Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. This field of study combines molecular biology, anatomy, cytology, and much more. Neuroscience is important to study because the nervous system works to produce thoughts, emotions, behavior, and functioning bodily systems. Therefore, studying neuroscience can help us gain a deeper understanding of these concepts.
So, what are the best neuroscience books that can help you learn? Let’s find out below.
Best Neuroscience Books
Learning about neuroscience can lead to new knowledge about the brain, developments in medical research, and much more. Below are the top 13 books on neuroscience to help you deepen your knowledge.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
Professor of neurology at NYU School of Medicine and famous neuroscience expert Oliver Sacks is famous for his fascinating case studies. In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Sacks brings together his twenty-four most beloved case studies. Throughout the book, patients like no other confront their inconceivable neurological disorders.
In telling his patients’ fascinating stories, Sacks sheds light on the true adaptability of the brain. More importantly, he opens readers’ eyes to the power of the human spirit. Both compelling and informative, this book has been named one of the best for anyone looking to read more about neuroscience.
Key Topics and Themes:
- The Diversity of Human Experience: The book underscores the vast diversity of human cognitive experiences and capabilities. By showcasing patients with rare and unique neurological conditions, Sacks highlights how different individuals perceive and interact with the world.
- Neurological Disorders: Each chapter is a separate case study of a different neurological condition, such as prosopagnosia, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, and amnesia. The book provides insights into the manifestations and effects of these disorders.
- Prosopagnosia: The titular case is of a man with prosopagnosia, a disorder characterized by the inability to recognize faces. This man had such a severe case that he mistook his wife for a hat, showing how profoundly this disorder can affect a person’s life.
- Adaptation and Coping Mechanisms: The book demonstrates how people with these conditions adapt and develop unique coping mechanisms to function in daily life. Sacks emphasizes the resilience and creativity of the human brain.
- The Influence of Perception on Reality: Many of the cases in the book highlight how perception significantly impacts an individual’s reality. For instance, a woman who loses her sense of body position must intellectually remind herself to stand, walk, or move her limbs, demonstrating how much we rely on unconscious perceptions.
- Understanding vs. Curing: Sacks doesn’t aim to cure his patients but rather seeks to understand them. He explores the complexities of the brain and human cognition, showing empathy and respect towards his patients.
- Music and the Brain: The power of music in relation to the brain is a recurring theme. Some of Sacks’ patients can navigate the world through music, even when other forms of communication are lost to them.
- The Human Side of Neurological Disorders: Sacks humanizes neurological conditions, presenting his patients as individuals with unique experiences, rather than just cases. He focuses on the person, not just the disorder.
- The Art of Storytelling in Medicine: Sacks emphasizes the importance of storytelling in the medical profession. Each case is presented as a narrative, creating an emotional connection and making complex neurological conditions more understandable.
- The Brain’s Complexity: The diverse range of disorders explored in the book underscores the complexity and still not fully understood aspects of the human brain.
The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge MD
The centuries old notion that the adult brain is fixed and unchanging is being thrown out the window. Thanks to neuroplasticity, neuroscientists have been able to discover that the brain is able to change its own structure, even at an old age. In The Brain that Changes Itself, psychiatrist and researcher Norman Doidge, MD, recounts his experiences from when he traveled around America to meet the scientists championing neuroplasticity.
In this, he explains how these neuroscientists have transformed lives. While mental limitations or brain damage were previously seen as unalterable, the new study of neuroplasticity has proved to be a more hopeful outlook.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Neuroplasticity: This is the central concept of the book. Doidge discusses compelling evidence for the brain’s ability to rewire and reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
- Recovery from Brain Damage: Traditionally, certain types of brain damage were considered irreversible. But Doidge presents cases where patients have recovered abilities by ‘retraining’ other parts of their brain to take over the functions of the damaged areas.
- Use it or Lose it: The book illustrates the principle that neural pathways strengthen with use and weaken with disuse. This principle applies to both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, highlighting the role of neuroplasticity in habits and addictions.
- Psychotherapy and Neuroplasticity: Doidge explains how psychotherapy can change the brain’s structure and function. He argues that talking and thinking about one’s experiences in new ways can rewire the brain.
