Download or read book Discovering the Brain written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

Download or read book From Neurons to Neighborhoods written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-11-13 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Download or read book The Brain s Sense of Movement written by Alain Berthoz and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This interpretation of perception and action allows Alain Berthoz to focus on psychological phenomena: proprioception and kinaesthesis; the mechanisms that maintain balance and co-ordination actions; and basic perceptual and memory processes involved in navigation.

Download or read book The Real Happy Pill written by Anders Hansen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is there a foolproof way to reduce stress and anxiety while you boost your memory? Raise your IQ even as you slow down the aging process? Become more creative and train your ability to focus at the same time? The answer is simple: Move! Modern neuroscience and research has shown, more than ever, that physical exercise has extraordinary effects on our cognition. Physical activity, more so than Sudoku or crossword puzzles, optimizes our mental abilities and health in a way unparalleled by any drug, medication, or food supplement. And exercise doesn’t just enhance your health, energy and mood levels, and cognitive abilities. You will also learn: Why physical training is the best protection against dementia What type of exercise can be used to treat depression as an antidepressant How exercise increases the ability to focus in children, especially kids with ADHD How children with good fitness can become better in math and reading comprehension Why “runner’s high,” the natural chemicals released during jogging, improves your health and mood With practical and concrete advice for the layman on how to reap these benefits, as well as neuroscientific research from the last five years broken down to accessible findings, The Real Happy Pill urges you to train your body and mind for a whole-body upgrade, and start to move!

Download or read book The Brain That Changes Itself written by Norman Doidge, M.D. and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-03-15 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Fascinating. Doidge’s book is a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain.”—Oliver Sacks, MD, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat What is neuroplasticity? Is it possible to change your brain? Norman Doidge’s inspiring guide to the new brain science explains all of this and more An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable, and proving that it is, in fact, possible to change your brain. Psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity, its healing powers, and the people whose lives they’ve transformed—people whose mental limitations, brain damage or brain trauma were seen as unalterable. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, blind people who learn to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, stroke patients learning to speak, children with cerebral palsy learning to move with more grace, depression and anxiety disorders successfully treated, and lifelong character traits changed. Using these marvelous stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love, sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.

Download or read book The Brain Moves written by C. Mark Riden, M.Ed., B.A.,B.A. and published by Author House. This book was released on 2014-10-09 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his 2014 book, The Brain Moves, author C. Mark Riden, M.Ed., B.A., B.A. provides the artillery needed to repel the epidemic of brain trauma sweeping through American athletic and military culture like an Oklahoma storm ripping and tearing its way across a landscape. Riden's investigative work in traumatic brain injury (TBI) looks at two distinct populations affected by closed blunt force trauma (CBFT): Current and former athletes who play or have played contact sports and military combat veterans home from war looking for a new sense of belonging. CBFT refers to an object or person impacting the head or helmet causing the brain to move inside the cranium. When the brain becomes overwhelmed by closed blunt impact, ungovernable acceleration and deceleration forces inside the cranium obtrusively contort the brain causing immediate and long-term neuronal damage. Riden's work covers detailed collegiate research studies and an extensive interrogation of scholarly and non-scholarly evidence. Beginning with discussion on biomechanics and the physiological makeup of what Riden calls the twenty-first century biological super-athlete, the author deposits eight dynamic chapters of TBI information on problems discovered in youth, college, and professional sports as well as the United States military. Passionate about providing empirical confirmation on TBI during a time of injurious uncertainty in sports where athletes and soldiers are bigger, stronger, and faster, Riden's propositions, solutions, and theories are directed at reducing CBFT frequency, social maladaptation, and cognitive disruption. Supported by data, Riden's book delivers a unique synthesis on the underpinnings of TBI associated with social competition, human nature, and cultural history. Drawn to amphitheaters of opposition, awkwardly the environments in which we have selected to compete are now killing us. Clearly, it is a gladiator's future we have chosen for ourselves. Confronting and adapting to TBI through education will be part of that future.

