BEST OF THE BRAIN FROM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN --- MIND, MATTER,
AND TOMORROW'S BRAIN edited by Floyd E. Bloom. Dana Press, 2007
SELECTED OUTLINE OF BOOK'S FACTS & IDEAS
    INTRODUCTION by Floyd E. Bloom (1-5)

      The study of the human brain and its disease remains one of the greatest scientific and philosophical challenges ever undertaken. The knowledge we have collected has become so plentiful and significant that it tends to intimidate novices and tempt the unaware into believing that the most important findings are behind us. In fact, the past accomplishments now allow us to pose better and still more interesting questions. (1)

      The discoveries that defined the 1990s — designated the "Decade of the Brain" by the Library of Congress and the National Institute of Mental Health — have given rise to findings in the 21st Century that span academic disciplines and have far-reaching implications. The articles in this book reflect the promise, excitement and intrigue in many areas since the official end of the Decade of the Brain. (1)

      This book begins with a section that reveals how researchers on the frontiers of brain science have come to focus on the biological mechanisms underling mental activity in normal, experimental or clinical conditions. The articles under the heading "MIND" deal with behavior, personality, and cognition. They refer to the "higher brain functions." (1)

      The second and largest part of the book has the heading "MATTER." This is because diseases of the brain often reveal the holes in our knowledge of the healthy brain. The illnesses that remain untreatable hold the greatest challenge for researchers. The articles in this section explain how scientists are reviewing the origins of the thought and emotional problems that characterize schizophrenia and depression. Also, they explain how the mental activities of the brain emerge from the brain's underlying biological organization. (1-2)

      "The pioneers of brain research named the components of the nervous system for both their appearance and their location. For example, the names of the major parts of the brain resulted from creative interpretations by early dissectors of the brain, attributing names to brain segments based on their appearances in the freshly dissected state --- "hippocampus" (shaped like the sea horse) or "amygdala" (shaped like the almond), "cerebrum" (the main brain) and "cerebellum" (the small brain). (3)

      Although the brain is a single, unique organ, it is more properly conceptualized as an assembly of interrelated neural systems that regulate their own and each other's activity in a dynamic, complex fashion largely through a chemical process among cells called "neurotransmission." The brain and spinal cord together constitute the central nervous system, or "CNS." The two cerebral hemispheres ["left brain" and "right brain"] make up the largest division of the brain. (3)

      Regions of the cortex are classified in several ways. The first category comprises the types of information processed, such as "sensory" (somatosensory, visual, auditory, and olfactory); "motor" (walking, reaching, writing); or "associational" (considered to underlie higher "cortical functions" such as abstract thought, memory, and consciousness). A second category turns to anatomical position in the brain, [such as] (frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital). And a third focuses on the geometrical relationships between the size, shape, and density of neurons in the major cortical layers. (3-4)

    PART 1 — MIND (7-75)

      1) UNLEASHING CREATIVITY by Ulrich Kraft (9-19)

        Moments of brilliance arise from complex cognitive processes. Piece by piece, researchers are uncovering the secrets of creative thinking. (9)

        [1] It's not intellect (12-13)

          Insert = Steps to a creative mind-set (13)

            (1) Wonderment = Try to retain a spirit of discovery, a childlike curiosity about the world. Questions] understandings that others consider obvious.

            (2) Motivation = As soon as a spark of interest arises in something, follow it!

            (3) Intellectual courage = Strive to think outside accepted principles and habitual perspectives such as "We've always done it that way."

            (4) Relaxation = Take the time to daydream and ponder, because that is often when the best ideas arise. Look for ways to relax and consciously put them into practice.

        Today, creativity experts look for certain characteristics that people who excel at divergent thinking seem to exhibit, such as the following six examples:

          (1) Ideational fluency = The number of ideas, sentences and associatioins a person can think of when presented with a word.

          (2) Variety and flexibility =

          (3) Originality =

          (4) Elaboration =

          (5) Problem sensitivity =

          (6) Redefinition = The capacity to view a known problem in a completely different way.

        [2] Left or right? (13-15)

        [3] Creativity unleashed (15-17)

        [4] Voyage of discovery (17-18)

        [5] The "bathtub principle" (18-19)

          Letting go to gain inspiration may be difficult. One way is to simply get away from the problem for a while. Creativity does not prosper under pressure.

      2) STIMULATING THE BRAIN by Mark S. George (20-34)

        Activating the brain's circuitry with pulsed magnetic fields may help ease depression, enhance cognition, even fight fatigue.