- Brain Exercises: The author presents evidence that specific exercises can enhance cognitive function and even help prevent age-related cognitive decline.
- Implications for Learning and Education: Doidge discusses how understanding neuroplasticity can transform approaches to learning and education. If the brain can change and adapt, teaching methods should stimulate this adaptability.
- Implications for Treating Mental Disorders: Doidge presents cases where neuroplastic principles have been used to treat mental disorders, like obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, suggesting new directions for therapy.
- Plasticity and Sensory Perception: The book explores the relationship between sensory input and brain plasticity. One example is the use of sensory substitution devices to replace lost senses.
- Cortical Remapping: Doidge discusses how parts of the brain can take over functions from other areas that have been damaged or lost, a process known as cortical remapping.
- Limitations and Dangers of Plasticity: While neuroplasticity can lead to recovery and adaptation, Doidge also warns of its potential drawbacks. For instance, the brain’s plasticity can lead to the development of bad habits or addictions, as maladaptive behaviors can also strengthen neural pathways.
Phantoms in the Brain by Sandra Blakeslee and V. S. Ramachandran
In Phantoms in the Brain, authors Blakeslee and Ramachandran probe the mysteries of the human mind and dig deeper into neuroscience. In this, they uncover answers to the deepest questions about the human mind that most scientists have not dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched by the simplicity of his experiments.
In this, Dr. Ramachandran recounts his fascinating work with patients who have unheard-of neurological disorders. By reading this, you’ll gain insight into the architecture of the brain, how we construct our body image, what causes us to be religious, and much more.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Phantom Limb Syndrome: This is a condition where patients experience sensations, including pain, in a limb that has been amputated. Ramachandran’s exploration of this syndrome provides insights into the brain’s ability to map and remap the body.
- Mirror Therapy: Ramachandran discusses a novel therapy he developed for phantom limb pain, using a mirror to trick the brain into “seeing” the amputated limb and thus relieving pain. This illustrates the power of visual input in shaping our body image.
- Synesthesia: This is a condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. Ramachandran’s exploration of synesthesia reveals the interconnectedness of different sensory and cognitive functions in the brain.
- Capgras Syndrome: This is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, or other close family member has been replaced by an identical-looking impostor. Ramachandran’s analysis of this condition provides insights into the brain’s mechanisms for recognizing faces and attaching emotions to them.
- Blind Sight: Some people who are clinically blind can still unconsciously respond to visual stimuli. This phenomenon sheds light on the different pathways in the brain for conscious visual perception and unconscious visual processing.
- Neuroplasticity: Echoing themes from other neuroscience books, “Phantoms in the Brain” explores the concept of neuroplasticity, showing how the brain can change and adapt its structure and function.
- Anosognosia: This is a condition where a person who suffers from a certain disability seems unaware of the existence of their disability. This condition provides insights into how the brain constructs our sense of reality.
- Left vs. Right Hemisphere: Ramachandran discusses the different roles of the brain’s two hemispheres, particularly how the right hemisphere is involved in creating a coherent self-image.
- The Nature of Self: The book delves into philosophical questions about the nature of self and consciousness, arguing that our sense of self is constructed by the brain.
- Low-Cost, High-Impact Neuroscience: Ramachandran demonstrates how simple, low-cost experiments can yield valuable insights into brain function, challenging the notion that only high-tech equipment can advance neuroscience.
The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doidge
The Brain’s Way of Healing recounts the most remarkable discoveries from the frontiers of neuroplasticity. In this New York Times best-seller, Doidge presents outstanding advances in the treatment of brain injury and illness. Ultimately, the brain’s ability to change its structure and function is due to a reaction from particular activities and mental experiences.
Now, this book uncovers the deeper reasons that may lead to neuroplasticity as well. Light, sound, vibrations, movement, and more can influence our brain’s reaction to the world around us. Often, the brain has the power to awaken its own healing capacities without the unpleasant side effects.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Neuroplasticity: The central concept is once again neuroplasticity – the brain’s remarkable capacity to change and adapt. This sequel explores new and more complex aspects of this property, including its implications for recovery from a wider array of conditions.
