Best of
Neuroscience

2012

The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present


Eric R. Kandel - 2012
    Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art.   At the turn of the century, Vienna was the cultural capital of Europe. Artists and scientists met in glittering salons, where they freely exchanged ideas that led to revolutionary breakthroughs in psychology, brain science, literature, and art. Kandel takes us into the world of Vienna to trace, in rich and rewarding detail, the ideas and advances made then, and their enduring influence today.   The Vienna School of Medicine led the way with its realization that truth lies hidden beneath the surface. That principle infused Viennese culture and strongly influenced the other pioneers of Vienna 1900. Sigmund Freud shocked the world with his insights into how our everyday unconscious aggressive and erotic desires are repressed and disguised in symbols, dreams, and behavior. Arthur Schnitzler revealed women’s unconscious sexuality in his novels through his innovative use of the interior monologue. Gustav Klimt, Oscar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele created startlingly evocative and honest portraits that expressed unconscious lust, desire, anxiety, and the fear of death.   Kandel tells the story of how these pioneers—Freud, Schnitzler, Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele—inspired by the Vienna School of Medicine, in turn influenced the founders of the Vienna School of Art History to ask pivotal questions such as What does the viewer bring to a work of art? How does the beholder respond to it? These questions prompted new and ongoing discoveries in psychology and brain biology, leading to revelations about how we see and perceive, how we think and feel, and how we respond to and create works of art. Kandel, one of the leading scientific thinkers of our time, places these five innovators in the context of today’s cutting-edge science and gives us a new understanding of the modernist art of Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele, as well as the school of thought of Freud and Schnitzler. Reinvigorating the intellectual enquiry that began in Vienna 1900, The Age of Insight is a wonderfully written, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book that also provides a foundation for future work in neuroscience and the humanities. It is an extraordinary book from an international leader in neuroscience and intellectual history.

The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning


Iain McGilchrist - 2012
    In particular, McGilchrist suggests, the left hemisphere's obsession with reducing everything it sees to the level of minute, mechanistic detail is robbing modern society of the ability to understand and appreciate deeper human values. Accessible to readers who haven't yet read "The Master and His Emissary" as well as those who have, this is a fascinating, immensely thought-provoking essay that delves to the very heart of what it means to be human.

Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science


Robert M. Sapolsky - 2012
    Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange and vivid dreams? How can metaphors and symbols in our language hold such a powerful sway on our thoughts and actions?As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and other related fields, we're discovering just how intriguing the human species is. And while scientists are continually uncovering deep similarities between our behavior and that of other animals, they're also finding a wealth of insights into everything that makes us unique from any other species on Earth.Join acclaimed neurobiologist and award-winning Professor Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University for a surprising, amusing, and undeniably fascinating study of what makes you you. Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science is a 12-lecture course that takes you to the front lines of scientific research and offers you a new perspective on the supposedly quirky nature of being ourselves. Thought-provoking, witty, and sometimes myth-shattering, this course is sure to have you thinking about, observing, and even appreciating your own life in novel ways.

Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior


Leonard Mlodinow - 2012
    The latter has long been the subject of speculation, but over the past two decades researchers have developed remarkable new tools for probing the hidden, or subliminal, workings of the mind. The result of this explosion of research is a new science of the unconscious and a sea change in our understanding of how the subliminal mind affects the way we live.Employing his trademark wit and lucid, accessible explanations of the most obscure scientific subjects, Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a tour of this research, unraveling the complexities of the subliminal self and increasing our understanding of how the human mind works and how we interact with friends, strangers, spouses, and coworkers. In the process he changes our view of ourselves and the world around us.

Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology: An Integrative Handbook of the Mind


