Book picks similar to
The Secret World of the Brain by Catherine Loveday
science
psychology
non-fiction
neuroscience
Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders
Robert Melillo - 2009
Each year, an estimated 1.5 million children are diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD, dyslexia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But even as rates rise, diagnosis and treatment have not changed in 50 years. Since psychiatric drugs, given to more than 20% of elementary school children today, don’t cure them, doctors tell parents these dysfunctions will never disappear. Enter Dr. Robert Melillo and his new understanding of the causes of these disorders: a disconnection between the left and right sides of the developing brain. His revolutionary Brain Balance™ program has achieved documented results, dramatically improving children’s and families’ quality of life. Since 1998, nearly 1,000 children have completed the Brain Balance™ program with remarkable success—behavioral, emotional, academic, and social. Written in an accessible style, Disconnected Kids shows parents how to use this drug- free approach at home, with customizable exercises for physical, sensory, and academic performance, advice for behavior modification, information on foods to avoid, and a follow-up program for lasting results.
Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep
David K. Randall - 2012
Randall never gave sleep much thought. That is, until he began sleepwalking. One midnight crash into a hallway wall sent him on an investigation into the strange science of sleep.In Dreamland, Randall explores the research that is investigating those dark hours that make up nearly a third of our lives. Taking readers from military battlefields to children’s bedrooms, Dreamland shows that sleep isn't as simple as it seems. Why did the results of one sleep study change the bookmakers’ odds for certain Monday Night Football games? Do women sleep differently than men? And if you happen to kill someone while you are sleepwalking, does that count as murder?This book is a tour of the often odd, sometimes disturbing, and always fascinating things that go on in the peculiar world of sleep. You’ll never look at your pillow the same way again.
Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection
John T. Cacioppo - 2008
Cacioppo’s groundbreaking research topples one of the pillars of modern medicine and psychology: the focus on the individual as the unit of inquiry. By employing brain scans, monitoring blood pressure, and analyzing immune function, he demonstrates the overpowering influence of social context—a factor so strong that it can alter DNA replication. He defines an unrecognized syndrome—chronic loneliness—brings it out of the shadow of its cousin depression, and shows how this subjective sense of social isolation uniquely disrupts our perceptions, behavior, and physiology, becoming a trap that not only reinforces isolation but can also lead to early death. He gives the lie to the Hobbesian view of human nature as a “war of all against all,” and he shows how social cooperation is, in fact, humanity’s defining characteristic. Most important, he shows how we can break the trap of isolation for our benefit both as individuals and as a society.
The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness
Jack El-Hai - 2005
Into this crisis stepped Walter Freeman, M.D., who saw a solution in lobotomy, a brain operation intended to reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms. Drawing on Freeman’s documents and interviews with Freeman's family, Jack El-Hai takes a penetrating look at the life and work of this complex scientific genius.The Lobotomist explores one of the darkest chapters of American medicine: the desperate attempt to treat the hundreds of thousands of psychiatric patients in need of help during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Into this crisis stepped Walter Freeman, M.D., who saw a solution in lobotomy, a brain operation intended to reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms. Although many patients did not benefit from the thousands of lobotomies Freeman performed, others believed their lobotomies changed them for the better. Drawing on a rich collection of documents Freeman left behind and interviews with Freeman's family, Jack El-Hai takes a penetrating look into the life of this complex scientific genius and traces the physician's fascinating life and work.
