Human Anatomy - Nervous System, Neuroscience, Neurology, Neuroanatomy

Creating Mind: How the Brain Works

Name: Creating Mind: How the Brain Works
Author: John E. Dowling
ISBN: 9780393974461

by John E. Dowling

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Overview

From a distinguished teacher and scholar, this beautifully illustrated and lucidly written book reveals the beauty of the organ that makes us uniquely human.

What makes us human and unique among all creatures is our brain. Consciousness, perception, emotion, memory, learning, language, and intelligence all originate in and depend on the brain. Over the past century, our understanding of the brain has raced forward to reveal many of the mechanisms by which the brain creates mind and consciousness. In this brief introduction to the brain, neuroscientist John Dowling conveys to the general reader the essence and vitality of the field of neuroscience-the progress we are making in understanding how brains work and some of our strategies for studying brain function. Dowling often relates the exciting discoveries of neuroscience to specific examples of brain phenomena such as disease, mental illness, aging, or brain injury, demonstrating how these alterations in brain function cast light on normalcy and describing some of the therapies enabled by our understanding of the brain.

"A neuroscientist explains the development and function of the human brain in a clear and engaging writing style."

Synopsis

From a distinguished teacher and scholar, this beautifully illustrated and lucidly written book reveals the beauty of the organ that makes us uniquely human.

Jonathan Levi

[A] solid, instructional book, layered and in-folded like the brain itself, with channels for both the curious layman and the more intrepid student. The rewards are great. The reader comes away with the best kind of knowledge, aware of what neuroscience knows and what it doesn't. (A Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 1998; Los Angeles Times Book Review, Jonathan Levi, 20 December 1998)

About the Author, John E. Dowling

Dr. John E. Dowling is Maria Moors Cabot Professor of Natural Sciences at Harvard University, where he teaches a popular undergraduate general education course on the brain. He has done extensive research into the neurobiology of vision.

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Editorials

Jonathan Levi

Washington Post

As the teacher of a popular undergraduate course at Harvard, neuroscientist John E. Dowling has had lots of practice explaining the brain to people who know nothing about it—and it shows in this concise and lucid book. (Washington Post Book World, Susan Okie and Curt Suplee, 13 December 1998)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In this compact volume, Dowling, a Harvard biologist specializing in vision, explains how the human brain is structured, how it processes and stores information and how it occasionally malfunctions, while discussing its evolutionary roots. Topics as diverse as developmental biology, mental illness, the aging process, the biochemical basis of emotions, spinal cord injuries and the nature of optical illusions are touched upon, as are a range of current and projected treatments for disorders of the nervous system. Although Dowling's didactic style of posing questions to be answered wears a bit thin, a good deal of information is presented in a form largely accessible to the lay reader. While perhaps not surprising given his specialty, Dowling spends a disproportionate amount of time on the intricacies of the visual system while largely ignoring the other senses. Also omitted is any discussion of recent work examining structural differences in the brain between the sexes as well as correlational research suggesting possible links between brain configuration and homosexuality. Nonetheless, Dowling provides a competent introduction to the quickly developing field of neuroscience. Photos and line drawings throughout. (Sept.)

Library Journal

In this guide to the "nuts and bolts" of the human brain, neurobiologist Dowling explains how basic brain functions work and are interconnected. He then explores in clear, concise prose the brain's major functions: vision, language, memory, emotion, perception, and consciousness. A good jumping off point for learning about neuroscience and its fascinating discoveries. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.