Mental Brain

A path-breaking journey into the brain, showing how perception, thought, and action are products of "maps" etched into your gray matter - and how technology can use them to read your mind.

To many, the brain is the seat of personal identity and autonomy. But the way we talk about the brain is often rooted more in mystical conceptions of the soul than in scientific fact.

The brain's power is confirmed and touted every day in new studies and research. And yet we tend to take our brains for granted, without suspecting that those masses of hard-working neurons might not always be working for us. Cordelia Fine introduces us to a brain we might not want to meet, a brain with a mind of its own. She illustrates the brain's tendency toward self-delusion as she explores how the mind defends and glorifies the ego by twisting and warping our perceptions.

Many people claim they would rather be diagnosed with cancer than dementia or Alzheimer's. What they may not realize is that decreased or impaired brain function is not a foregone conclusion as we get older. Our own lifestyle choices and habits can have a significant impact - for good or ill - on our brains. And that means there's hope. Drawing from the latest medical research, Dr. Richard Furman helps listeners understand brain health and shows them how to make three powerful lifestyle changes that can help decrease the probability of developing dementia or Alzheimer's.

Imagine living in a world where people use their computers, drive their cars, and communicate with one another simply by thinking. In this stunning and inspiring work, Duke University neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis shares his revolutionary insights into how the brain creates thought and the human sense of self - and how this might be augmented by machines, so that the entire universe will be within our reach.

Pain is an inevitable part of existence, but severe debilitating or chronic pain is a pathological condition that diminishes the quality of life. The Brain and Pain explores the present and future of pain management, providing a comprehensive understanding based on the latest discoveries from many branches of neuroscience. Richard Ambronthe former director of a neuroscience lab that conducted leading research in this fieldexplains the science of how and why we feel pain.

The Beasts in Your Brain is a guide and companion equally for you and your loved ones, here to provide that essential first dose of information, understanding, and validation about mental illness and how it affects the young people of today.

As we age, our memories become unreliable; we misplace things and forget details. In Ultimate Memory Magic, memory expert Jim Karol shows that these side effects of aging are not inevitable. His memory-boosting system, called Cogmental Intelligence, goes beyond preserving mental acuity and actually enhances memory and mental function through lifestyle changes and mental exercises. Concentration, alertness, and focus can all be strengthened - by anyone, at any age.

Learn powerful, science-based techniques to boost focus, drive, and energy hour-by-hour throughout the day - every day. As leadership consultants and executive trainers, Bonnie St. John and Allen P. Haines have heard the same complaints from clients for years; periodic burnout, lack of focus, and low energy. So they dug into the latest research on neuroscience, psychology, and physiology looking for big answers. Instead they found small answers; proof that small adjustments in daily routines, can fight the forces that sap our energy and store focus and drive.

Psychologists and neuroscientists struggle with how best to interpret human motivation and decision making. The assumption is that below a mental "surface" of conscious awareness lies a deep and complex set of inner beliefs, values, and desires that govern our thoughts, ideas, and actions, and that to know this depth is to know ourselves. In this profoundly original book, behavioral scientist Nick Chater contends just the opposite: Rather than being the plaything of unconscious currents, the brain generates behaviors in the moment based entirely on our past experiences.

The human brain is not a static organ; it’s plastic, which means it can grow and change. But just like a muscle, you have to exercise it. In Make Your Brain Smarter, renowned cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman gives you the comprehensive fitness plan you need to “exercise” your way to a healthier brain. By taking advantage of the immense cognitive potential of your brain, you can think smarter, not harder, solving the complexities and problems that occur every day.

This transformative book will enable you to leverage your ADHD to establish order, meet deadlines, and create a peaceful environment that serves you.

Do you want to train your brain to be tougher and ready for anything? Are you prepared to develop your willpower and self-discipline? Do you want to find the secret of success? There are many routes to success that revolve around our physical capabilities and this is often seen in athletes or the military, for example. But it is often the mind that signifies true strength of character in an individual and when you learn to develop it to its full potential there is little that will stand in your way.

Are you looking for a complete guide on anxiety and panic? As you’ll learn, a major cause of anxiety is the way we interpret what’s happening around us - the story we tell ourselves whenever something happens. Good news! We have control over these stories, and we can change the impact they have upon us. It is all a choice, as overly simplistic as that may sound, for now. Here too I don’t want to downplay your anxiety. But it is crucial that we see it for what it really is.

For more than 20 years, The Baby Book author William Sears' advice has been trusted by millions across the country, and around the world. Now, he and The Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription author Vincent M. Fortanasce have put together the essential guide to a clearer, calmer, and happier brain. Laced with relatable personal stories from family members and patients, The Healthy Brain Book weds Fortanasce's deep neurological and psychiatric expertise with Sears' sympathetic bedside manner and listener-friendly writing.

Do you want to reduce your stress levels, boost your memory, mood, and focus, and be more creative? Then it’s time to get moving! In this groundbreaking international bestseller, The Mind-Body Method, acclaimed psychiatrist and mental health guru Dr. Anders Hansen reveals a simple yet effective method for transforming your life: exercise. Dr. Hansen explains the evolutionary reason that exercise can reduce stress and anxiety, boost memory and focus, raise IQ, and even slow down the aging process.

After the birth of her baby triggers a manic maelstrom, Dyane Harwood struggles to survive the bewildering highs and crippling lows of her brain's turmoil. Birth of a New Brain vividly depicts her postpartum bipolar disorder, an unusual type of bipolar disorder and postpartum mood and anxiety disorder. During her childhood, Harwood grew up close to her father, a brilliant violinist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic who had bipolar disorder. She learned how bipolar disorder could ravage a family, but she never suspected that she'd become mentally ill - until her baby was born.

According to R. Douglas Fields, PhD, we all have a rage circuit we can't fully control once it is engaged. The daily headlines are filled with examples of otherwise rational people with no history of violence or mental illness suddenly snapping in a domestic dispute, barroom brawl, or road rage attack. We all wish to believe that we are in control of our actions, but the fact is, in certain circumstances we are not. Something in our environment can unexpectedly unleash an automatic and complex rage response.

What makes you the way you are - and what makes each of us different from everyone else? In Innate, leading neuroscientist and popular science blogger Kevin Mitchell traces human diversity and individual differences to their deepest level: in the wiring of our brains.

What happens in the brain of someone who has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Why can’t we either erase memories or cope with them when they have been shockingly awful? Questions like these will be answered in this quick guide, as well as other interesting facts, anecdotes, and topics. We will discuss the comprehensive concept of dissociative amnesia, the four different subtypes of PTSD, the difference between PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder, specific problems related to homeless veterans, and several other fascinating subjects.