"Steen...frames this book in the context of how the brain evolved, but also very coherently presents an up-to-date, critical review of current research in neuroscience....[He] includes a fascinating discussion of current research on neurogenesis and the potential benefits of research on neural stem cells for a variety of psychiatric disorders. He addresses current government restriction of access to neural stem cells, which is severely hampering research in this area.....This book is an excellent resource for graduate students and researchers in neuroscience, psychiatry, and related fields who need an update on current research in the area or who are striving to conceptualize how their own research fits into a larger conceptual model of brain functions....Highly recommended."
Choice
"[The author] is on the cutting edge of cognition here, stepping out in front of the scientific pack in dealing with the role that creativity plays in innovation and complexity. He coyly joins the mind and brain in such a way that encourages the reader to consider the possibilities of the human adventure....Steen’s well-thought-out embrace of a working partnership between the [mental and the biological] in the pursuit of complexity is absolutely refreshing — brain studies at its very best!”
Biology Digest
The human brain is arguably the most complex object in the universe. With about 100 billion neurons, each of which makes perhaps 10,000 synapses, our incredible central processing unit is capable of roughly 1,000 trillion interconnections.
What do scientists know about how this amazingly complex organ functions? Is it even possible to unravel all of its mysteries? In this comprehensive book on the science of the brain, distinguished neurophysiologist R. Grant Steen provides us with a crash course on how the brain works. As a researcher on the forefront of brain studies, Dr. Steen explores the latest findings on a host of topics:
- Consciousness, unconsciousness, and brain death
- Learning, memory, and role of genes
- Motivation, aggression, and the range of emotions
- The plasticity of the growing brain
- Mental illness and treatment
He also delves into such stimulating questions as: Where does creativity come from? What is personality? Can we distinguish between the brain and the mind?
Impressive in breadth and depth, yet written with clarity in an engaging, nontechnical style, this fascinating tour of the brain provides the general reader with the latest information on one of the most intriguing and burgeoning areas of scientific research. No topic has more meaning or relevance than using our brains to understand the working of our own minds.
FURTHER PRAISE FOR THE EVOLVING BRAIN
"[A]n accessible view of the inner workings of the human brain for the nonscientist reader....a masterful job of bridging the ever-widening gulf between science and the general public."
Margaret McFall-Ngai, PhD
Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Medicine and Public Health
"[A] thoughtful and highly engaging introduction to the brain, its evolving complexity, and our emerging understanding of how it functions....I highly recommend this book."
Stephen R. Dager, MD
Professor of Radiology and Adjunct Professor
of Psychiatry and Bioengineering
University of Washington School of Medicine
"[A] fact-filled but highly readable book that is sure to inform and stimulate the curiosity of all who have wondered about the three-pound mass of tissue responsible for all that we think, all that we feel, all that we do, and all that we are."
Jay N. Giedd, MD
Chief, Brain Imaging Unit
Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health
Book Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 437
ISBN: 1-59102-480-3
Shipping Weight: 1lbs
Author Bio:
R. Grant Steen, Ph.D. (Chapel Hill, NC) is a neurophysiologist and associate professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. He has authored or edited four books including the highly acclaimed DNA & Destiny: Nature and Nurture in Human Behavior, in addition to nearly seventy research papers.