Download or read book A Moving Child Is a Learning Child written by Gill Connell and published by Free Spirit Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-10 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In order to learn, kids’ need to move! Grounded in best practices and current research, this hands-on resource connects the dots that link brain activity, movement, and early learning. The expert authors unveil the Kinetic Scale: a visual map of the active learning needs of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and primary graders that fits each child’s individual timetable. Teachers, parents, and caregivers will find a wealth of information, actionable tips, and games they can use to support children’s healthy development—all presented in a lively, full-color format with demonstrative diagrams and photos. A final section offers easy-to-implement activities geared to the Kinetic Scale. Downloadable digital content includes printable charts, games, and activities from the book plus a PowerPoint presentation for professional development, parent handouts, and bonus activities. An ideal tool for coaches, mentors, and trainers.Introducing the Kinetic Scale unique framework encompassing all the elements of movement: reflexes, sensory tools (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, balance, and intuition), motor tools (power, coordination, and control), and language based on six stages of movement development from birth to age 7: snugglers, squigglers, stompers, scampers, scooters, and skedaddlers designed to foster a balanced diet of physical activity that helps each child move, grow, and learn on the child’s individual timetable

Download or read book Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain written by Zaretta Hammond and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2014-11-13 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection

Download or read book How People Learn written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-08-11 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.

Download or read book A Whole New Mind written by Daniel H. Pink and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-03-07 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller An exciting--and encouraging--exploration of creativity from the author of When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic "right-brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't. Drawing on research from around the world, Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others) outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are absolute essentials for professional success and personal fulfillment--and reveals how to master them. A Whole New Mind takes readers to a daring new place, and a provocative and necessary new way of thinking about a future that's already here.

Download or read book From Molecules to Minds written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-12-07 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neuroscience has made phenomenal advances over the past 50 years and the pace of discovery continues to accelerate. On June 25, 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders hosted more than 70 of the leading neuroscientists in the world, for a workshop titled "From Molecules to Minds: Challenges for the 21st Century." The objective of the workshop was to explore a set of common goals or "Grand Challenges" posed by participants that could inspire and rally both the scientific community and the public to consider the possibilities for neuroscience in the 21st century. The progress of the past in combination with new tools and techniques, such as neuroimaging and molecular biology, has positioned neuroscience on the cusp of even greater transformational progress in our understanding of the brain and how its inner workings result in mental activity. This workshop summary highlights the important issues and challenges facing the field of neuroscience as presented to those in attendance at the workshop, as well as the subsequent discussion that resulted. As a result, three overarching Grand Challenges emerged: How does the brain work and produce mental activity? How does physical activity in the brain give rise to thought, emotion, and behavior? How does the interplay of biology and experience shape our brains and make us who we are today? How do we keep our brains healthy? How do we protect, restore, or enhance the functioning of our brains as we age?

Download or read book The Brain Electric written by Malcolm Gay and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-10-20 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading neuroscience researchers are racing to unlock the secrets of the mind. On the cusp of decoding brain signals that govern motor skills, they are developing miraculous technologies that will enable paraplegics and wounded soldiers to move prosthetic limbs and will give all of us the power to manipulate computers and other objects through thought alone. These fiercely competitive scientists are vying for government and venture capital funding, prestige, and wealth. Part life-altering cure, part science fiction, part Defense Department dream, these cutting edge brain-computer interfaces promise to improve lives-but they also hold the potential to augment soldiers' combat capabilities. In The Brain Electric, Malcolm Gay follows the dramatic emergence of these technologies, taking us behind the scenes in operating rooms, startups, and research labs, where the future is unfolding. With access to many of the field's top scientists, Gay illuminates this extraordinary race-where science, medicine, profit, and war converge-for the first time. But this isn't just a story about technology. At the heart of the scientists' research is a group of brave patient-volunteers, whose lives are given new meaning through these experiments. The Brain Electric asks us to rethink our relationship to technology, our bodies, even consciousness itself, challenging our assumptions about what it means to be human.

Download or read book Keep Sharp written by Sanjay Gupta and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Keep your brain young, healthy, and sharp with this science-driven guide to protecting your mind from decline by neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Throughout our life, we look for ways to keep our minds sharp and effortlessly productive. Now, globetrotting neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta offers “the book all of us need, young and old” (Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker) with insights from top scientists all over the world, whose cutting-edge research can help you heighten and protect brain function and maintain cognitive health at any age. Keep Sharp debunks common myths about aging and mental decline, explores whether there’s a “best” diet or exercise regimen for the brain, and explains whether it’s healthier to play video games that test memory and processing speed, or to engage in more social interaction. Discover what we can learn from “super-brained” people who are in their eighties and nineties with no signs of slowing down—and whether there are truly any benefits to drugs, supplements, and vitamins. Dr. Gupta also addresses brain disease, particularly Alzheimer’s, answers all your questions about the signs and symptoms, and shows how to ward against it and stay healthy while caring for a partner in cognitive decline. He likewise provides you with a personalized twelve-week program featuring practical strategies to strengthen your brain every day. Keep Sharp is the “must-read owner’s manual” (Arianna Huffington) you’ll need to keep your brain young and healthy regardless of your age!

