The Beasts in Your Brain
The Beasts in Your Brain

Author: Katherine Speller

Publisher: Zest Books TM

Published: 2023-09-05

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 1728486068

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It can be hard to find the words to describe the icky feelings that seem to come from nowhere and sap all your joy and energy. You can tell that your brain just isn't pulling off the same tasks as others, and you're constantly bouncing between feeling nothing and feeling the weight of everything. It's hard enough to admit that you're struggling, but how do you even begin to navigate getting help when it feels like there's an enormous gap between you, your peers, and the adults in your life who keep saying they want to support you but just don't seem to get it? This is not your doctor's dry health pamphlet or a preachy self-care listicle. The Beasts in Your Brain is a guide and companion equally for you and your loved ones, here to provide that essential first dose of information, understanding, and validation about mental illness and how it affects the young people of today. This book knows how much harder things are for you and your generation, how out-of-touch much of the advice out there is (after all, how are you supposed to "just unplug" when more than half your social life is conducted online?), and how identity, circumstances, and stigma can affect your experiences. Though they might be scary or seem unstoppable, the beasts can be defeated. It will be hard work, but it is not work you will ever have to do alone. This book will be your first partner in your battle against the beasts, reminding you that there's always hope and humor to be found in openly talking about the realities of living with mental illness. Together with the support of your loved ones and the practical knowledge and tools you will learn in this book, you can win this fight.

This Is Your Brain On Parasites
This Is Your Brain On Parasites

Author: Kathleen McAuliffe

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2016-06-07

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 0544193229

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“Engrossing . . . [An] expedition through the hidden and sometimes horrifying microbial domain.” —The Wall Street Journal Parasites can live only inside another animal and, as Kathleen McAuliffe reveals, these tiny organisms have many evolutionary motives for manipulating the behavior of their hosts. With astonishing precision, parasites can coax rats to approach cats, spiders to transform the patterns of their webs, and fish to draw the attention of birds that then swoop down to feast on them. We humans are hardly immune to their influence. Organisms we pick up from our own pets are strongly suspected of changing our personality traits and contributing to recklessness and impulsivity—even suicide. Germs that cause colds and the flu may alter our behavior even before symptoms become apparent. Parasites influence our species on the cultural level, too. Drawing on a huge body of research, McAuliffe argues that our dread of contamination is an evolved defense against parasites. The horror and revulsion we are programmed to feel when we come in contact with people who appear diseased or dirty helped pave the way for civilization, but may also be the basis for major divisions in societies that persist to this day. This Is Your Brain on Parasites is both a journey into cutting-edge science and a revelatory examination of what it means to be human. “If you’ve ever doubted the power of microbes to shape society and offer us a grander view of life, read on and find yourself duly impressed.” —Bookforum “Fascinating—and full of the kind of factoids you can’t wait to share.” —Scientific American “Humorous, inspiring, and macabre, this is infectious reading in the tradition of giants like Robert S. Desowitz and Jared Diamond.” —Michael A. Huffman, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University

The Brain Book
The Brain Book

Author: Liam Drew

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-05-11

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 0744049385

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It's a wrinkly, spongy mass the size of a cauliflower that sits in our heads and controls everything we do! Welcome to the world of the brain... What is the brain made of? How does it work? Why do we need one at all? Discover the answers to these questions and much more in this fun, fact-packed introduction to the brain. Filled with colorful illustrations and bite-sized chunks of information, this book covers everything from the anatomy of the brain and nervous system to how information is collected and sent around the body. Other topics include how we learn, memory, thinking, emotions, animal brains, sleep, and even questions about the brain that are yet to be answered. With entertaining illustrated characters, clear diagrams, and fascinating photographs, children will love learning about their minds and this all-important organ. The Brain Book is an ideal introduction to the brain and nervous system. Perfect for budding young scientists, it is a great addition to any STEAM library.

The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex and the Brain
The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex and the Brain

Author: Judith Horstman

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-11-15

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1118109538

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Who do we love? Who loves us? And why? Is love really a mystery, or can neuroscience offer some answers to these age-old questions? In her third enthralling book about the brain, Judith Horstman takes us on a lively tour of our most important sex and love organ and the whole smorgasbord of our many kinds of love-from the bonding of parent and child to the passion of erotic love, the affectionate love of companionship, the role of animals in our lives, and the love of God. Drawing on the latest neuroscience, she explores why and how we are born to love-how we're hardwired to crave the companionship of others, and how very badly things can go without love. Among the findings: parental love makes our brain bigger, sex and orgasm make it healthier, social isolation makes it miserable-and although the craving for romantic love can be described as an addiction, friendship may actually be the most important loving relationship of your life. Based on recent studies and articles culled from the prestigious Scientific American and Scientific American Mind magazines, The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex, and the Brain offers a fascinating look at how the brain controls our loving relationships, most intimate moments, and our deep and basic need for connection.

The Nature of the Beast
The Nature of the Beast

Author: David J. Anderson

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2022-03-15

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1541674642

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A pioneering neuroscientist offers a new way of understanding how emotions drive behavior Does your dog get sad when you leave for the day? Does your cat purr because she loves you? Do bears attack when they’re angry? You can’t very well ask them. In fact, scientists haven’t been able to reach a consensus on whether animals even have emotions like humans do, let alone how to study them. Yet studies of animal emotion are critical for understanding human emotion and mental illness. In The Nature of the Beast, pioneering neuroscientist David J. Anderson describes a new approach to solving this problem. He and his colleagues have figured out how to study the brain activity of animals as they navigate real-life scenarios, like fleeing a predator or competing for a mate. His research has revolutionized what we know about animal fear and aggression. Here, he explains what studying emotions and related internal brain states in animals can teach us about human behavior, offering new insights into why isolation makes us more aggressive, how sex and violence connect, and whether there’s a link between aggression and mental illness. Full of fascinating stories, The Nature of the Beast reconceptualizes how the brain regulates emotions–and explains why we have them at all.

