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Mapping The Mind (Paperback)

by Rita Carter (Author)

4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (1 Jun 2000)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0753810190
ISBN-13: 978-0753810194
Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 15.7 x 2.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 187,060 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The brain has been the last "terra incognita" of the body for medical exploration, largely because its matter is so different from that of the rest of the body. In 1986 the eminent evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith identified the problem of how the brain works as one of the two outstanding problems in biology (along with how a simple egg develops into a complex adult organism). Most of us have experienced some apparently inexplicable quirk of the mind, such as selective memory loss. Without obvious "hard wiring", anatomical "labels" or other guiding features, medical scientists have struggled to identify its parts, their functions and connections to the mind. Not that this has stopped curiosity; there is anthropological evidence dating back some thousands of years for crude but sometimes successful attempts to open the skull and get at the brain.

Rita Carter is an award-winning medical writer. (Medical Journalists' Association prize for outstanding contribution). In Mapping the Mind she explores the landscape of the brain and its connections with the mind. We should all be enthralled by this adventure for "it is giving us greater understanding about one of the oldest and most fundamental of mysteries--the relationship between the brain and mind". Carter introduces the subject with the historical background of anatomical discoveries and emerging theories of brain/mind connections. The famous tragic story of the 19th-century American railway worker, Phineas Gage, is here. An iron rod blasted through poor Phineas's skull. It entered below his left eye and exited through his skull roof, removing a large chunk of his forebrain. Amazingly, Phineas survived but his personality was radically changed, as was reported by his doctor, John Harlow.

In this fascinating and well-illustrated book, Rita Carter shows just how far we have travelled in our understanding since the mid-19th century world of Dr Harlow and gives a sense of how far we still have to travel. As she says: "The world within our heads is more marvellous than anything we can dream up". The last few decades have seen a revolution in non-invasive brain mapping thanks to the scientific miracles of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and associated technologies. It is now possible to see which part of the brain responds to specific stimulation in real time. As Rita Carter says: "The challenge of mapping this world...is currently engaging some of the finest scientists in the world". Excellent design and imagery, plus vignettes from famous scientists such as Francis Crick, a bibliography and an index make this a very useful book as well as a good read. --Douglas Palmer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Modern brain scans reveal our thoughts, memories, and moods, as clearly as an X-ray reveals our bones. A person's brain will light up on a scan as it registers a joke. This book examines how these findings can be used as a basis to explain aspects of human culture and behaviour.

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

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3 star:		(1)
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4.7 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating. Both easy reference and well explained., 7 Mar 2001

By A Customer

As accurate as a 16th century map of the world, this text brings together current research and more speculative theories about how the brain really works. It includes its development - a section I would like to see expanded, especially into adolescence. It gives explanations about how different chemicals enable it to work, which helps understanding of diseases such as Parkinson's, or Schizophrenia, and conditions such as dyslexia. It also discusses the perceptual differences which make each of us individual. I particularly like the images of infant brain development (not realising that the brain actually is still growing), the explanations of the different kinds of scans, and the chapters on vision and on memory. I use it in the school library (admittedly a grammar school), to show pupils how their brains grow, and that their decisions about what they spend their time doing will actually affect what kind of intelligence they will develop. It is well written, and easy to follow. The diagrams are very clear. It is well indexed.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight of a book; it widens and exercises the mind, 26 Dec 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mapping The Mind (Paperback)

I bought this book two years ago. It is the only non-fiction text I have not ben able to put down. The subject itself is fascinating, but Rita Carter shares her own excitement with us. The text is daring in that it deals with difficult concepts and makes no concessions to those of us who gave up science more years ago than we care to dmit on public but Rita Carter has the gift of making clear in elegant ptrecise language concepts and processes that are not onl;y utterly absorbing to learn about, but also raise questions about what it is to be conscious, what religious experince really entails etc. I have to stop here. Though I've read the book several times, I no longer have it to hand. I am a secondary schoolteacher(of English) and I took my copy in to school to read at break. To my complete surprise, every student who came in the room wanted to see it. It was handed round the class, discussed - bits of biology fitted in...etc. Of course, I lent it out. A book they were pleading to read! (Tempted to take out a mortgage and buy them each a copy!) So many are on the list to read it, I shall have to get another copy for myself. It is patently not a student's book, but the subject obviously appeals so much that they are prepared to make the effort. In this, I think the visual layout of the book helps - difficult text is broken up with diagrams, case-studies etc and the pages are colourful. The many diagrams are especially well done. This is a book no 15yr old should feel ashamed to pinch from his teacher - a guaranteed cert to get your son reading, I would think. But read ALL of it first - you'll never get it back!

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating insight into the brain, 18 Oct 2006

By	Susan Percy "www.synergee.co.uk" (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Rita Carter is a medical journalist who writes extremely well. Her ability to grasp and communicate the most fascinating and intriguing aspects of the human brain brings her subject to life. Rita uses case studies of real people that are easy and fun to read, while at the same time presenting a thorough explanation of the scientific information and terms.

A couple of gems:
- In the 1930s-1940s, Egas Moniz pioneered the brain operation known as the leucotomy (which later evolved into the more radical lobotomy) to relieve symptons such as depression, schizophrenia and mania. Post-op, patients became quiet and friendly. However, it didn't always cure aggression: Moniz's career was brought to an abrupt end when he was shot by one of his own lobotomized patients.
- Alexithymia is a condition where a person feels emotion but cannot express it through facial expressions and voice tone. People who have this condition might say, in quite a neutral tone: "I am very angry." Then, aware that the statement has some short-coming, they might add: "and I mean it".

I run courses about thinking skills for business (e.g. Mind Mapping, memory and speed-reading) and have found that this book gives me excellent background knowledge to back-up what I teach. I use stories and snippets of information from the book to help to emphasise what I am teaching. A great book if you are interested in knowing more about the human brain.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb - please write an up-to-date version
This still seems to me to remain by far the best way into catching up with current understanding on the brain - except that time has moved on (first published 1998); I suspect... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Hector

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes the Brain come to life
Rita Carter has written an excellent book that is clear, full of information and extremely readable. Read more

Published on 23 April 2007 by D. Tarlow

5.0 out of 5 stars describes whats really going on
This book cuts through the convoluted theories about our behaviour and by measuring reactions to circumstances with brain scans gives us a clue to what really makes us tick.. Read more

Published on 16 Jan 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars A deeply ambitious book that needed to be written.
As I realised what the book was about I felt exhilerated. Finally there was a predominantly visual representation of how the mind works drawing from the slew of imaging... Read more

Published on 4 April 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating and easy to understand
At first I thought this would be another `Brief History of Time' - a scientific book that everyone buys but many fail to finish. Read more

Published on 10 Mar 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best book ever written on the brain.
The classic problem with books written about the brain is the immense complexity of the subject. Up until Mapping the Mind, the best that readers could hope for was a puzzling... Read more

Published on 22 Jan 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, pretty but a little superficial
Clear explanations, very good diagrams but ultimately a little shallow.

Published on 21 Jan 1999

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