? Why do treatments for the common cold make us drowsy? Can eating less food preserve your brain? What are the possible side effects of pills that claim to make your smarter? Why is it so hard to stop smoking? Why did witches once believe that they could fly? In this book, Gary Wenk demonstrates how, as a result of their effects on certain neurotransmitters concerned with behavior, everything we put into our bodies has very direct consequences for how we think, feel, and act. The chapters introduce each of the main neurotransmitters involved with behavior, discuss its role in the brain, present some background on how it is generally turned on and off, and explain ways to influence it through what we consume. -- Product Description.
Subjects: Psychopharmacology.; Neuropsychology.; Neurochemistry.; Brain; Emotions.; Neurotransmitter Agents;
© 2010., Oxford University Press,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Annoying : the science of what bugs us / by Palca, Joe.; Lichtman, Flora,1983-;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Two crackerjack science journalists from NPR look at why some things (and some people!) drive us crazy It happens everywhere? offices, schools, even your own backyard. Plus, seemingly anything can trigger it cell phones, sirens, bad music, constant distractions, your boss, or even your spouse. We all know certain things get under our skin. Can science explain why? Palca and Lichtman take you on a scientific quest through psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and other disciplines to uncover the truth about being annoyed. What is the recipe for annoyance? For starters, it should be temporary, unpleasant, and unpredictable, like a boring meeting or mosquito bites Gives fascinating, surprising explanations for why people react the way they do to everything from chili peppers to fingernails on a blackboard Explains why irrational behavior (like tearing your hair out in traffic) is connected to worthwhile behavior (like staying on task) Includes tips for identifying your own irritating habits! How often can you say you're happily reading a really Annoying book? The insights are fascinating, the exploration is fun, and the knowledge you gain, if you act like you know everything, can be really annoying."--Provided by publisher."A scientific look at something that affects us all--annoying spouses, car alarms, fingernails on a chalkboard, coworkers, missed planes, bad dreams, dropped calls, bed bugs, even the sounds coming out of everyone else's iPod--while still being humorous, surprising, and helpful"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Aversive stimuli; Aversion; Neuropsychology.; Discontent.; Human physiology.;
© c2011., Wiley,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Brain culture : neuroscience and popular media / by Thornton, Davi Johnson,1978-;
Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-189) and index.The rhetorical brain -- Visualizing the new brain -- "How do you know unless you look?" : practical neuroscience and brain-based self-help -- Babies, blank slates, and brain building -- Pills, power, and the neuroscience of everyday life -- Mental health care, the rhetoric of recovery, and entrepreneurial lives -- The brain is the frontier : the subjectifications of neuroscience.
Subjects: Neurosciences.; Science in popular culture.; Science in mass media.; Neurosciences.; Mass Media.; Neuropsychology.;
© c2011., Rutgers University Press,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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