Discovering the Brain
Discovering the Brain

Author: National Academy of Sciences

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1992-01-01

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 0309045290

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The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

The Cambridge Handbook of the Neuroscience of Creativity
The Cambridge Handbook of the Neuroscience of Creativity

Author: Rex E. Jung

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2018-01-25

Total Pages: 594

ISBN-13: 1108340806

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Historically, the brain bases of creativity have been of great interest to scholars and the public alike. However, recent technological innovations in the neurosciences, coupled with theoretical and methodological advances in creativity assessment, have enabled humans to gain unprecedented insights into the contributions of the brain to creative thought. This unique volume brings together contributions by the very best scholars to offer a comprehensive overview of cutting edge research on this important and fascinating topic. The chapters discuss creativity's relationship with intelligence, motivation, psychopathology and pharmacology, as well as the contributions of general psychological processes to creativity, such as attention, memory, imagination, and language. This book also includes specific and novel approaches to understanding creativity involving musicians, polymaths, animal models, and psychedelic experiences. The chapters are meant to give the reader a solid grasp of the diversity of approaches currently at play in this active and rapidly growing field of inquiry.

Amobarbital Effects and Lateralized Brain Function
Amobarbital Effects and Lateralized Brain Function

Author: David W. Loring

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 1461228743

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The intracarotid amobarbital (or Amytal) procedure is commonly referred to as the Wada test in tribute to Juhn Wada, the physician who devised the technique and performed the fIrst basic animal research and clinical studies with this method. Wada testing has become an integral part of the pre operative evaluation for epilepsy surgery. Interestingly, however, Wada initially developed this method as a technique to assess language dominance in psychiatric patients in order that electroconvulsant therapy could be applied unilaterally to the non-dominant hemisphere. Epilepsy surgery has matured as a viable treatment for intractable seizures and is no longer confmed to a few major universities and medical institutes. Yet, as is increasingly clear by examining the surveys of approaches used by epilepsy surgery centers (e.g., Rausch, 1987; Snyder, Novelly, & Harris, 1990), there is not only great heterogeneity in the methods used during Wada testing to assess language and memory functions, but there also seems to be a lack of consensus regarding the theoretical assumptions, and perhaps, even the goals of this procedure.

The Master and His Emissary
The Master and His Emissary

Author: Iain McGilchrist

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2019-03-26

Total Pages: 615

ISBN-13: 0300245920

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A new edition of the bestselling classic – published with a special introduction to mark its 10th anniversary This pioneering account sets out to understand the structure of the human brain – the place where mind meets matter. Until recently, the left hemisphere of our brain has been seen as the ‘rational’ side, the superior partner to the right. But is this distinction true? Drawing on a vast body of experimental research, Iain McGilchrist argues while our left brain makes for a wonderful servant, it is a very poor master. As he shows, it is the right side which is the more reliable and insightful. Without it, our world would be mechanistic – stripped of depth, colour and value.

Bilingual Language Development: The Role of Dominance
Bilingual Language Development: The Role of Dominance

Author: Cornelia Hamann

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2019-09-20

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 2889459888

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It has long been established that bilingual speakers are rarely balanced in their languages so that one language is dominant. The contributions to the Research Topic “Bilingual Language Development: The Role of Dominance” focus on the potential effects of language dominance on the competence and processing of bilinguals, covering a large variety of language combinations and domains. Important aspects of such work are the interplay of L1-maintenance/attrition and possible L2-dominance, the direction of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) or code-mixing, as well as the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development, each addressed in several contributions. However, such research presupposes a definition of dominance, which is far from being settled. This gives rise to considerable differences in the operationalization of the concept across studies. The studies in this Research Topic present a multifaceted picture of the role of language dominance for L1-maintenance/attrition, L2-development and CLI. Though a unified story cannot emerge for such a complex subject, interesting new venues are explored including the impact of dominance shift during L1-re-exposure, comparisons of different types of bilingual groups, or operationalization of dominance through experiential measures. The variety of approaches and results is in part owed to the many language combinations studied and the fact that bilingual children, adults and atypical speakers are investigated. This diversity constitutes the interest of this Research Topic.

Signal Processing in Auditory Neuroscience
Signal Processing in Auditory Neuroscience

Author: Yoichi Ando

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2018-05-22

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 0128159391

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Signal Processing in Auditory Neuroscience: Temporal and Spatial Features of Sound and Speech discusses how the physical attributes of different sounds manifest in neural signals and how to tease-apart their different influences. It includes EEG/MEG as additional variables to be considered when studying neural mechanisms of auditory processing in general, specifically in speech. - Focuses on signal processing in human auditory-neuroscience - Contains information that will be useful to researchers using a MEG/EEG recording of brain activity to study neural mechanisms of auditory processing and speech - Gives an important overview and methodological background for techniques that are useful in human auditory-neuroscience

Neurobiology of Decision-Making
Neurobiology of Decision-Making

Author: Antonio R. Damasio

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 3642799280

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Neuroscience has paid only little attention to decision-making for many years. Although no field of science has cohered around this topic, a variety of researchers in different areas of neuroscience ranging from cellular physiology to neuropsychology and computational neuroscience have been engaged in working on this issue. Thus, the time seemed to be ripe to bring these researchers together and discuss the state of the art of the neurobiology of decision-making in a broad forum. This book is a collection of contributions presented at that forum in Paris in October 1994 organized by the Fondation IPSEN.

Mild Cognitive Impairment: Influencing Factors and Intervention Effects
Mild Cognitive Impairment: Influencing Factors and Intervention Effects

Author: Ying Wang

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2024-07-16

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 2832551807

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As the aging population degree is deepened, cognitive impairment has become a globally recognized public health problem. As an intermediate state from normal cognition (NC) to Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has a highly variable cognitive trajectory, which contains three outcomes: 1) progression to AD and other types of dementia; 2) Maintaining stability; 3) Reversal to NC. Reversal of cognitive function can be achieved by taking positive and effective measures. Current studies mostly focus on factors affecting MCI to AD. World Health Organization and Alzheimer’s Disease International have also proposed relatively mature guidelines for risk factors. However, there are still some influencing factors that have not yet formed a unified conclusion. In addition, there are fewer studies and no consensus on the influencing factors for MCI to NC. Current forms of intervention for MCI are mainly non-pharmacological interventions, and there is a lack of randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and longer intervention periods to confirm the effect of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that influence the transition from MCI to AD or NC in aging adults, and to examine how the influencing factors make the cognitive function of aging adults with MCI deteriorate, improve or even reverse to NC and how are their reversal rates. This includes effective measures proven through pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention studies and their impact on reversal. Influence factors include but are not limited to demographic factors (age, socioeconomic status, education), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, nutrition, social participation), mental health (depression, loneliness), diseases (hypertension, diabetes, sleep disorders), biological markers (ß-amyloid, tau protein), and pharmacological factors (cholinesterase inhibitor, Aß monoclonal antibodies, drugs to rebalance the gut flora), etc., and submission of research results based on intervention trials is encouraged.