Daniel J. Siegel - 2012
    Yet no common “framework” where each of these important perspectives can be honored and integrated with one another has been created in which a person seeking their collective wisdom can find answers to some basic questions, such as, What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? How do we know things, how are we conscious of ourselves? What is the mind? What makes a mind healthy or unwell? And, perhaps most importantly: What is the connection among the mind, the brain, and our relationships with one another?Our mental lives are profoundly relational. The interactions we have with one another shape our mental world. Yet as any neuroscientist will tell you, the mind is shaped by the firing patterns in the brain. And so how can we reconcile this tension—that the mind is both embodied and relational? Interpersonal Neurobiology is a way of thinking across this apparent conceptual divide.This Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology is designed to aid in your personal and professional application of the interpersonal neurobiology approach to developing a healthy mind, an integrated brain, and empathic relationships. It is also designed to assist you in seeing the intricate foundations of interpersonal neurobiology as you read other books.Praise for Daniel J. Siegel's books:“Siegel is a must-read author for anyone interested in the science of the mind.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships “[S]tands out for its skillful weaving together of the interpersonal, the inner world, the latest science, and practical applications.” —Jack Kornfield, PhD, founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Center, and author of A Path With Heart “Siegel has both a meticulous understanding of the roles of different parts of the brain and an intimate relationship with mindfulness . . . [A]n exciting glimpse of an uncharted territory of neuroscience.” —Scientific American Mind “Dr. Daniel Siegel is one of the most thoughtful, eloquent, scientifically solid and reputable exponents of mind/body/brain integration in the world today.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author of Wherever You Go, There You Are, Full Catastrophe Living, and Coming to Our Senses

Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist


Christof Koch - 2012
    This engaging book--part scientific overview, part memoir, part futurist speculation--describes Koch's search for an empirical explanation for consciousness. Koch recounts not only the birth of the modern science of consciousness but also the subterranean motivation for his quest--his instinctual (if "romantic") belief that life is meaningful.Koch describes his own groundbreaking work with Francis Crick in the 1990s and 2000s and the gradual emergence of consciousness (once considered a "fringy" subject) as a legitimate topic for scientific investigation. Present at this paradigm shift were Koch and a handful of colleagues, including Ned Block, David Chalmers, Stanislas Dehaene, Giulio Tononi, Wolf Singer, and others. Aiding and abetting it were new techniques to listen in on the activity of individual nerve cells, clinical studies, and brain-imaging technologies that allowed safe and noninvasive study of the human brain in action.Koch gives us stories from the front lines of modern research into the neurobiology of consciousness as well as his own reflections on a variety of topics, including the distinction between attention and awareness, the unconscious, how neurons respond to Homer Simpson, the physics and biology of free will, dogs, Der Ring des Nibelungen, sentient machines, the loss of his belief in a personal God, and sadness. All of them are signposts in the pursuit of his life's work--to uncover the roots of consciousness.

Brain-Based Parenting: The Neuroscience of Caregiving for Healthy Attachment


Daniel A. Hughes - 2012
    Hughes and veteran clinical psychologist Jonathan Baylin guide readers through the intricate web of neuronal processes, hormones, and chemicals that drive—and sometimes thwart—our caregiving impulses, uncovering the mysteries of the parental brain.The biggest challenge to parents, Hughes and Baylin explain, is learning how to regulate emotions that arise—feeling them deeply and honestly while staying grounded and aware enough to preserve the parent–child relationship. Stress, which can lead to “blocked” or dysfunctional care, can impede our brain’s inherent caregiving processes and negatively impact our ability to do this. While the parent–child relationship can generate deep empathy and the intense motivation to care for our children, it can also trigger self-defensive feelings rooted in our early attachment relationships, and give rise to “unparental” impulses.Learning to be a “good parent” is contingent upon learning how to manage this stress, understand its brain-based cues, and respond in a way that will set the brain back on track. To this end, Hughes and Baylin define five major “systems” of caregiving as they’re linked to the brain, explaining how they operate when parenting is strong and what happens when good parenting is compromised or “blocked.” With this awareness, we learn how to approach kids with renewed playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy, re-regulate our caregiving systems, foster deeper social engagement, and facilitate our children’s development.Infused with clinical insight, illuminating case examples, and helpful illustrations, Brain-Based Parenting brings the science of caregiving to light for the first time. Far from just managing our children’s behavior, we can develop our “parenting brains,” and with a better understanding of the neurobiological roots of our feelings and our own attachment histories, we can transform a fraught parent-child relationship into an open, regulated, and loving one.