- Natural, Non-Invasive Therapies: Doidge focuses on natural, non-invasive therapies that tap into the brain’s healing capacities, rather than pharmaceutical or surgical interventions. This includes techniques like light, sound, vibration, movement, and thought.
- Chronic Pain: The book discusses how understanding neuroplasticity can lead to more effective treatment of chronic pain. Doidge presents cases where patients were able to reduce or eliminate their pain through brain-focused therapies.
- Neurofeedback: This is a therapeutic intervention where real-time feedback about brain activity is used to teach self-regulation of brain function. Doidge discusses its potential benefits for conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
- Parkinson’s Disease: The book covers the use of neuroplastic therapies for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Doidge shares inspiring stories of patients who have improved their mobility and quality of life using these approaches.
- Traumatic Brain Injury: Doidge explores how neuroplastic therapies can aid recovery from traumatic brain injury, even years after the injury has occurred.
- The Feldenkrais Method: This method is a form of somatic education that seeks to improve movement and physical function, reduce pain, and increase self-awareness. Doidge discusses how this method can tap into neuroplasticity for healing.
- Learning Difficulties and Dyslexia: The book addresses how neuroplasticity-based approaches can help individuals with learning difficulties and dyslexia, changing how their brain processes information.
- Blindness and Visual Impairment: Doidge shares stories of individuals who have recovered vision or compensated for visual impairments through neuroplastic therapies.
- Strokes and Brain Lesions: The book explores how neuroplastic techniques can help stroke patients recover speech, movement, and other abilities by ‘retraining’ undamaged parts of the brain.
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
If your conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest of your brain doing? That’s exactly what author David Eagleman is here to answer in Incognito. In this compelling and provocative book, Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious mind and its surprising mysteries.
By reading this, you’ll learn about how your brain becomes consciously aware of danger ahead if there is a true Mel Gibson, and much more. Illuminating the mind and all its contradictions, this book goes much deeper than strict neuroscience, explaining intelligence, visual illusions, criminal law, and more.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Conscious vs. Unconscious Mind: One of the central ideas of the book is the distinction between the conscious and unconscious mind. Eagleman asserts that most of what our brain does is hidden from our conscious self.
- The Complexity of the Brain: The book underscores the brain’s complexity, highlighting the simultaneous processes that occur beneath the surface of conscious thought. Eagleman suggests that conscious thoughts, decisions, and actions represent only a tiny fraction of brain activity.
- Dual Process Theory: This theory suggests that our thinking is governed by two systems – a fast, automatic, unconscious system, and a slower, deliberate, conscious system. This theory is presented to explain various psychological phenomena.
- Neuroplasticity: Eagleman explores the concept of neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s ability to change its structure and function in response to experience and learning.
- Neuro-Legal Considerations: The book explores how our growing understanding of the brain might impact the legal system. Eagleman examines how knowledge of neuroscience could influence our perceptions of guilt, responsibility, and punishment.
- Sensory Perception: Eagleman delves into the brain’s interpretation of sensory inputs and how our perceptions shape our reality.
- The Illusion of Free Will: One provocative assertion in the book is that free will may be an illusion, based on the evidence that the unconscious mind plays a significant role in decision-making.
- Blindsight: This is a phenomenon where people who are perceptually blind in a certain area of their visual field demonstrate some awareness of visual stimuli in that area. Blindsight is used to illustrate the unconscious workings of the brain.
- The Influence of Genes and Environment: Eagleman explores how both genetic and environmental factors shape the brain’s development and function, influencing behavior and cognition.
- The Future of Brain Enhancement: The book concludes by looking at the potential for future technologies to enhance brain function, raising ethical and philosophical questions about their use.
How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker
In How the Mind Works, leading cognitive scientist Steven Pinker tackles the mysteries of the human mind. What makes us rational? How do we see in three dimensions? How do we grapple morality and religion? By reading this, you’ll learn all about abstract phenomena.
In this, Pinker synthesizes the most satisfying explanations of our mental life. Whether you’re looking to learn more about cognitive science, evolutionary biology, or the mysteries of life, this is the book that holds all the theories worth looking into.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Computational Theory of Mind: Pinker uses this theory as a basis for understanding the mind, suggesting that the brain is essentially an information processing system and the mind, as a result, is a computational process.
