Helen Plum Library

"A neurologist regales readers with extraordinary stories of the brain under siege. Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: The very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are true accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake, from total loss of inhibitions to florid psychosis to compulsive lying. Cognitive neurologist Sara Manning Peskin demystifies...

"Locked in the silence and darkness of your skull, your brain fashions the rich narratives of your reality and your identity. Join renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman for a journey into the questions at the mysterious heart of our existence. What is reality? Who are "you"? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human? In the course of his investigations, Eagleman...

Early studies of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike--strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, horrendous accidents--and see how victims coped. In many cases their survival was miraculous, if puzzling. Observers were amazed by the transformations that took place when different parts of the brain were destroyed, altering victims' personalities. Parents suddenly couldn't recognize their own children. Pillars of the community...

"The culmination of renowned neuroscientist D.F. Swaab's life's work, We Are Our Brains unlocks the mysteries of the most complex organism in the human body, providing a fascinating overview of the brain's role in nearly every aspect of human existence. In short, engaging chapters, Swaab explains what is going on in our brains at every stage of life, including how a fetus's brain develops and the role that pregnancy plays in solidifying certain aspects...

" Let's be honest. You've tried the sticky-note inspirations, the motivational calendar, and the cute (but ineffective) "carpe diem" mug-yet your attitude hasn't changed. It's time to apply cutting-edge science to the challenges of daily life. While everyone desires self-improvement, we are quickly frustrated when trying to implement the contradictory philosophies of self-appointed self-help gurus. Too often, their advice is based on anecdote and...

In recent years, the advent of MRI technology seems to have unlocked the secrets of the human mind, revealing the sources of our deepest desires, intentions, and fears. In this book, the authors argue that the explanatory power of brain scans in particular and neuroscience more generally has been vastly overestimated. Although acknowledging its tremendous potential, they believe that the overzealous application of the burgeoning field of brain science...

Investigating a suicide, New York City police officer Barry Sutton finds a connection to the outbreak of a memory-altering disease and a controversial neuroscientist working to preserve precious memories New York City cop Barry Sutton investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome-- a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. Neuroscientist Helena Smith dedicated...

"A grand new vision of cognitive science that explains how our minds build the world, learn from it, and sometimes deceive themselves For as long as we've studied the mind, we've believed that our senses determine what our mind perceives. But as our understanding of neuroscience and psychology has advanced in the last few decades, a new view has emerged that has proven to be both provocative and hugely powerful-that the mind is not a passive observer,...

Examines the history of behavioral economics, discussing the theory of Israeli psychologists who wrote the original studies undoing assumptions about the decision-making process and the influence it has had on evidence-based regulation Forty years ago, Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original studies undoing our assumptions about the decision-making process. Their papers showed the ways in which...