The Neuroscience of Change: A Compassion-Based Program for Personal Transformation


Kelly McGonigal - 2012
    On The Neuroscience of Change, psychologist and award-winning Stanford lecturer Kelly McGonigal presents six sessions of breakthrough ideas, guided practices, and real-world exercises for making self-awareness and kindness the basis for meaningful transformation.Practical Methods to Retrain Your Brain to Support Your GoalsOur understanding of the incredible power of the human brain is at an all-time high, with the emerging fields of neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and psychophysiology opening new possibilities for greater health, happiness, and freedom from suffering. Drawing on her training as a research scientist and longtime practitioner of meditation and yoga, Dr. McGonigal reveals these startling findings—including the clinically supported methods for training the mind away from default states and negativity that no longer serve us and establishing behaviors and attitudes aligned with our highest values and aspirations.The First Rule of Change: It's Already HappeningAs the world's wisdom traditions teach and science is now verifying, our lives are in fact defined by constant change. Whether you're looking to change a behavior, improve your health or other circumstances, or simply for a way to bring hope and resilience into your life as it is, The Neuroscience of Change will help you trust yourself and unfold your true capacities for personal transformation.HighlightsWillingness, self-awareness, and surrender—how to nourish the seeds of change• Focusing on the process, not the outcome• How to overcome the "trigger-to-instinct" reaction• The proven benefits of meditation—and how to start practicing yourself• How to transform self-criticism into self-compassion• Why your mind creates habits—and how to consciously create new ones• Making values-driven commitments• Visualization and the principle of "encoding prospective memories"• The power of the vow• "Deep activation" and the danger of rejecting what is• Working with inner experiences as the key to making outward change• Six hours of breakthrough science, practical wisdom, guided exercises, and mindfulness meditations for making positive change that lastsCourse objectives:Discuss how to nourish the seeds of change and transformation by working with inner experiences as the key to making outward change through willingness, self-awareness, and surrender.• Explain how to transform self-criticism into self-compassion• Discuss the value of vows, "encoding prospective memories," making values-driven commitments and how to overcome the "trigger-to-instinct" in the process of transformation and change.• Practice guided reflections based on breakthrough science, practical sensability, and wisdom traditions, including exercises and mindfulness meditations that for making positive change that lasts.

The Heart-Mind Matrix: How the Heart Can Teach the Mind New Ways to Think


Joseph Chilton Pearce - 2012
    By severing ourselves from our heart intelligence, we are left with our selfish, survival-oriented reptilian brains, which create and reinforce “strange loops” between potential and actual reality, leading to our modern world’s endless cycle of self-inflicted disasters and societal crises. Pearce explains that in order to break these cycles and transcend a life focused solely on surviving the results of our own reactive patterns, we must reconnect with the compassionate intelligence of the heart. Offering a rich variety of evidence, Pearce explores neurological research, lost and enduring nurturing cultures, personal experiences, and accounts from the lives and writings of modern sages such as Jane Goodall, Maria Montessori, and Rudolf Steiner. He shows that by activating the original matrix of the Heart-Mind--the engine of our spiritual evolution and our innate connection to the universe--we can teach our brains new ways to think, amend our destructive behavior loops, and enter into a future of peace, spiritual connection, and conscious evolution.

Chief Complaint: Brain Tumor


John Kerastas - 2012
    Then he discovered that he had a brain tumor the size of his wife's fist. His memoir chronicles the first year he spent addressing tumor-related health issues: preparing for his first operation, discovering a dangerous skull infection, having the infected portion of his skull surgically removed, learning about his substantial vision and cognitive losses, undergoing rehab and radiation treatments, and learning to live with his "new normal." According to Kerastas, the phrase "new normal" is the medical community's code words for "You're alive, so quit complaining." As his health changed, so did his sense of humor. He writes that his humor started out superficially light-hearted prior to the first operation; transmogrified into gallows humor after several subsequent operations; and leveled out as somewhat wry-ish after radiation and rehab. This is a surprisingly upbeat and inspiring book for anybody interested in memoirs about people dealing with personal crises, for patients trudging through rehab, for caretakers helping victims of serious illnesses, or for anybody looking for an unexpected chuckle from an unlikely subject. JOHN KERASTAS has worked at a global advertising agency, at several technology start-up companies and as a free-lance writer. Now, in addition to non-profit and charitable work, he spends his time blogging, speaking and writing about brain health, brain tumors and rehab. You can follow his blog or view his presentations schedule at www.johnstumor.blogspot.com.