- Evolutionary Psychology: Much of the book’s argument is rooted in evolutionary psychology. Pinker proposes that our mental faculties have evolved over millions of years to solve problems that our ancestors faced during our species’ evolutionary history.
- Modularity of Mind: Pinker suggests the mind is composed of a multitude of specialized units or modules that handle specific tasks, each one evolved to solve a specific problem.
- Vision and Visual Perception: Pinker discusses in detail how our brains process visual information, demonstrating the complexity of this basic function and how it informs our understanding of the world.
- Emotions: He explores emotions as adaptive responses to certain circumstances and how they guide our decision-making processes.
- Human Relationships: Pinker explores the psychological mechanisms behind relationships, including mating, parenting, and cooperation, and how these have been shaped by natural selection.
- Art, Music, and Humor: Pinker offers evolutionary explanations for why humans create and appreciate art, music, and humor, suggesting these activities tap into our cognitive faculties in ways that mimic important survival and social skills.
- Intelligence and Rationality: The book discusses the nature and origin of intelligence and rational thinking, and the often surprising ways in which our minds can be irrational.
- Self-Consciousness and Free Will: Pinker addresses philosophical questions about consciousness and free will, arguing that these are by-products of our brain’s computational complexity.
- Cultural Evolution: While Pinker’s focus is primarily on natural selection and genetic evolution, he also addresses the concept of cultural evolution—the way ideas, knowledge, and beliefs are transmitted across generations and how this impacts our minds.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
In this #1 Sunday Times best-seller, Matthew Walker explains the new science of sleep and dreams. Even though sleep is one of the most important aspects of our life, it often remains overlooked in the realm of neuroscience. As it turns out, every major disease in the developed world, from Alzheimer’s to obesity, has strong causal links to deficient sleep.
In this, Walker explores twenty years of cutting-edge research to solve the mystery about the importance of sleep. He explains what happens during REM, how caffeine and alcohol impact our sleep, and how good sleeping habits safeguard our existence.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Importance of Sleep: Walker emphasizes that sleep is not a passive state, but a critical process for health, cognition, and longevity. He argues that sleep should be viewed as an essential component of overall wellness, on par with diet and exercise.
- Sleep and Memory Consolidation: The book delves into the impact of sleep on memory, detailing how sleep enhances learning and memory consolidation.
- Sleep Stages: Walker explains the different stages of sleep – Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep – and their unique functions. He emphasizes the importance of getting sufficient amounts of both for optimal health and function.
- Dreaming: Walker discusses the function of dreams and the role they play in emotional processing and creativity.
- Effects of Sleep Deprivation: The book highlights the serious and wide-ranging consequences of sleep deprivation, from cognitive impairment and mood disorders to chronic health conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even some cancers.
- Impact on Mental Health: Walker discusses the bidirectional relationship between sleep and mental health, detailing how poor sleep can contribute to conditions like depression and anxiety, and how these conditions can, in turn, disrupt sleep.
- Sleep Disorders: The book provides insights into various sleep disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome.
- Circadian Rhythm: Walker explains the body’s internal biological clock, the circadian rhythm, and how it regulates sleep and wakefulness.
- Sleep Across the Lifespan: Walker details how sleep patterns and needs change across the lifespan, from infancy to old age, and the unique sleep issues at each life stage.
- Societal Impact: The book addresses broader societal issues related to sleep, such as school start times, the impact of shift work, and the role of screens and technology in sleep disruption.
- Sleep Hygiene: Walker provides practical advice on how to improve sleep quality and duration, including maintaining a regular sleep schedule, creating a conducive sleep environment, and addressing lifestyle factors that can interfere with sleep.
The Tell-Tale Brain by V. S. Ramachandran
The Tell-Tale Brain is a neuroscientist’s quest for what makes us human. If you’re looking for a profound and compelling guide on the human brain, this is the book for you. From patients who believe they are dead to sufferers of phantom limb syndrome, Ramachandran has dealt with a variety of neurological conditions.