        [1] The electric brain (22)

        [2] Magnetic excitation (22-24)

        [3] Field learning (24-28)

        [4] What excites what (28-32)

        [5] Magnet therapy (32-33)

        References = More to explore (33-34)

        Author Biography = Mark S. George (34)

      3) FREUD RETURNS by Mark Solms (35-46)

        Neuroscientists are finding that their biological descriptions of the brain may fit together best when integrated by psychological theories that Freud sketched a century ago.

        [1] Unconscious motivation (37)

        [2] Repression vindicated (37-39)

        [3] The pleasure principle (39-40)

        [4] Animal within (40-42)

        [5] Dreams have meaning (42-43)

        [6] Finishing the job (43-46)

        Insert = Freud returns? Like a bad dream — counterpoint by J. Allan Hobson (44-45)

        References = More to explore (46)

        Author Biography = Mark Solms (46)

      4) THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF THE SELF by Carl Zimmer (47-57)

        Biologists are beginning to tease out how the brain gives rise to a constant sense of being oneself.

        [1] The self is special (47-49)

        [2] Clues from healthy brains (49-51)

        [3] A common denominator (51-54)

        [4] The evolving self (54-55)

        [5] Insights into Alzheimer's (56-57)

        References = More to explore (57)

        Author Biography = Carl Zimmer (57)

      5) HOW THE BRAIN CREATES THE MIND by Antonio R. Damasio (58-67)

        We have long wondered how the "conscious mind" comes to be. Greater understanding of brain function ought to lead to an eventual solution.

        [1] Evaluating the difficulties (60-62)

        [2] Reasons for optimism (62-64)

        [3] Confronting the self (64-66)

        [4] The future (66-67)

        References = More to explore (67)

        Author Biography = Antonio R. Damasio (67)

      6) THE NEW SCIENCE OF MIND by Eric R Kandel (68-75)

        A forecast of the major problems scientists need to solve.

        [1] Mind is brain (69-70)

        [2] A systems approach (70-71)

        [3] Unconscious mechanisms (71-72)

        [4] Mental states are brain states (72-73)

        [5] Of flies and men (73-74)

        [6] Passion and bold discoveries (74-75)

        References = More to explore (75)

        Author Biography = Eric R. Kandel (75)

    PART 2 — MATTER (77-176)

      7) VISION — A window on consciousness by Nikos K. Logothetis (79-89)

        In their search for the mind, scientists are focusing on visual perception — how we interpret what we see.

        [1] Now you see it... (81-82)

        [2] In the mind's eye (82-87)

          Insert = How to experience "binocular rivalry" (82)

        [3] A perceptual puzzle (87-89)

        References = More to explore (89)

        Author Biography = Nikos K. Logothetis (89)

      8) RETHINKING THE "LESSER BRAIN" by James M. Bower and Lawrence M. Parsons (90-101)

        Long thought to be solely the brain's coordinator of body movement, the cerebellum is now known to be active during a wide variety of cognitive and perceptual activities.

          Insert = Larger than you'd think (91)

        [1] More than movement (93-95)

          Insert #1 = Overview = the cerebellum (93)

          Insert #2 = How the cerebellum is wired (94-95)

        [2] Touching, feeling (95-96)

        [3] A sensory coordinator (96-97)

        [4] Life without a cerebellum (97-101)

          Insert = Passive Sensing/Active Sensory comparison (98-99)

        References = More to explore (101)

        Author Biography = James M. Bower and Lawrence M. Parsons

      9) SIGN LANGUAGE IN THE BRAIN by Gregory Hickok, Ursula Bellugi, and Edward S. Klima (102-113)

        How does the human brain process language? New studies of deaf signers hint at an answer.

        [1] The signs of language (103-108)

          Insert = Where language lives (104)

          Insert = The building blocks of sign language (106-107)

        [2] The story gets complicated (108-111)

        [3] Lessons from sign language (111-112)

        References = More to explore (112-113)

        Author Biography = Gregory Hickok, Ursula Bellugi, and Edward S. Klima (113)

      10) HUNTING FOR ANSWERS by Juergen Andrich and Joerg T. Epplen (114-120)

        A single mutation casts the death sentence of Huntington's disease. Researchers are pinning down how that mutation ruins neurons — knowledge that may suggest therapies.