The Practice Of Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy


Donald J. Robertson - 2012
    Psychologists have long attempted to conceptualize hypnosis in terms of cognitive and behavioral processes and the term cognitive-behavioral approach to hypnosis was first coined in 1974 by Theodore Barber, and his colleagues, one of the most prolific and influential researchers in the field of hypnosis. Since then cognitive research on hypnosis has continued to evolve alongside the assimilation of modern cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques within the framework of hypnotherapy and vice versa. This book explores the historical and conceptual relationship between hypnotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT). It proceeds to offer a modern cognitive conceptualization of hypnosis, based on the writings of James Braid the founder of hypnotherapy and drawing upon modern cognitive-behavioral research on hypnosis. The author carefully explores the combination of hypnosis with both cognitive and behavioral interventions and ways in which methods can be adapted in the light of therapeutic principles derived from both fields. The book aims to provide a comprehensive core text for the practice of cognitive-behavioral hypnotherapy and to facilitate further dialogue between practitioners of hypnosis and CBT.

Demystifying the Out-Of-Body Experience: A Practical Manual for Exploration and Personal Evolution


Luis Minero - 2012
    Improve self-understanding and achieve personal growth with over a dozen exit techniques. With well-ordered, rational explanations, Demystifying the Out-of-Body Experience describes how and why OBEs work. This is a groundbreaking guide for using OBEs to understand your place in the worlds that exist beyond our daily lives.Meet spiritual guides, loved ones who have crossed over, and even other out-of-body travelers who want to help you understand who you are and why you are here. Learn communication techniques and memory aids to get the most out of each experience, in addition to tips for creating a program of OBE mastery. Contrary to popular belief, many people have come back from the other side and shared their experiences. And now, you can be part of this life-changing exploration.Perfect for beginners and experienced seekers who want to learn about the non-physical planes in a non-mystical context and want to evolve the condition of their soul. This practical workbook for spiritual transformation is based on the research of the International Academy of Consciousness.

Mindsight: Change Your Brain And Your Life


Daniel J. Siegel - 2012
    Daniel J. Siegel, widely recognised as a pioneer in the field of mental health, coined the term 'mindsight' to describe the innovative integration of brain science with the practice of psychotherapy. Combining the latest research findings with case studies from his practice, he demonstrates how mindsight can be applied to alleviate a range of psychological and interpersonal problems — from anxiety disorders to ingrained patterns of behaviour. With warmth and humour, Dr Siegel shows us how to observe the working of our minds, allowing us to understand why we think, feel, and act the way we do; and how, by following the proper steps, we can literally change the wiring and architecture of our brains. Both practical and profound, Mindsight offers exciting new proof that we have the ability — at any stage in our lives — to transform our thinking, our wellbeing, and our relationships.

The Neurobiology of the Prefrontal Cortex: Anatomy, Evolution, and the Origin of Insight


Richard Passingham - 2012
    In this important new book, the authors argue that primate-specific parts of the prefrontal cortex evolved to reduce errors in foraging choices, so that our ancestors could overcome periodic foodshortages. This evolutionary development laid the foundation for working out problems in our imagination, which resulted in the origin of insights that allow humans to avoid errors entirely, at least at times.In the book, the authors detail which parts of the prefrontal cortex evolved exclusively in primates, how its connections explain why the prefrontal cortex alone can perform its function, and why other parts of the brain cannot do what the prefrontal cortex does. Based on an analysis of itsevolutionary history, the book uses evidence from lesion, imaging, and cell-recording experiments to argue that the primate prefrontal cortex generates goals from a current behavioural context and that it can do so on the basis of single events. As a result, the prefrontal cortex uses the attentivecontrol of behaviour to augment an older general-purpose learning system, one that evolved very early in the history of animals. This older system learns slowly and cumulatively over many experiences based on reinforcement. The authors argue that a new learning system evolved in primates at aparticular time and place in their history, that it did so to decrease the errors inherent in the older learning system, and that severe volatility of food resources provided the driving force for these developments.Written by two leading brain scientists, the Neurobiology of the Prefrontal Cortex is an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution and functioning of the human brain.

Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience: A Beginner's Guide


Bernard J. Baars - 2012
    Winner of a 2013 Most Promising New Textbook Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association, this book was written by two leading experts in the field to be highly accessible to undergraduates with limited neuroscience training. It covers all aspects of the field--the neural framework, sight, sound, consciousness, learning/memory, problem solving, speech, executive control, emotions, socialization and development--in a student-friendly format with extensive pedagogy and ancillaries to aid both the student and professor.This introductory text takes a unique thematic approach, guiding students along a clear path to understand the latest findings whether or not they have a background in neuroscience. It includes case studies and everyday examples designed to help students understand the more challenging aspects of the material. It is richly illustrated with carefully selected color graphics to enhance understanding. Enhanced pedagogy highlights key concepts for the student and aids in teaching. Chapter outlines, study questions, glossary, and image collection are also available on the student's companion website. Ancillary support saves instructors time and facilitates learning; test questions, image collection, and lecture slides are available on the instructor's manual website.This book will be of interest to undergraduate students in Neuroscience, Psychology, and related disciplines that teach cognitive neuroscience.

