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Product Description
Review
'O'Shea writes with real enthusiasm.' (The Guardian )
The Guardian
"O'Shea writes with real enthusiasm."
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Think for a few moments about a very special machine, your brain - an organ of just 1.2 kg, containing one hundred billion nerve cells, none of which alone has any idea who or what you are. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Think for a few moments about a very special machine, your brain - an organ of just 1.2 kg, containing one hundred billion nerve cells, none of which alone has any idea who or what you are. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"...after all, the brain is stupendously complicated." O'Shea breaks up his Introduction into chapters on the history of brain studies, the workings of an individual neuron, the brain as a whole (each region's functions), sense and perception, memory creation and, finally, AI and bionics. Despite some parts getting a bit down and dirty with those damn `facts of the matter', O'Shea manages to write a pretty engaging book, as a whole.
Whilst some sentences, like:
"Ionotropic receptors mediate a direct and rapid coupling between neurotransmitter binding and the generation of a brief electrical signal in the post-synaptic neuron",
for example, can make simple fools like me say `eep', I say to you DON'T WORRY, FOOLS!, they are few and far between and happily compensated for with gems such as:
"Astonishingly, when I saw this demonstrated recently, about half the audience completely failed to notice the gorilla."
And again:
"One of the neurons responded when seven quite different pictures of the same actress, Jennifer Aniston, were shown; yet in an extraordinary display of selectivity and discrimination the same neuron did not respond to pictures of Jennifer with her then husband Brad Pitt."
Thankfully, O'Shea litters the book with just such little hooks. The letter-jumbling above is one example, the best though are the web-links like the `invisible gorilla' (unbelievable) and the McGurk effect. Pick them up as you read and they're like helpful extras which break up the prose and make it all a lot more like fun. I get the impression this book could have been soooooo boring in the wrong hands, but the man did good. If you're curious about the brain, this is a definite yes.
Whilst some sentences, like:
"Ionotropic receptors mediate a direct and rapid coupling between neurotransmitter binding and the generation of a brief electrical signal in the post-synaptic neuron",
for example, can make simple fools like me say `eep', I say to you DON'T WORRY, FOOLS!, they are few and far between and happily compensated for with gems such as:
"Astonishingly, when I saw this demonstrated recently, about half the audience completely failed to notice the gorilla."
And again:
"One of the neurons responded when seven quite different pictures of the same actress, Jennifer Aniston, were shown; yet in an extraordinary display of selectivity and discrimination the same neuron did not respond to pictures of Jennifer with her then husband Brad Pitt."
Thankfully, O'Shea litters the book with just such little hooks. The letter-jumbling above is one example, the best though are the web-links like the `invisible gorilla' (unbelievable) and the McGurk effect. Pick them up as you read and they're like helpful extras which break up the prose and make it all a lot more like fun. I get the impression this book could have been soooooo boring in the wrong hands, but the man did good. If you're curious about the brain, this is a definite yes.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
O'Shea's book provides a very broad overview of the structure and function of the most complex object known to Man. The biochemical and physical interactions of neurons, the formation of memory, brain-machine interaction, and a range of other topics, are all touched upon in a readable and informative manner, pitched at the level of an intelligent beginner, and requiring just an elementary grasp of physics and chemistry. The book has one significant shortcoming: Most of the illustrations are copied from other publications, and are a poor match with the text. For example, on page 45 there is a diagram illustrating avoidance behaviour in unicellular animals, a simple concept not requiring a diagram, let alone one that occupies almost an entire page and contains labels that are not referenced in the text. Yet when we come to the discussion of the large-scale structure of the human brain, in Chapter 4, which cries out for a detailed diagram, there is none. I was reduced to finding one online, to refer to as I read the text. I agonized long and hard about whether to deduct a star, because I do recommend this book, but in the end I decided I had to. I hope OUP reissue it with more relevant illustrations.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the best books in the VSI series, and I've read well over thirty by now. It gives a very good introduction to the basic neuroanatomy of the brain, and explains many important brain functions. The book is intended for laypeople, but even those (like me) who are familiar with the subject can benefit from reading it. Oftentimes neuroscience textbook overwhelm with details, and it is sometimes hard to see the forest from the trees. This book provides a good bird's eye perspective on the field, and its many references and recommended books make it a valuable reference. Very importantly, the book is up to date in some of the more recent discoveries, including some current controversies like grandma neuron, the idea that the brain has a neuron devoted just for recognizing each family member.
A good, well written and well organized book. I highly recommend it.
A good, well written and well organized book. I highly recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Understanding the Organ Which Allows You to Understand
Professor O'Shea writes with great enthusiasm and zeal, introducing the reader to the topic in the first two chapters to some interesting ideas that come with thinking about the... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2010 by H.P.J.M.
the brain
a very good introduction in terms of getting you interested and it is fairly easy to understand. for someone with no previous knowledge of any biology it might seem a bit heavy but... Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2008 by the waf
The Brain and Me!
Professor Michael O'Shea implies that the brain does the thinking!
It ain't so.
I, the PERSON, use the brain. The question is 'who am I'? Read more
It ain't so.
I, the PERSON, use the brain. The question is 'who am I'? Read more
Published on 2 July 2006 by MICHAEL O'SHEA
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