The Dolce Diet: Living Lean
Mike Dolce - 2011
It's about learning to eat properly for your health." -Vitor Belfort, UFC two-time world champion"Mike Dolce's the best in the business."-Chael Sonnen, UFC world title contender"Mike Dolce's knowledge of nutrition and strength & conditioning has led him to be one of the most highly sought-after coaches in the sport." -Joshua Carey, Bleacher Report"You can learn a lot from this man right here." -Ariel Helwani, AOL's MMAFighting.comABOUT THE DOLCE DIET: LIVING LEANCalled "the patron saint of weight cutting," Mike Dolce has coordinated the high-profile weight loss for many of the world's top athletes, including...* Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, UFC / Pride FC world champion* Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort, UFC two-time world champion* Thiago "Pitbull" Alves, UFC world title contender* Chael Sonnen WEC / UFC world title contender* Gray "Bully" Maynard, UFC world title contender* Nate "Rock" Quarry, UFC world title contender* Mike "Quicksand" Pyle, WEC world champion* Jay "Thorobred" Hieron, IFL world championAs well as fan favorites...* Michael "The Count" Bisping, The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner* Jake "Juggernaut" Ellenberger, UFC veteran* Ed "Shortfuse" Herman, The Ultimate Fighter 3 runner-up* Chris "The Crippler" Leben, UFC veteran* Duane "BANG" Ludwig, UFC & K-1 veteranand many more!For the first time in print, Mike Dolce shares the same the principles, recipes, and strength-training workouts he uses in MMA's elite fight camps and how they can be used by YOU!INSIDE you will learn:* Recipes used in MMA's top fight camps with gluten-free & vegan options* Easy to follow sample meal plans with gluten-free & vegan options* Strength & Conditioning exercises with instructions & photos* Workout plans used by today's top athletesWHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THE DOLCE DIETThe Dolce Diet, three words about Living Lean: 1. Simple 2. Inspirational 3. Effective. Thank you, Mike Dolce! You've made staying in shape easy! ~STEWART M. The Dolce Diet, Love it! My Little-Boy-2-B has been on it for 5.5 months! This diet is truly amazing for moms pre & post baby! Yes, The DolceDiet is prego friendly! Plenty of the RIGHT kind of food that tastes great! ~THE H2H WAITRESSStarted two weeks ago. Lost 13 pounds so far. Yea! Love the recipes! So do my kids! Thank you! ~DAWN H.Body fat down 4% in 2 months?! Yessss! #LIVING LEAN ~MOLLY C.The Dolce Diet, started 410, down 50 lbs. so far. ~ JOSH W.The Dolce Diet, 13 lbs. lost in 4 weeks! People are asking what I'm doing...Telling them LIVING LEAN! ~MIKE S.Real talk! The Dolce Diet is the Einstein, da Vinci and Jesus of losing weight all wrapped up in one...gluten free wrap that is. ~MIKEY F.Another 5 (lbs. lost) on The Dolce Diet. 25 pounds down in 2 weeks, 100 to go! #LivingLean! ~JOHN P.
Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD): The Essential Guide for Parents
Keri Williams - 2018
These kids often have violent outbursts, steal, engage in outlandish lying, play with feces, and hoard food. They are broken children who too often break even the most loving of caregivers. Many parents of these children feel utterly isolated as family, friends, and professionals minimize their struggles. Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) - The Essential Guide for Parents is written by a parent who is in the trenches with you. Keri has lived the journey of raising a son with RAD and has navigated the mental health system for over a decade. This is the resource you’ve been waiting for – you won’t find platitudes or false hopes. What you will find is essential information, practical suggestions, and resource recommendations to provide a way forward. If you desperately need help navigating the difficult RAD journey with your child, this book is for you.
Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind
David J. Linden - 2015
Linden presents an engaging and fascinating examination of how the interface between our sense of touch and our emotional responses affects our social interactions as well as our general health and development. Accessible in its wit and clarity, Touch explores scientific advances in the understanding of touch that help explain our sense of self and our experience of the world.From skin to nerves to brain, the organization of the body’s touch circuits powerfully influences our lives—affecting everything from consumer choice to sexual intercourse, tool use to the origins of language, chronic pain to healing. Interpersonal touch is crucial to social bonding and individual development. Linden lucidly explains how sensory and emotional context work together to distinguish between perceptions of what feels good and what feels bad. Linking biology and behavioral science, Linden offers an entertaining and enlightening answer to how we feel in every sense of the word.
Master Your Mind: The More You Think, The Easier It Gets
D.E. Boyer - 2016
D.E. Boyer takes us on a fascinating journey from the depths of despair to an amazing quantum world where anything is possible. First, we will learn how to defend ourselves against the chaos in our minds, then we will learn how to rekindle the magic in our hearts. Along the way, the wisdom of Socrates and the myth of Narcissus will transform the way we think and feel. Boyer then shows us how the military teaches their Navy Seal recruits how to handle their thoughts and feelings when someone is trying to kill them, so we can better handle our bosses, spouses, and children when it feels like they are trying to kill us. We will also get a glimpse of death through the eyes of someone who sees people die every day, giving us a much greater appreciation for life. With extremely amusing stories from her own life that touch on her dysfunctional upbringing and traumatizing career as an intensive care nurse, Boyer teaches us how to control our anxiety, boost our fragile self-esteem, and get into a state of flow so that we can spend most of our time loving life, rather than dreading it. She also gives us crucial health and nutrition tips so that we can live longer with our newfound peace and joy, and she shows us how to be more successful at life by being a better friend, spouse, and parent. With every step we take on this path, we'll find ourselves flirting with the hidden power of the mind, a power that often lies just beyond most people's reach. Only by mastering the basics of thinking and feeling can we gain access to this power. Once the door is unlocked, we will enter another dimension, a quantum world where time is irrelevant and the magic of our mind is waiting to be found.