Trouble In Mind: Stories From A Neuropsychologist's Casebook


Jenni Ogden - 2012
    There is Luke, the gang member who loses his speech but finds he can still sing, and HM, who by losing his memory becomes the most studied single case in medical history. You will meet Julian, who misplaces his internal map of the human body, Melody, a singer who risks losing her song when she undergoes brain surgery to cure her epilepsy, and Sophie who has just enough time to put her house in order before Alzheimer’s dementia steals her insight. For the patients, the struggle to understand their disordered minds and disobedient bodies takes extraordinary courage and determination. For professionals and researchers working with these patients, the ethical and emotional challenges are demanding. Trouble In Mind is a book that will be enjoyed by students, health professionals and general readers alike.

The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom


Louis Cozolino - 2012
    Positioning the brain as distinctly social, Louis Cozolino helps teachers make connections to neurobiological principles, with the goal of creating classrooms that nurture healthy attachment patterns and resilient psyches.Cozolino investigates what good teachers do to stimulate minds and brains to learn, especially when they succeed with difficult or “unteachable” students. He explores classroom teaching from the perspectives of social neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology, showing how we can use the findings from these fields to maximize learning and stimulate the brain to grow. The book will have relevance to anyone concerned with twenty-first century learners and the social and emotional development of children.

The Julian Jaynes Collection


Marcel Kuijsten - 2012
    Supported by recent discoveries in neuroscience, Jaynes's ideas force us to rethink conventional views of human history and psychology, and have profound implications for many aspects of modern life.Included in this volume are rare and never before seen articles, lectures, interviews, and in-depth discussions that both clear up misconceptions as well as extend Jaynes's theory into new areas such as the nature of the self, dreams, emotions, art, music, therapy, and the consequences and future of consciousness.

Hearing Voices: The Histories, Causes and Meanings of Auditory Verbal Hallucinations


Simon McCarthy-Jones - 2012
    Voice-hearing has been both revered and condemned, understood as a symptom of disease as well as a source of otherworldly communication. Those hearing voices have been viewed as mystics, potential psychiatric patients or simply just people with unusual experiences, and have been beatified, esteemed or accepted, as well as drugged, burnt or gassed. This book travels from voice-hearing in the ancient world through to contemporary experience, examining how power, politics, gender, medicine and religion have shaped the meaning of hearing voices. Who hears voices today, what these voices are like and their potential impact are comprehensively examined. Cutting edge neuroscience is integrated with current psychological theories to consider what may cause voices and the future of research in voice-hearing is explored.

Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty (Brain Talk: Conversations with Neuroscientists #1)


Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD - 2012
    only to find out you were absolutely wrong?Where does that feeling of certainty come from? Why can't it always be trusted? The answer that emerging from neuroscience may surprise you.In Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty Dr. Campbell explores both the origins of certainty, but also the implications the emerging science.In the tradition of physician writers like Oliver Sacks and Antonio Damasio, Dr. Ginger Campbell's clear and accessible writing style, makes this potentially complex subject accessible to readers of all backgrounds.

New ADHD Medication Rules: Paying Attention to the Meds for Paying Attention


Charles Parker - 2012
    Dr. Parker shows where and how these imbalances occur, provides the data and explanations for why the treatment is incorrect, and then simplifies and explains the proper methods for dealing with ADHD, both for medical practitioner  and parents of kids and adults with ADHD.

Getting your head around the brain


Amanda Ellison - 2012
    Following the BPS accredited syllabus for biological psychology, its accessible structure, multiple examples and engaging tone make this book ideal introductory reading.

