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Product Description:
You: The Owner’s Manual for the brain: an expert, comprehensive, and lively guide that makes sense of all the latest scientific findings about how your brain really works. We are using our brains at practically every moment of our lives, and yet few of us have the first idea how they work. Much of what we think we know comes from folklore: that we only use 10 percent of our brain, or that drinking kills brain cells. These and other brain myths are wrong, as demonstrated by the work of neuroscientists who have spent decades studying this complex organ. However, most of what scientists have learned is not known to the world outside their laboratories. In this readable, lively book, Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang dispel common myths about the brain and provide a comprehensive, useful overview of how it really works. In its pages, you’ll discover how to cope with jet lag, how your brain affects your religion, and how men’s and women’s brains differ. With witty, accessible prose decorated by charts, trivia, quizzes, and illustrations, this book is great for quick reference or extended reading. Both practical and fun, Welcome to Your Brain is perfect whether you want to impress your friends or simply use your brain better.
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Average Rating : 
Rating :  - A User Manual for the Brain
The aim of this review is to provide potential readers with an insightful synopsis of Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang's "Welcome to Your Brain." The authors are well-known neuroscientists who possess the expertise to explain the science behind life's most common annoyances and questions.
"Welcome to Your Brain" presents a wide range of neurological facts, processes, and pathways in a context which does not require a Ph.D. in neuroscience to understand. It provides explanations for everyday events: those things that happen in life which leave you wondering why. Using this approach, the authors have produced a piece of scientific literature with which any ordinary person can relate and comprehend. It is filled with information and suggestions which have practical applications and scientific support.
This book is organized into six sections dealing with the workings of the brain: the brain's interaction with the world, the five senses, brain changes during life, emotion, rationality, and altered states of the brain. The first section deals with the brain and the outside world, and addresses how the brain interprets different situations, as well as brain structure. The five senses section discusses the structures of the eyes and ears, and how the brain processes sensory information. Section three focuses on the brain with respect to childhood, critical periods, and old age. The fourth part touches on where emotions come from, anxiety, how we find happiness, and personality. In the next section, decision making, intelligence, and memory are discussed. Finally, section six delves into consciousness, sleep and dreams, spirituality, and the effects of drugs and alcohol. These sections cover a very broad range of neuroscience topics, but effectively explain and describe these complex functions in a way which is interesting and useful.
The style can be most adequately described by the words insightful, humorous, and light-hearted. It is extremely easy to read and understand, even to someone with no background in neuroscience, and the information is presented in a concise manner. It is structured into six parts, described above, and each part is further divided into a number of chapters. Appropriately placed "Myth," "Practical Tip," and "Did You Know?" boxes supplement the text, explaining false myths, tips such as how to offset jet lag, and other useful facts backed by scientific evidence. The text is also sprinkled with insightful, thought-provoking quotes.
"YOUR BRAIN AND THE WORLD"
The highlights of this section include an explanation of how the brain processes information, a comparison between reality and the imagination of hollywood, and a lesson on the structure of the brain. Especially interesting is the explanation about how the brain must simplify much of the information it receives, essentially saying "your brain lies to you." Also, the explanation given about the regions of the brain, neurons, synapses, and signaling is presented in a very logical and understandable way, and the figures shown are helpful in depicting these concepts.
"COMING TO YOUR SENSES"
This part does an exemplary job of explaining the structures of the eyes and ears, pathways to the brain, and the way in which receptors transmit information. Although descriptions are brief, the important aspects of each of the five senses are mentioned. Also included in this section is an interesting explanation of how optical illusions fool the brain, with a few examples which are worthwhile.
"HOW YOUR BRAIN CHANGES THROUGHOUT LIFE"
This section discusses changes the brain undergoes from early childhood to old age. It emphasizes that parental obsessions such as the idea that "if little Emma doesn't attend the right preschool, she'll never get into a decent college" are unwarranted. Also touched upon is not only the functionalities lost with aging, but also those that are maintained, such as verbal skills and vocabulary.
"YOUR EMOTIONAL BRAIN" & "YOUR RATIONAL BRAIN"
Emotion is described as "the weather in your brain," and it is emphasized that while most people view emotions as getting in the way of rational choices, the opposite is in fact true, and that anxiety, something which makes a person feel bad, often leads to good behavior, an important point to note. These sections also explore happiness, personality, and decision making in a way which is eye opening to truths which may not be obvious or seem logical.
"YOUR BRAIN IN ALTERED STATES"
This section provides especially interesting information regarding consciousness, dreaming, beliefs, and drugs and alcohol. The book states "The concept of free will presents an apparent paradox to anyone interested in the philosophy of how the brain works" - something to think about. Although many of these aspects of the human condition are not fully understood, there are excellent explanations of what is known and what may be true concerning these topics.
SUPPLEMENTS: "MYTHS," "PRACTICAL TIPS," AND "DID YOU KNOW'S?"
The supplement boxes are perhaps my favorite part. They provide excellent snippets of information which is useful in everyday life. For example, one of these boxes explains how to hear someone on a cell phone better in a noisy room.
In summary, I feel that this is a well written, informative, entertaining, enlightening and practical guide to common issues which arise in everyday life and can be related to the human brain. It is filled with exemplary explanations and practical tips which are useful to almost anyone on a day to day basis. The facts are supported by scientific studies which are in many places discussed, giving credibility to statements which may otherwise seem odd to someone who is not learned in the field of neuroscience. Although most of the information presented may not be intellectually stimulating to a seasoned neuroscientist, this book offers an opportunity to become interested in the field and is an inspiration to learn more about the most complex part of the human body.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a desire to learn about how their brain works, and why we do, feel, and experience life the way we do. It is an excellent place to begin and foster a desire to study the human brain.
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