Cognitive Neuroscience
Michael S. Gazzaniga - 1998
This volume also features increased coverage of computational modelling, discussions of prominent methodological advances and an enhanced art programme.
Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life
Steven Johnson - 1999
He asks: How do we "read" other people?What is the neurochemistry behind love and sex?What does it mean that the brain is teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs?Why does music move us to tears?Where do breakthrough ideas come from? Johnson answers these and many more questions arising from the events of our everyday lives. You do not have to be a neuroscientist to wonder, for example, why do you smile? And why do you sometimes smile inappropriately, even if you don't want to? How do others read your inappropriate smile? How does such interplay occur neurochemically, and what, if anything, can you do about it? Fascinating and rewarding, Mind Wide Open speaks to brain buffs, self-obsessed neurotics, barstool psychologists, mystified parents, grumpy spouses, exasperated managers, and anyone who enjoys speculating and gossiping about the motivations and behaviors of other human beings. Steven Johnson shows us the transformative power of understanding brain science and offers new modes of introspection and tools for better parenting, better relationships, and better living.
Left Brain, Right Brain: Perspectives from Cognitive Neuroscience
Sally P. Springer - 1950
It reviews the historical context from which the field emerged, focusing on behavioural implications, and intergrating new developments in cognitive neuroscience. The authors cover current neuroimaging techniques such as PET, SPECT, EEG and MEG. This edition has been updated to incorporate present thinking within hemispheric asymmetry.
Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are
Joseph E. LeDoux - 2002
In 1996 Joseph LeDoux's "The Emotional Brain" presented a revelatory examination of the biological bases of our emotions and memories. Now, the world-renowned expert on the brain has produced with a groundbreaking work that tells a more profound story: how the little spaces between the neurons-the brain's synapses--are the channels through which we think, act, imagine, feel, and remember. Synapses encode the essence of personality, enabling each of us to function as a distinctive, integrated individual from moment to moment. Exploring the functioning of memory, the synaptic basis of mental illness and drug addiction, and the mechanism of self-awareness, "Synaptic Self" is a provocative and mind-expanding work that is destined to become a classic.
The Ghost in My Brain: How a Concussion Stole My Life and How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Helped Me Get it Back
Clark Elliott - 2015
Overnight his life changed from that of a rising professor with a research career in artificial intelligence to a humbled man struggling to get through a single day. At times he couldn’t walk across a room, or even name his five children. Doctors told him he would never fully recover. After eight years, the cognitive demands of his job, and of being a single parent, finally became more than he could manage. As a result of one final effort to recover, he crossed paths with two brilliant Chicago-area research-clinicians—one a specialized optometrist, the other a cognitive psychologist—working on the leading edge of brain plasticity. Within weeks the ghost of who he had been started to re-emerge. Remarkably, Elliott kept detailed notes throughout his experience, from the moment of impact to the final stages of his recovery, astounding documentation that is the basis of this fascinating book. The Ghost in My Brain gives hope to the millions who suffer from head injuries each year, and provides a unique and informative window into the world’s most complex computational device: the human brain.
Children With Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Jaquelyn McCandless - 2002
Genetic susceptibility activated by "triggers" such as pesticides and heavy metals in vaccines can lead to immune system impairment, gut dysfunction, and pathogen invasion such as yeast and viruses in many children. This is the first book written by an experienced clinician that gives a step-by-step treatment guide for parents and doctors based on the understanding that ASD is a complex biomedical illness resulting in significant brain malnutrition. Dr. McCandless, whose grandchild with autism has inspired her "broad spectrum approach," describes important diagnostic tools needed to select appropriate treatment programs. Her book explains major therapies newly available and identifies safe and effective options for parents and physicians working together to improve the health of these special children.Author Biography: Jacquelyn McCandless received her M.D. from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Since the early 1990s, her interest in women's issues and sexuality has led to an alternative medicine practice with a focus on anti-aging, brain nutrition, and natural hormone therapy. In 1996, after her granddaughter was diagnosed with autism, she returned even more to basic medicine and began working with biomedical aspects of developmentally delayed children. She now utilizes the knowledge she gained searching for treatments for her grandchild to help other ASD children.