        [1] Lethal knowledge (115-116)

        [2] Inexorable progression (116-117)

        [3] Communication breakdown (117-118)

          Insert = Lethal Repeats (118)

        [4] Search for a cure (119-120)

        References = More to explore (120)

        Author Biographies = Juergen Andrich and Joerg T. Epplen (120)

      11) BRAIN, REPAIR YOURSELF by Fred H. Gage (121-131)

        How do you fix a "broken brain"? The answers may literally lie within our heads. The same approaches might also boost the power of an already healthy brain.

        [1] Newborn nerve cells (122-125)

          Insert #1 = Overview = New adult nerve cells (122)

          Insert #2 = How the brain makes new neurons (123)

          Insert #3 = Stem cells as therapies (124)

        [2] Where the action is (125-127)

        [3] Do-it-yourself brain (127-128)

        [4] A brain workout (128-130)

          Insert = Selected neural growth factors under development (130-131)

        References = More to explore (130-131)

        Author Biography = Fred H. Gage (131)

      12) DIAGNOSING DISORDERS by Steven E. Hyman (132-141)

        Psychiatric illnesses are often hard to recognize, but genetic testing and neuroimaging could someday be used to improve detection.

          Insert = Overview = Improving diagnosis (133)

        [1] History of diagnosis (133-135)

        [2] The genetics of disorder (135-137)

        [3] Imaging the brain (137-141)

          Insert #1 = Telltale signs in the brain (138)

          Insert #2 = The spectrum of psychiatric illness (139)

        References = More to explore (141)

        Author Biography = Steven E. Hyman

      13) THE ADDICTED BRAIN by Eric J. Nestler and Robert C. Malenka (142-155)

        Drug abuse produces long-term changes in the reward circuitry of the brain. Knowledge of the cellular and molecular details of these adaptations could led to new treatments for the compulsive behaviors that underlie addiction.

          Insert #1 = Overview — Evolution of addiction (143)

          Insert #2 = Diagram — The brain under the influence (144-145)

        [1] Drugs to die for (143-146)

        [2] Rheostat of reward (146-147)

        [3] An addiction is born (147-150)

          Insert = Insights from imaging (148-149)

        [4] Road to relapse (150-151)

        [5] Learning addiction (151-153)

          Insert = Diagram — Different drugs, same ultimate effect (152-153)

        [6] A common cur? (154-155)

        References = More to explore (155)

        Author Biography (155)

      14) DECODING SCHIZOPHRENIA by Daniel C. Javitt and Joseph T. Coyle (156-168)

        A fuller understanding of signaling in the brains of people with this disorder offers new hope for improved therapy.

          Insert = Overview — Schizophrenia (157)

        [1] Multiple symptoms (157-158)

        [2] Beyond dopamine (158-162)

          Insert #1 = The brain in schizophrenia (160)

          Insert #2 = Different neurotransmitters, same results (161)

        [3] The "angel dust" connection (162-165)

          Insert #1 = Drug classes in development (163)

          Insert #2 = Steep social costs (164)

        [4] New treatment possibilities (165-166)

        [5] Many avenues of attack (166-168)

        References = More to explore (168)

        Author Biography = Daniel C. Javitt and Joseph T. Coyle

      15) TURNING OFF DEPRESSION by David Dobbs (169-176)

        Helen Mayberg may have found the switch that lifts depression — and shined a light on the real link between thought and emotion.

        [1] The grail — Area 25 (170-172)

        [2] Stumped (172-173)

        [3] Instant relief (173-175)

        [4] Figuring out why (175-176)

        References = More to explore (176)

        Author Biography = David Dobbs (176)

    PART 3 — TOMORROW'S BRAIN (177-246)

      16) TREATING DEPRESSION — Pills or talk? by Steven D. Hollon, Michael E. Thase, and John C. Markowitz (179-187)

        Medication has reduced depression for decades, but newer forms of psychotherapy are proving their worth.

        [1] Remission or relapse (180-184)

          Insert #1 = The antidepressants (182)

          Insert #2 = Psychotherapies for depression (183)

        [2] Which way to turn (184-185)

        [3] Continuing the fight (185-187)

        References = More to explore (187)

        Author Biographies = Steven D. Hollon, Michael E. Thase, and John C. Markowitz

      17) THE COMING MERGING OF MIND AND MACHINE by Ray Kurzweil (188-196)

        [1] How life and technology evolve (189-191)

        [2] Why returns accelerate (191)

        [3] Programming intelligence (191-192)

        [4] Fantastic voyage (192-194)

        [5] Will it be conscious? (194-196)

        Author Biography = Ray Kurzweil (196)

      18) CONTROLLING ROBOTS WITH THE MIND by Miguel A L. Nicolelis and John K. Chapin (197-212)

        People with nerve or limb injuries may one day be able to command wheelchairs, prosthetics, and even paralyzed arms and legs by "thinking them through" the motions.