Intertwined. How to induce neuroplasticity. A new approach to rehabilitating dystonias


Joaquín Farias - 2012
    Farias shows how patients affected by a wide variety of disorders like writer's cramp, task-specific tremors, focal dystonia or perceptive illusions are trapped within the functioning of their own brains, which is producing illusions, leading them to display rigid behaviors and repetitive movements and thoughts. Every illusion has some bug or incoherency. When the patients are conscious of the errors in their illusions, the illusion breaks inducing a neuroplastic change that allows restored functional movement.By the way of insight, attention, awareness, imagination, movement and persistence, the patients whose cases are described in this book were able to break the illusion that was shackling them and reconstruct a new, accurate perception and proper function. Intertwined. How to induce neuroplasticity, defines how to treat these disorders through a different lens, considering patients as individuals with distinct background experiences and special needs.Intertwined is full of exercises, fMRI images and statistics that show how imagination, feelings, memories and movements can actually change the way our brain functions.This book sets a new and hopeful paradigm in the study of some disorders, which have, until now, been considered intractable disorders.This is the book that all patients must read and all practitioners should have.Are you living in a loop? It is time to break it.

Mentalizing in the Development and Treatment of Attachment Trauma (Developments in Psychoanalysis) (The Developments in Psychoanalysis Series)


Jon G. Allen - 2012
    This fragmentation calls for a fresh clinical approach to treating trauma. Pinpointing at once the problem and potential solution, the author places the experience of being psychologically alone in unbearable emotional states at the heart of trauma in attachment relationships. This trauma results from a failure of mentalizing, that is, empathic attunement to emotional distress. Psychotherapy offers an opportunity for healing by restoring mentalizing, that is, fostering psychological attunement in the context of secure attachment relationships?in the psychotherapy relationship and in other attachment relationships. The book gives a unique overview of common attachment patterns in childhood and adulthood, setting the stage for understanding attachment trauma, which is most conspicuous in maltreatment but also more subtly evident in early and repeated failures of attunement in attachment relationships. For the first time, the burgeoning literature on mindfulness is integrated with the overlapping literature on mentalizing. Current research in neuroscience is linked to the main clinical concerns: attachment, mentalizing, mindfulness, and trauma. Creatively integrating these diverse perspectives, the author offers an up-to-date scientific explanation of trauma and treatment while writing in plain language without jargon for a broad audience. Thus the book is not only an essential resource for psychotherapists and counselors but also an ideal guide to give to clients to help them understand their condition and the process of healing.

Handbook of Neuroevolution Through ERLANG


Gene I. Sher - 2012
    With a foreword written by Joe Armstrong, this handbook offers an extensive tutorial for creating a state of the art Topology and Weight Evolving Artificial Neural Network (TWEANN) platform. In a step-by-step format, the reader is guided from a single simulated neuron to a complete system. By following these steps, the reader will be able to use novel technology to build a TWEANN system, which can be applied to Artificial Life simulation, and Forex trading. Because of Erlang's architecture, it perfectly matches that of evolutionary and neurocomptational systems. As a programming language, it is a concurrent, message passing paradigm which allows the developers to make full use of the multi-core & multi-cpu systems. Handbook of Neuroevolution Through Erlang explains how to leverage Erlang's features in the field of machine learning, and the system's real world applications, ranging from algorithmic financial trading to artificial life and robotics.

The Integrative Action Of The Nervous System


Charles Scott Sherrington - 2012
    

The Encultured Brain: An Introduction to Neuroanthropology


Daniel H. Lende - 2012
    Our nervous system is especially immature at birth, our brain disproportionately small in relation to its adult size and open to cultural sculpting at multiple levels. Recognizing this, the new field of neuroanthropology places the brain at the center of discussions about human nature and culture. Anthropology offers brain science more robust accounts of enculturation to explain observable difference in brain function; neuroscience offers anthropology evidence of neuroplasticity's role in social and cultural dynamics. This book provides a foundational text for neuroanthropology, offering basic concepts and case studies at the intersection of brain and culture.After an overview of the field and background information on recent research in biology, a series of case studies demonstrate neuroanthropology in practice. Contributors first focus on capabilities and skills--including memory in medical practice, skill acquisition in martial arts, and the role of humor in coping with breast cancer treatment and recovery--then report on problems and pathologies that range from post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans to smoking as a part of college social life.ContributorsMauro C. Balieiro, Kathryn Bouskill, Rachel S. Brezis, Benjamin Campbell, Greg Downey, Jos� Ernesto dos Santos, William W. Dressler, Erin P. Finley, Agust�n Fuentes, M. Cameron Hay, Daniel H. Lende, Katherine C. MacKinnon, Katja Pettinen, Peter G. Stromberg

Epigenetic Regulation in the Nervous System: Basic Mechanisms and Clinical Impact