Written from a fascinating storyteller and scientific perspective, this book uncovers answers to age-old questions, controversial topics to brain science, the secrets of creativity, and more.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Neurological Case Studies: Ramachandran presents various fascinating case studies of individuals with rare neurological disorders, using these cases to illuminate how different parts of the brain contribute to human cognition and behavior.
- Mirror Neurons: One of the central concepts in the book is the role of mirror neurons, which fire not only when we perform an action, but also when we observe someone else perform the same action. Ramachandran discusses the potential role of these neurons in empathy, learning, and the development of human culture.
- Phantom Limbs: Expanding on his earlier work, Ramachandran delves into the phenomenon of phantom limbs, where individuals can still feel the presence of and sensations in a limb that has been amputated. His discussion of this phenomenon sheds light on the brain’s body mapping and its plasticity.
- Synesthesia: This is a condition where stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to experiences in a secondary sensory pathway, such as seeing sounds or tasting colors. Ramachandran discusses synesthesia as a window into brain function and the nature of human consciousness.
- Autism: Ramachandran suggests that a deficit in the mirror neuron system might play a role in autism, affecting the ability to empathize and understand others’ perspectives.
- Visual Perception: The book explores how our brain interprets visual information, leading to our perception of the world around us. Ramachandran discusses visual illusions to illustrate the constructive nature of perception.
- Capgras Delusion: This is a disorder in which a person believes a close acquaintance has been replaced by an imposter. Ramachandran examines this strange phenomenon to understand the brain’s mechanisms for recognizing and emotionally responding to familiar faces.
- Art and the Brain: Ramachandran discusses the neuroscience of art and aesthetics, exploring how our brains perceive and appreciate art.
- The Uniqueness of Human Brain: The overarching theme of the book is what makes the human brain unique. Ramachandran argues that our brains’ ability for abstraction, symbolism, and metaphor is key to what makes us human.
- Neuroplasticity: Throughout the book, Ramachandran highlights the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself and form new neural connections.
In Search of Memory by Eric Kandel
Who we are is because of what we learn and remember. Since memory binds our mental life together, studying how the brain creates and processes memories is more important than ever. In this, Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel combines intellectual history and the powerful science of the mind to better understand memory and neuroscience.
The search for the biological basis of memory is perhaps one of the most impactful and important studies happening in the field of neuroscience today.
Key Topics and Themes:
- The Cellular Basis of Learning and Memory: Kandel’s work focuses on the cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory. His research on Aplysia (a type of sea slug) showed that learning affects the strength of connections between neurons.
- Memory Storage: Kandel delves into the concept of memory storage, explaining short-term and long-term memory, and how experiences get encoded, stored, and retrieved.
- Synaptic Plasticity: The book discusses the principle of synaptic plasticity – the ability of the connections between neurons to change in strength, which is fundamental to memory and learning.
- Neurotransmitters and Memory: Kandel talks about the role of neurotransmitters and how they facilitate communication between neurons, thus playing an important role in memory formation.
- Molecular Biology and Genetics of Memory: Kandel presents the molecular and genetic aspects of memory, giving readers a comprehensive view of memory from the molecular level to the level of behavior.
- Neural Networks: The book discusses the formation and function of neural networks, which are groups of neurons that work together to process information.
- Experience and Memory: Kandel talks about how experiences shape our brain’s structure and function, specifically in the context of memory. He uses examples from his own life to illustrate this.
- The Role of the Hippocampus in Memory: Kandel emphasizes the importance of the hippocampus in forming and storing memories, especially episodic memories – those related to personal experiences and events.
- Memory Disorders: The book discusses various memory disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and amnesia, offering insights into their effects on the brain.
- The Intersection of Memory and Art: The book also explores the intersection of memory and art, particularly how memory can influence artistic expression.
Brain Rules by John Medina
Brain Rules by John Medina consists of 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. In this international best-seller, Medina uncovers the ways in which we can use our knowledge of the brain to improve our lives. As it turns out, brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and student should know.
By reading this, you’ll learn about what goes on in your head during the process of learning something new, falling asleep, or trying to multitask. Brain science has the power to influence both the way we teach and the way we learn.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Exercise Boosts Brain Power: Medina discusses the link between physical activity and cognitive function, suggesting that regular exercise can enhance learning and memory.