Revolutionary Brain
Revolutionary Brain

Author: Harold Jaffe

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 126

ISBN-13: 9781935738329

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In this timely collection of essays and "quasi-essays," acclaimed novelist and critic Harold Jaffe explores the intricate vicissitudes of millennial culture. Gesturing, in a philosophical shorthand, toward a kind of pop Armageddon, Revolutionary Brain is at once thesis, allegory, and surreal comedy, demonstrating just how far we, and the natural world we have debased, have fallen. Obsessed with technology, we are incapable of reconstructing ourselves. By way of Jaffe's elegant prose and perfect pitch, our collective disability is laid bare at the 11th hour. REVOLUTIONARY BRAIN is a powerful cry for a brave new aesthetics that turns towards, not away, from our tormented globe.

How to Be a Genius
How to Be a Genius

Author: DK

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2022-02-15

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 0744062969

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Use your eyes, ears, and imagination to explore your amazing mind and sharpen your wits. Do you want to calculate like Einstein, paint like Picasso, or compose like Mozart? Put your gray matter to the brain-training test and see how you measure up to some of the greatest thinkers in history. Tackle mind-boggling puzzles, games, and optical illusions and discover what makes your brain work: from why you smile to what is going on inside your head and what side of your brain does what. Learn about neurons, how memory works, and how to boost your creativity. How to Be a Genius makes a complex subject fun, accessible, and exciting, and is perfect for any child, whether they are intent on becoming a genius or just want to have fun with clever activities at home, on a journey, or in school.

The Domesticated Brain
The Domesticated Brain

Author: Bruce Hood

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0141974877

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What makes us social animals? Why do we behave the way we do? How does the brain influence our behaviour? The brain may have initially evolved to cope with a threatening world of beasts, limited food and adverse weather, but we now use it to navigate an equally unpredictable social landscape. In The Domesticated Brain, renowned psychologist Bruce Hood explores the relationship between the brain and social behaviour, looking for clues as to origins and operations of the mechanisms that keep us bound together. How do our brains enable us to live together, to raise children, and to learn and pass on information and culture? Combining social psychology with neuroscience, Hood provides an essential introduction to the hidden operations of the brain, and explores what makes us who we are.

Animal Knowledge Genius
Animal Knowledge Genius

Author: DK

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 0744055814

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Blow the minds of your friends and family with your animal knowledge. This brilliant nature quiz book is suited for hours of family fun! Do you know the difference between a great white shark and a giant manta ray? Can you spot the difference between a dung beetle and a tiger beetle? Challenge yourself and the family to this brain-busting nature challenge! In this exciting family activity book, you’ll find: • “Reference” spreads which introduce a topic and give all the essential info. • “Quiz” pages, packed with pictures to pore over, put your knowledge to the test. • “Test Yourself” panels across three levels of difficulty — starter, challenger and genius. • A fun fact with every image gives a clue. • Answers appear upside down on the page. This stunning visual encyclopedia of animal knowledge is packed with hundreds of fantastic facts. It’s an irresistibly interactive kids book that will have you challenging yourself and the family over and over again. This entertaining general knowledge book for kids will test your brainpower and challenge you to learn so much more. Can you complete all these levels of difficulty as the challenge gets harder? Packed with more than 60 topics across the animal world and eye-popping images, this animal activity book is excellent for brain training and makes learning way more fun. It’s perfect for children ages 9-12, or geniuses of all ages. Look out for more fun family quiz books in this series from DK. Put your general knowledge skills to the test and take on the Knowledge Genius! brain-busting challenge!

Pictures of the Mind
Pictures of the Mind

Author: Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald

Publisher: FT Press

Published: 2010-01-08

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 0137054483

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Neuroscientists once believed your brain was essentially "locked down" by adulthood. No new cells. No major changes. If you grew up depressed, angry, sad, aggressive, or nasty, you'd be that way for life. And, as you grew older, there'd be nowhere to go but down, as disease, age, or injury wiped out precious, irreplaceable brain cells. But over the past five, ten, twenty years, all that's changed. Using fMRI and PET scanning technology, neuroscientists can now look deep inside the human brain and they've discovered that it's amazingly flexible, resilient, and plastic. Pictures of the Mind: What the New Neuroscience Tells Us About Who We Are shows you what they've discovered and what it means to all of us. Through author Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald’s masterfully written narrative and use stunning imagery, you'll watch human brains healing, growing, and adapting to challenges. You'll gain powerful new insights into the interplay between environment and genetics, begin understanding how people can influence their own intellectual abilities and emotional makeup, and understand the latest stunning discoveries about coma and "locked-in" syndrome. You'll learn about the tantalizing discoveries that may lead to cures for traumatic brain injury, stroke, emotional disorders, PTSD, drug addiction, chronic pain, maybe even Alzheimer's. Boleyn-Fitzgerald shows how these discoveries are transforming our very understanding of the "self", from an essentially static entity to one that can learn and change throughout life and even master the art of happiness.