        [1] From theory to practice (199-201)

        Insert = Overview — Brain interfaces (200)

        [2] A rat's brain controls a lever (201-202)

        [3] A monkey's brain controls a robot arm (202-207)

          Insert #1 = Belle's 600-mile reach (204-205)

          Insert #2 = A vision of the future (206)

        [4] Exploiting sensory feedback (207-210)

        Insert = Stopping seizures (209)

        [5] Reality check (210-211)

        References = More to explore (211-212)

        Author Biographies = Miguel A. L. Nicolelis and John K. Chapin (212)

      19) THINKING OUT LOUD by Nicola Neumann and Niels Birbaumer (213-219)

        Though-deciphering systems are enabling paralyzed people to communicate — and someday may let them control wheelchairs, prosthetics, and even their own muscles.

        [1] Reading signals (213-215)

        [2] Live chat (215-217)

        [3] Listening in (217-219)

        References = More to explore (219)

        Author Biographies = Nicola Neumann and Niels Birbaumer (219)

      20) NEUROMORPHIC MICROCHIPS by Kwabena Boahen (220-232)

        Compact, efficient electronics based on the brain's neural system could yield implantable silicon retinas to restore vision, as well as robotic eyes and other smart sensors.

        Insert = Overview — Inspired by nature (222)

        1] Neuromorphing the retina (222-225)

          Insert = Neuromorphic electronics research groups (223)

        [2] Metamorphing neural connections (225-229)

          Insert = Retinal neurons and neuromorphic vision chips (226-227)

        [3] Cortical maps (229-231)

        [4] Building brains in silicon (231-232)

        References = More to explore (232)

        Author Biography = Kwabena Boahen (232)

      21) THE QUEST FOR A SMART PILL by Stephen S. Hall (233-246)

        New drugs to improve memory and cognitive performance in impaired individuals are under intensive study. Their possible use in healthy people already triggers debate.

          Insert = Overview — A brave new pharmacology (234)

        [1] The caffeine caveat (236-239)

          Insert = How some memory drugs would work (239-240)

        [2] A halo of powder (240-242)

          Insert = State of the art for smart (241)

        [3] Improving memory (242-245)

        References = More to explore (245-246)

        Author Biography = Stephen S. Hall (246)

    INDEX (247-261)

    OTHER DANA PRESS BOOKS AND PERIODICALS [www.dana.org/books/press] (263-268)

    CREDITS (269-270)
BOOK'S DESCRIPTION & REVIEWS
    PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW = Well written and accessible to a general audience, these 21 articles from Scientific American since 1999 provide insight into our current state of knowledge about the human brain. Floyd, past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former editor of its flagship journal, Science, is ideal to make this selection. In the first section, "Mind," about high-level brain functions, Nobel laureate Eric Kandel argues that we are now poised to turn "mind" from a philosophical concept into a scientific one.

    The next section, "Matter," deals primarily with disorders of the brain and how, for example, researchers hope to devise effective treatments and better understand the healthy brain. The final section, "Tomorrow's Brain," envisions a time when prosthetic devises might be controlled by thought alone, when artificial retinas are commonplace and when humans and machines merge into what could only be described as a new entity a future that may not be so far off. Miguel Nicoleli and John Chapin show how Belle, an owl monkey, working with a microwire array implanted on the surface of her brain, moves an artificial arm merely by thinking of making it move. There's much to stimulate the brain of any reader. 30 color illus. (June) Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

    LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = Starred Review. Through the 1990s, neuroscience underwent a veritable revolution, thanks to the improved ability of health professionals to diagnose and treat ailments with more accuracy using advanced imaging techniques. Bloom, chair emeritus of the Department of Neuropharmacology at the Scripps Research Institute and a former editor of the journal Science, has compiled a remarkable volume of essays culled from the pages of Scientific American and Scientific American Mind that offer an outstanding overview of recent and emerging developments in the field since 1999.

    The first section, "Mind," explores consciousness via a series of essays that examine the human brain and creativity, the current outlook on Freudian theories, and how the brain gives rise to the human self. "Matter," the second section, investigates the specifics of the brain's biology and neurology, and includes articles on neuroplasticity as well as the neurobiology of schizophrenia, depression, and addiction. The final section, "Tomorrow's Brain," addresses upcoming puzzles and challenges in brain research. Highly recommended for all public and undergraduate college libraries. Candice Kail, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed
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