The Brain for Dummies

[chinmi04]

Can anyone recommend a book that describes how the brain works for
people who don't study medicine? I know the brain is still pretty much
a mystery, but there must be something out there?

I'm not looking for an 'Improve your brain in 10 days' type of book.
Could I get through a university textbook with a little effort?

I'm especially interested in the workings of memory..

[karnautrahl]

I can answer this a little.

The book I bought first was Neuroscience by Bear, Connders and
Paradiso. It's clear enough that a decent GCSE in science level can
follow the first few chapters without trouble, varied enough that you
can dip into the areas that interest you, yet I will admit there is
enough in depth stuff that many readers may skip over just to get an
overall view. It covers anatomy, mechanisms, chemistry, the senses and
some behavioural stuff. Mine is the 3rd edition.

However it's not a popular science book by any means so it's not quite
as entertaining though it does have LOTS of great illustrations and
inset boxes about various items of interest.

I've recently acquired Kandels' book, In Search of Memory which is
very readable-his story, the story of other discoverers all interwoven
with the science. Very easy to get into.
The Users Guide to the Brain by John J Ratney is another recommended
read, it covers a fair bit of ground in a popular science format. A
decent writer who communicates enough that will get you following up
on various topics for quite some time.

The Brain that Changes itself is immensely enjoyable and will get you
hooked on the notion of Neuroplasticity big time. I blame this book as
well as Paul's BrainWorkshop for setting me off on a personal study of
the brain that has gone on since the start of October. :-). It's not a
comprehensive view of the brain, simply a very vivid, entertaining
book, written case history style that demonstrates various aspects of
neuroplasticity and the implications these recent discoveries have on
the "old view" of brian injury and recovery.

My personal reading list right now (at least the books I've physically
bought, not the 40Gb neuroscience library I've acquired :) ) is the
following:-
----These are my text books-so I do them in daily small doses LOL----
Neuroscience 3rd Edition by Mark F Bear, Conners and Paradiso
The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory by Jerry W Rudy
Foundations of Biopsychology by Andrew Wickens (2nd Edition)
Chemistry for the Biosciences by Crowe Bradsaw and Monk (Very very
clear and understandable-I'm a layman and NEEDED this to get more into
some of the material).
Netters Concise Neuroanatomy :P <-This gets geeky if you aren't a med
student...however it's really detailed, beautifully drawn and just
covers immense details of structures.

More popular science and essay style books:
The Users Guide to the Brain-Ratney
In Search of Memory by Eric R Kandel
Phantoms in the Brain-Ramachandran (Just got this, so can't say
yet :) )
The Brain that Changes itself-Norman Doidge (Warning likely to inspire
a new career :P )
Hare Brain Tortoise Mind-Guy Claxton. This one is great guys-talks
about D-mode, deliberative thinking and the slow incubative intuitive
style of thinking
This is Your Brain on Music-It's ok, and has some interesting
anecdotes and concepts.

I've got a fair few more that I've bought over time, however the ones
above I've actually read or made a good start on so know something
about the contents :).

Any suggestions for others I'll listen to too :). My Amazon wish list
has a LOT of neuro books on it!

I'm intending to go to Uni myself in the next two years, but I don't
have A levels so I'm teaching myself LOL

[Sohail Siadatnejad]

Take a look at web site The Brain from Top to Bottom http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/ . It has three versions (beginner, intermediate and advanced) for everything it explains.

--Sohail

[biped]

I highly recommend _Mapping the Mind_, by Rita Carter:
http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Mind-Rita-Carter/dp/0520224612/

[Bruce]

Karnautrahl made reference to John Ratey but accidentally misspelled
his name. The book Karnautrahl recommends--and I totally agree--is A
User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four
Theaters of the Brain by John J. Ratey. Ratey is a physician, so he
has credibility. But he also writes in a very clear manner. You
should also read his Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise
and the Brain.

[astriaos]

-"The MIT Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences"
-"How the Mind Works" by Steven Pinker.

[chinmi04]

wow, apparently there is a lot out there :) thanks a lot! Will
definitely take a look at some of them!