Download or read book Getting your head around the brain written by Amanda Ellison and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-09-05 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever wondered how it's possible to walk down a street, with your thoughts on what you're going to have for lunch? What's telling your legs to move while your mind is on other things? And how are you reading these words right now? The simple answer: it's your brain. Often a complex subject to tackle, this book has been written with the first-time learner in mind to guide the reader through the physiological basis of the brain-behaviour link, exploring such fascinating topics as sensation, memory and emotion. This book has been designed to offer an easy and comprehensive read for students in need of an introductory text to the various faculties and functions of the brain and an explanation of how these are central to actively producing human behavior. Apt for undergraduate students studying biological psychology and neuroscience wanting to consolidate their understanding of the brain.

Download or read book Your Brain Is a Time Machine The Neuroscience and Physics of Time written by Dean Buonomano and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Beautifully written, eloquently reasoned…Mr. Buonomano takes us off and running on an edifying scientific journey." —Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal In Your Brain Is a Time Machine, leading neuroscientist Dean Buonomano embarks on an "immensely engaging" exploration of how time works inside the brain (Barbara Kiser, Nature). The human brain, he argues, is a complex system that not only tells time, but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological movement and enables "mental time travel"—simulations of future and past events. These functions are essential not only to our daily lives but to the evolution of the human race: without the ability to anticipate the future, mankind would never have crafted tools or invented agriculture. This virtuosic work of popular science will lead you to a revelation as strange as it is true: your brain is, at its core, a time machine.

Download or read book Understanding the Nature and Drivers of Brain Motion in a Behaving Mouse Model written by Christopher Garborg and published by . This book was released on 2024 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The brain moves within the skull during physical activity. However, the drivers of this motion and its physiological impacts are not well understood. Brain motion is a ubiquitous confound for human and animal imaging and may contribute to metabolic waste removal by causing displaced cerebrospinal fluid to flow through the subarachnoid space. Using high-speed, multi-plane two-photon microscopy, I captured the brain motion of mice relative to the skull as they were head-fixed and freely locomoted on a spherical treadmill. I found that brain motion was typically directed rostro-laterally and closely correlated to treadmill locomotion, while respiratory and cardiac pulsations were not correlated. In probing further, I discovered that abdominal contractions measured using implanted electromyography electrodes were even more strongly correlated to brain displacement within the skull. I also demonstrated that body manipulation of an anesthetized mouse can induce brain motion, with passive abdominal pressure application causing locomotion-like brain displacement. A segmentation analysis performed on a computerized tomography scan of a mouse provides evidence of a vertebral venous plexus that allows pressure from body cavities to be transferred to the interior of the spinal column. My results indicate that the abdomen may influence brain health through a mechanical coupling of intra-abdominal pressure changes and brain motion within the skull.

Download or read book The Spike written by Mark Humphries and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-03-09 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of a neural impulse and what it reveals about how our brains work We see the last cookie in the box and think, can I take that? We reach a hand out. In the 2.1 seconds that this impulse travels through our brain, billions of neurons communicate with one another, sending blips of voltage through our sensory and motor regions. Neuroscientists call these blips “spikes.” Spikes enable us to do everything: talk, eat, run, see, plan, and decide. In The Spike, Mark Humphries takes readers on the epic journey of a spike through a single, brief reaction. In vivid language, Humphries tells the story of what happens in our brain, what we know about spikes, and what we still have left to understand about them. Drawing on decades of research in neuroscience, Humphries explores how spikes are born, how they are transmitted, and how they lead us to action. He dives into previously unanswered mysteries: Why are most neurons silent? What causes neurons to fire spikes spontaneously, without input from other neurons or the outside world? Why do most spikes fail to reach any destination? Humphries presents a new vision of the brain, one where fundamental computations are carried out by spontaneous spikes that predict what will happen in the world, helping us to perceive, decide, and react quickly enough for our survival. Traversing neuroscience’s expansive terrain, The Spike follows a single electrical response to illuminate how our extraordinary brains work.