- The Brain Evolved, Too: This rule emphasizes the impact of evolution on our brain’s development and functioning, stressing that our brains still carry traits useful to our ancestors.
- Every Brain is Wired Differently: Medina underscores the uniqueness of each person’s brain due to different experiences and genetics, which impacts learning styles and abilities.
- We Don’t Pay Attention to Boring Things: The human attention span is limited and tends to favor novel, engaging content. This has important implications for education and communication.
- Repeat to Remember: Repetition strengthens memory encoding and retrieval, a concept crucial for learning and recall.
- Remember to Repeat: Timing of repetition (spaced repetition) also affects memory retention, with information repeated over a longer time frame more likely to be remembered.
- Sleep Well, Think Well: Sleep is vital for cognitive processes, including learning, memory, and emotional regulation. Lack of adequate sleep impacts these functions.
- Stressed Brains Don’t Learn the Same Way: Chronic stress impairs brain function, particularly in areas related to memory and learning.
- Stimulate More of the Senses: Engaging multiple senses can enhance learning and recall. This is due to the multisensory nature of our brain’s encoding and retrieval process.
- Vision Trumps All Other Senses: Vision has a significant influence on the brain and is a powerful tool for learning. We often learn and remember best through visual information.
- Male and Female Brains are Different: While all brains are unique, there are general differences between male and female brains, which can affect learning and behavior.
- We are Powerful and Natural Explorers: The human brain is naturally curious, and we learn best when we take an active role in our learning.
Connectome by Sebastian Seung
Connectome explains how the brain’s wiring makes us who we are. Although every person is unique, we all struggle to figure out where that uniqueness resides within our minds. While genetics may determine our eye color and even aspects of our personality, how do our passions, friendships, and failures shape who we are as well?
Author Sebastian Seung is at the forefront of a neuroscience revolution. According to Seung, our identity does not just lie in our genes, but the connections between our brain cells. More specifically, our identity lies in our brain wiring.
If neuroscientists succeed in mapping the connections between our brain cells, they will uncover the basis of personality, memory, certain disorders, and much more.
Key Topics and Themes:
- The Connectome: Seung introduces the concept of the connectome, a comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain. He posits that our connectome, more than our genes, is what makes us who we are.
- Nature vs. Nurture: Seung argues that nature (our genes) and nurture (our experiences) both influence the wiring of our brain. Our genes set the initial conditions for our connectome, but experiences can modify the connectome throughout our life.
- Neuroplasticity: The book delves into the brain’s ability to rewire itself based on experiences, a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. Seung explains how changes in the connectome can lead to changes in our abilities, behavior, and identity.
- Memory and the Connectome: Seung discusses how our memories might be stored in the connectome. Changes in the connections between neurons could be the physical basis for memory.
- Mental Disorders and the Connectome: Seung discusses the potential role of connectomes in understanding mental disorders. Abnormalities in the connectome could potentially underlie conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, and autism.
- The Future of Neuroscience: The book examines the future possibilities for connectomics, the field of study dedicated to mapping and interpreting connectomes. This includes technological advances that may allow us to map connectomes more quickly and accurately.
- Immortality and the Connectome: In one of the more speculative parts of the book, Seung discusses the concept of “uploading” a person’s connectome to a computer as a form of digital immortality. While this is still firmly in the realm of science fiction, it provides food for thought about the nature of identity and consciousness.
- Ethics and Privacy: Seung raises ethical and privacy concerns related to the mapping of connectomes. A detailed map of an individual’s connectome might reveal personal information about their abilities, experiences, and potential for certain mental disorders.
Awakenings by Oliver Sacks
Awakenings tells the remarkable story of the group of patients who contracted sleeping-sickness during the great epidemic after World War I. Frozen for decades and in a trance-like state, these individuals were named hopeless until Dr. Sacks gave them a new drug in 1969.
This drug, named L-DOPA, had an astonishing awakening effect, leading to their reintroduction to the world.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Encephalitis Lethargica: Sacks gives a vivid description of the symptoms and effects of this illness, also known as the sleeping sickness, which affected many people worldwide in the 1920s and left survivors in a state of catatonic rigidity for many years.
