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Review
"The Pleasure Center takes us on an illuminating journey into a crucial essence of human experience. It is a superb account and a lot of fun to read. This lively book captures the best scientific understanding of what pleasure is and how brains create it. Kringelbach is himself a prominent neuroscientist and is the rare brilliant expert who can translate laboratory discoveries into everyday life. He opens up the topic, from the latest findings on human feelings caused by stimulating an electrode deep inside an awake brain, to classic studies of psychology, evolution and neuroscience. This book is sure to inform and delight."--Kent Berridge, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
"In this highly accessible survey, Morten Kringelbach describes the brain's main emotional cogwheels, and explains how pleasures and pains--sometimes merely anticipated or imagined--shape our mental decisions. From the delights of chocolate to the depths of depression, this broad, fast-paced book should fascinate all readers interested in the mysteries of the emotional brain."--Stanislas Dehaene, Professor of Experimental Cognitive Psychology, College de France
"Morten Kringelbach is both a talented journalist and neuroscientist. His interests move effortlessly between philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and the brain sciences. In The Pleasure Center, an eclectic range of ideas and science introduce the reader to the excitement in the neuroscience community about the revelations of the brain systems' secrets underpinning pleasure, desire, and ultimately happiness, or the lack of it."--Sue Iversen, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Oxford University
"Despite its catchy title, this book is not a hedonistic celebration but a convincing case for the idea that, far from being reasons antithesis, emotional experiences of pleasure and pain are crucial to learning, making up the currency for our decisions and actions... Kringelbach manages an informative and entertai
Product Description
Many people believe that pleasure and desire are obstacles to reasonable and intelligent behavior. In The Pleasure Center, Morten Kringelbach reveals that what we desire, what pleases us--in fact, our most base, animalistic tendencies--are actually very important sources of information. They motivate us for a good reason. And understanding that reason, taking that reason into account, and harnessing and directing that reason, can make us much more rational and effective people. In exploring the many facets of pleasure, desire and emotion, Kringelbach takes us through the whole spectrum of human experience, such as how emotion fuels our interest in things, allowing us to pay attention and learn. He investigates the reward systems of the brain and sheds light on some of the most interesting new discoveries about pleasure and desire. Kringelbach concludes that if we understand and accept how pleasure and desire arise in the complex interaction between the brain's activity and our own experiences, we can discover what helps us enjoy life, enabling us to make better decisions and, ultimately, lead happier lives.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had high hopes of this book. I was hoping to find descriptions of mechanisms linking pleasure, pain, motivation and emotion. In short, to find some insights into why we do what we do. Instead, I found plenty of descriptions of the 'regions of the brain' variety which are about as insightful as knowing that the engine gets warm when you drive. I found long segments that seemed to have no relation to the subject matter at all such as: stuttering, dyslexia or a history of the prohibitions against marijuana. Many of the the pieces tail off without any conclusion except that, so far, science has not reached one. The 'happiness lessons' seem often to have no genesis in the preceeding chapter. I was swayed by the comments on the jacket cover ("superb account", "fun to read", "highly accessible" etc...) and was expecting something like Jonathan Haidt's 'Happiness Hypothesis' but I wish I had given more credence to the negative review on amazon.com and not given this book the benefit of the doubt.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book has definately been one of my reading highlights of the year! Pure pleasure! Kringelbach is able to make the unexplainable explainable. VERY recommendable indeed. And the kind of book you'll want to read more than once!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
The Pleasure Center
2 May 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am always interested in anything to do with the brain.From this book I am learning how pleasure and pain shape our mental decisions.It is a book which can be used for reference purposes as well as good bedside reading.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Very informative!
1 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Evolutionary psychology has not much literature on the nature of emotions. This book is a well-researced and well-written. Strongly recommended.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
poor writing and poor science
14 April 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The reviewer who gave a 1-star rating (profoundly poor writing) gives a concise synopsis. Shoddy writing and poor discipline. It's OK and expected to inject opinions, some very speculative, in science books targeted at a lay audience, but the book has numerous scientific inaccuracies which is a no-no. Most problematic: the book contains little substantive information on its stated subject matter -- the pleasure center. A few (mostly forced) sentences are added at the end of each chapter to try to drag in some aspect of pleasure. Seems to indicate the author knew what shoddy output he was producing, but did it anyway. Anyone who reviews his research results might be wise to do so extra-extra carefully since poor workmanship and low standards are not easily compartmentalized.
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