J. David Sweatt - 2012
    The book spans molecular epigenetics, development, cellular physiology and biochemistry, synaptic and neural plasticity, and behavioral models, and is unique in covering epigenetically based disorders of the central nervous system.Behavioral epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors alter behavior, addressing the fundamental mechanisms that shape development and individual vulnerability/resilience to adverse behavioral outcomes. By understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in epigenetic modulation, researchers may be able to develop targeted therapies for those individuals in whom it malfunctions.Edited by the most highly regarded leaders in the field, this volume offers a comprehensive review of behavioral epigenetics and a balanced treatment of the strengths and weaknesses in experimentation in this area. Covering background material as well as topics of current interest, it serves both as a cutting-edge resource and a foundational reference. The book will benefit neuroscience researchers and graduate students with an interest in the links between gene regulation and behavior, as will clinicians dealing with disorders such as addiction, depression, and schizophrenia. Presents a unified view of epigenetic mechanisms from behavior to genes and everything in betweenDiscusses clinically relevant disorders in the context of epigenetics research, making the volume appealing to clinicians as well as basic scientistsProvides numerous practical examples for the new investigator to facilitate implementation of research in neuroepigenetics

The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World


Susan M. Schneider - 2012
    While it's easy enough to see that consequences are important (where would we be without positive reinforcement?), few have heard there's a science of consequences, with principles that affect us every day. What's more, nature and nurture always work together, and learning often drives the flexibility in the system - routinely modifying our neurophysiology. Applications are everywhere, throughout everyday life, even helping fight prejudice, free addicts of their destructive habits, and treat depression. This science enriches the lives of pets and zoo animals, while also shedding light on our biggest societal challenges, where we must choose between short-term and long-term consequences. A unique and fascinating introduction to a science that is epic in scope.

I Believe: When What You Believe Matters!


Eldon Taylor - 2012
    We all know that if we expect to fail, then failure is inevitably what we get, and there is also the issue of the mind/body connection—science is repeatedly demonstrating the power of mind and belief to heal. What you believe can and does have a huge impact on the quality of your life—from success in business to success in relationships, from your ability to learn and master new subjects to your ability to heal your own body. But have you ever stopped to consider your own beliefs—to truly examine them and decide for yourself if they are serving you or sabotaging you?     Eldon Taylor has spent over 25 years researching the power of the mind and developing scientifically proven methods to use this power to enhance the quality of your life. I Believe is a book that will not only inspire you, but will highlight the kinds of beliefs you hold that may be causing you to fail. In the process, it will provide you with the opportunity to choose, once again, the beliefs that drive your life.

Principles of Brain Dynamics: Global State Interactions


Mikhail I. Rabinovich - 2012
    The application of nonlinear dynamics to the study of brain activity began to flourish in the 1990s when combined with empirical observations from modern morphological and physiological observations. This book offers perspectives on brain dynamics that draw on the latest advances in research in the field. It includes contributions from both theoreticians and experimentalists, offering an eclectic treatment of fundamental issues.Topics addressed range from experimental and computational approaches to transient brain dynamics to the free-energy principle as a global brain theory. The book concludes with a short but rigorous guide to modern nonlinear dynamics and their application to neural dynamics.

The Cambridge Handbook of Psycholinguistics


Michael Spivey - 2012
    As such, psycholinguistics, or the study of how humans learn and use language, is a central topic in cognitive science. This comprehensive handbook is a collection of chapters written not by practitioners in the field, who can summarize the work going on around them, but by trailblazers from a wide array of subfields, who have been shaping the field of psycholinguistics over the last decade. Some topics discussed include how children learn language, how average adults understand and produce language, how language is represented in the brain, how brain-damaged individuals perform in terms of their language abilities, and computer-based models of language and meaning. This is required reading for advanced researchers, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduates who are interested in the recent developments and the future of psycholinguistics.

What Did You Say?: An Unexpected Journey Into the World of Hearing Loss


Monique E. Hammond - 2012
    "What Did You Say?" is the book she wishes she had when she was coping with and trying to understand her own hearing loss. Hammond points out that she is not a professional hearing specialist, so her first important message is that people who experience any ear-related symptoms "must consult their physician or ear specialist for proper diagnosis and treatment." From there, she provides organized, easy-to-understand facts and details that enable readers to have educated discussions with their medical professionals. Weaving together her own experiences with a wealth of information, Hammond's wisdom and insights are invaluable, and her story is one that needs to be shared.