- Use of L-DOPA: The book recounts how Sacks administered L-DOPA, a then-new drug designed to treat Parkinson’s, to these patients. Remarkably, the drug roused these patients from their decades-long catatonia.
- The ‘Awakenings’: Sacks describes the astonishing ‘awakenings’ of these patients who, after years of immobility, were able to move, speak, and experience life again. This transformative period brought joy, surprise, and a newfound appreciation of life to the patients.
- Unforeseen Consequences: Despite initial success, Sacks documents the unexpected and often tragic side-effects of L-DOPA. Patients began to exhibit symptoms of tics, restlessness, mania, and other emotional and physical imbalances, some eventually reverting to their previous state of catatonia.
- The Human Element of Medicine: Sacks emphasizes the importance of understanding patients as individuals, not just as cases or diagnoses. He presents detailed, empathetic portraits of his patients, showcasing their individual personalities, histories, and experiences.
- Nature of Consciousness and Time Perception: The experiences of these patients provide unique insights into the nature of consciousness and the perception of time. Many patients felt as if no time had passed during their catatonic state, raising fascinating questions about human consciousness.
- Adaptation and Resilience: Despite the challenges they faced, many patients showed remarkable resilience and adaptability. Sacks highlights the human capacity to find joy and meaning in life, even in the most difficult circumstances.
- Ethical Considerations in Medical Treatment: The book raises ethical questions about the use of experimental treatments and the balance between risk and potential benefit in medical decision-making.
My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor
This international best-seller and popular TED talk chronicles how a brain scientist’s own stroke led to her enlightenment. When she was just thirty-seven, Jill Bolte Taylor experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in her brain. A neuroanatomist herself, she observed her mind lose the ability to talk, walk, read, write, or remember anything from her life beforehand.
All within the span of four hours, Taylor’s life completely changed due to her stroke. Quickly after, she began to alternate between two opposing identities. Luckily, her logical left brain was still working enough to allow her to seek help.
Ultimately, Taylor was able to use her knowledge of brain functioning to repair her mind and recalibrate her understanding of the world.
Key Topics and Themes:
- Experiencing a Stroke: As a neuroscientist, Dr. Taylor vividly describes the sensations and experiences of having a stroke. She communicates the gradual loss of brain functions, providing a rare, first-person account of what it’s like to have a stroke.
- Left Brain vs. Right Brain: The book provides insights into the different functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Taylor’s stroke happened in her left hemisphere, which led to a profound shift in her perception, dominated by the right hemisphere.
- The Brain and Self-Perception: With her left brain offline, Taylor shares her experience of losing her sense of individuality and feeling a deep connection with the world around her. This offers an interesting perspective on how our brain shapes our sense of self and our perception of reality.
- Neuroplasticity and Recovery: Taylor shares her long and challenging recovery journey, which took eight years. Her account illustrates the brain’s neuroplasticity, its ability to reorganize and form new connections to compensate for injury and disease.
- Importance of a Supportive Environment: Taylor emphasizes the importance of a supportive environment for stroke recovery. She credits her mother’s constant support as a key factor in her recovery, providing a strong case for patient-centered care.
- The Power of Choice: Despite the debilitating effects of the stroke, Taylor emphasizes that we have the power to choose our perspective. She decided to see her stroke as an enlightening experience, rather than a devastating event.
- Insights into the Mind and Consciousness: The book offers deep insights into the workings of the mind and consciousness. Taylor’s unique experience gives readers a new perspective on how our brains construct reality.
- Stroke Awareness: Taylor’s detailed account of her symptoms during the stroke serves as a powerful reminder of the signs of a stroke, potentially helping readers recognize these signs in others.
Learning Neuroscience
Whether you’re a student of neuroscience or a business owner looking to understand the mind, the books above can help you gain a deeper understanding of the inner workings of the brain. Since neuroscience encapsulates the secrets behind brain functioning, neurological disorders, and so much more, reading up on what the neuroscientists have to say is a great way to gain a deeper understanding about our lives.Â