Sustainable Happiness: The Mind Science of Well-Being, Altruism, and Inspiration


Joe Loizzo - 2012
    The same can be said of the economic challenges posed by the stress-reactive cycles of boom and bust, driven by addictive greed and compulsive panic. As current research opens up new horizons of stress-cessation, empathic intelligence, peak performance, and shared happiness, it has also encountered Asian methods of self-healing and interdependence more effective and teachable than any known in the West. Sustainable Happiness is the first book to make Asia's most rigorous and complete system of contemplative living, hidden for centuries in Tibet, accessible to help us all on our shared journey towards sustainable well-being, altruism, inspiration and happiness.

Neuroscience in Education: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly


Sergio Della Sala - 2012
    This has resulted in the development of a number of new practices in education - some good, some bad, and somejust crazy. Hence we have had theories suggesting that listening to Mozart can boost intelligence, foot massages can help unruly pupils, fish oil can boost brain power, even the idea that breathing through your left nostril can enhance creativity! Sadly, there is a gap between what neuroscientistsor cognitive psychologists know about brain/mind functions and the supposedly scientific theory underlying the practices used daily in our schools. So what has caused this wholescale embrace of neuroscience in the classroom- a well-intentioned, but naive misunderstanding of how science works, ideological reasons, or financial incentives?Neuroscience in Education brings together an international group of leading psychologists, neuroscientists, and geneticists to critically review some of these new developments, examining the science behind these practices, the validity of the theories on which they are based, and whether they work.It will be fascinating reading for anyone involved in education, including psychologists, teachers, and policy makers.

The Brain Book: Development, Function, Disorder, Health


Ken Ashwell - 2012
     Just two handfuls in size and made of billions of nerve and ganglial cells, the living brain controls our thoughts, movements, behavior and emotions. It is the seat of our consciousness, yet scientists are still discovering how the living brain actually works. The Brain Book combines the latest image technology with easy-to-understand authoritative text. Written by an international team of medical experts on brain science, it covers all aspects of brain function, from development and disorders, to the nature of consciousness, through to the aging brain and brain diseases. Topics include brain chemistry, memory, the teenage brain, illusions and hallucinations, music and the brain, sleep and wakefulness, anesthetics, degenerative brain disease and much more.The book is organized into nine sections:Structure and Function Development The Senses Movement and Actions The Social Brain Mind, Consciousness, Mood and Psychosis Brain Plasticity, Injury and Repair Drugs and the Brain Aging and Disease The Brain Book is a complete guide to the amazingly complex and intriguing structure that is the human brain. It is an essential reference for any library.

Anthropology and the Cognitive Challenge


Maurice Bloch - 2012
    Maurice Bloch argues for a naturalist approach to social and cultural anthropology, introducing developments in cognitive sciences such as psychology and neurology and exploring the relevance of these developments for central anthropological concerns: the person or the self, cosmology, kinship, memory and globalisation. Opening with an exploration of the history of anthropology, Bloch shows why and how naturalist approaches were abandoned and argues that these once valid reasons are no longer relevant. Bloch then shows how such subjects as the self, memory and the conceptualisation of time benefit from being simultaneously approached with the tools of social and cognitive science. Anthropology and the Cognitive Challenge will stimulate fresh debate among scholars and students across a wide range of disciplines.

The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation


Richard M. Ryan - 2012
    Human motivation is thus a complex issue, as people are moved to action by both their evolved natures and by myriad familial, social and cultural influences. The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation collects the top theorists and researchers of human motivation into a single volume, capturing the current state-of-the-art in this fast developing field. The book includes theoretical overviews from some of the best-known thinkers in this area, including chapters on Social Learning Theory, Control Theory, Self-determination theory, Terror Management theory, and the Promotion and Prevention perspective. Topical chapters appear on phenomena such as ego-depletion, flow, curiosity, implicit motives, and personal interests. A section specifically highlights goal research, including chapters on goal regulation, achievement goals, the dynamics of choice, unconscious goals and process versus outcome focus. Still other chapters focus on evolutionary and biological underpinnings of motivation, including chapters on cardiovascular dynamics, mood, and neuropsychology. Finally, chapters bring motivation down to earth in reviewing its impact within relationships, and in applied areas such as psychotherapy, work, education, sport, and physical activity. By providing reviews of the most advanced work by the very best scholars in this field, The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation represents an invaluable resource for both researchers and practitioners, as well as any student of human nature.