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."

Right Hemisphere Language Comprehension
Right Hemisphere Language Comprehension

Author: Mark Jung Beeman

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 1134794290

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The statement, "The Right Hemisphere (RH) processes language"--while not exactly revolutionary--still provokes vigorous debate. It often elicits the argument that anything the RH does with language is not linguistic but "paralinguistic." The resistance to the notion of RH language processing persists despite the fact that even the earliest observers of Left Hemisphere (LH) language specialization posited some role for the RH in language processing, and evidence attesting to various RH language processes has steadily accrued for more than 30 years. In this volume, chapters pertain to a wide, but by no means, exhaustive set of language comprehension processes for which RH contributions have been demonstrated. The sections are organized around these processes, beginning with initial decoding of written or spoken input, proceeding through semantic processing of single words and sentences, up to comprehension of more complex discourse, as well as problem solving. The chapters assembled here should begin to melt this resistance to evidence of RH language processing. This volume's main goal is to compile evidence about RH language function from a scattered literature. The editorial commentaries concluding each section highlight the relevance of these phenomena for psycholinguistic and neuropsychological theory, and discuss similarities and apparent discrepancies in the findings reported in individual chapters. In the final chapter, common themes that emerge from the enterprise of studying RH language and future challenge for the field are reviewed. Although all chapters focus only on "typical" laterality of right handed people, this work provides a representative sample of the current state of the art in RH language research. Important features include: * a wide range of coverage from speech perception and reading through complex discourse comprehension and problem-solving; * research presented from both empirical and theoretical perspectives; and * commentaries and conclusions integrating findings and theories across sub-domains, and speculating on future directions of the field.

The Two Halves of the Brain
The Two Halves of the Brain

Author: Kenneth Hugdahl

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2010-06-04

Total Pages: 717

ISBN-13: 0262265648

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State-of-the-art research on brain asymmetry, explained from molecular to clinical levels. Hemispheric asymmetry is one of the basic aspects of perception and cognitive processing. The different functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain have been studied with renewed interest in recent years, as scholars explore applications to new areas, new measuring techniques, and new theoretical approaches. This volume provides a comprehensive view of the latest research in brain asymmetry, offering not only recent empirical and clinical findings but also a coherent theoretical approach to the subject. In chapters that report on the field at levels from the molecular to the clinical, leading researchers address such topics as the evolution and genetics of brain asymmetry; animal models; findings from structural and functional neuroimaging techniques and research; sex differences and hormonal effects; sleep asymmetry; cognitive asymmetry in visual and auditory perception; and auditory laterality and speech perception, memory, and asymmetry in the context of developmental, neurological, and psychiatric disorders. Contributors Katrin Amunts, Ulrike Bayer, Alfredo Brancucci, Vince D. Calhoun, Maria Casagrande, Marco Catani, Michael C. Corballis, Patricia E. Cowell, Timothy J. Crow, Tom Eichele, Stephanie Forkel, Patrick J. Gannon, Isabelle George, Onur Güntürkün, Heikki Hämäläinen, Markus Hausmann, Joseph B. Hellige, Kenneth Hugdahl, Masud Husain, Grégoria Kalpouzos, Bruno Laeng, Martina Manns, Chikashi Michimata, Deborah W. Moncrieff, Lars Nyberg, Godfrey Pearlson, Stefan Pollmann, Victoria Singh-Curry, Iris E.C. Sommer, Tao Sun, Nathan Swanson, Fiia Takio, Michel Thiebaut de Schotten, René Westerhausen

Cognitive Processing in the Right Hemisphere
Cognitive Processing in the Right Hemisphere

Author: Ellen Perecman

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2012-12-02

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 032315798X

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Cognitive Processing in the Right Hemisphere discusses different theories and concepts involved in the cognitive function of the right hemisphere. After a short introduction to the potential of the right hemisphere, the book goes on to further discuss the subject matter in four parts. Part I discusses cerebral lateralization, cognitive asymmetry, and human consciousness. Part II tackles the normal cognitive function of the right hemisphere, especially its emotional and linguistic functions, as well as its involvement in imagery and affect. Part III examines the effects of impairment of the right hemisphere, and Part IV discusses language rehabilitation through the right hemisphere and covers aphasia therapy and melodic intonation therapy. The text is recommended for neurologists who would like to know in-depth about the functions of the right hemisphere, its underlying processes, the effects of the damages it may incur, and rehabilitation and therapy involving it.

The Right Hemisphere and Disorders of Cognition and Communication
The Right Hemisphere and Disorders of Cognition and Communication

Author: Margaret Lehman Blake

Publisher: Plural Publishing

Published: 2017-08-22

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1635500397

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The Right Hemisphere and Disorders of Cognition and Communication: Theory and Clinical Practice provides a comprehensive review of right hemisphere cognitive and communication functions for practicing clinicians and graduate students. It also serves to broaden the understanding of right hemisphere disorders (RHD) within the field of speech-language pathology (SLP). The more clinicians and students understand, the more they'll be able to convey the need for SLP services for patients and clients with RHD, and the more they'll be able to provide effective services. Strokes on the right side of the brain occur nearly as often as those on the left and cognitive-communication disorders due to right hemisphere brain damage occur nearly as often as aphasia. Unfortunately, they receive much less attention. The deficits vary widely but can affect pragmatics, language production and comprehension, attention and executive function. This text covers normal right hemisphere processes as well as the communication disorders and deficits apparent after RHD. Evidence-based practice is comprehensively presented along with suggestions for developing treatment in the absence of evidence. Speech-language pathologists working with clients with neurogenic communication disorders will find current best practices for assessment and treatment.

Neuropsychology of Space
Neuropsychology of Space

Author: Albert Postma

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2016-09-19

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 0128017945

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The Neuropsychology of Space: Spatial Functions of the Human Brain summarizes recent research findings related to understanding the brain mechanisms involved in spatial reasoning, factors that adversely impact spatial reasoning, and the clinical implications of rehabilitating people who have experienced trauma affecting spatial reasoning. This book will appeal to cognitive psychologists, neuropsychologists, and clinical psychologists. Spatial information processing is central to many aspects of cognitive psychology including perception, attention, motor action, memory, reasoning, and communication. Any behavioural task involves mentally computing spaces, mechanics, and timing and many mental tasks may require thinking about these aspects as well (e.g. imaging the route to a destination). - Discusses how spatial processing is central to perception, attention, memory, reasoning, and communication - Identifies the brain architecture and processes involved in spatial processing - Describes theories of spatial processing and how empirical evidence support or refute theories - Includes case studies of neuropsychological disorders to better illustrate theoretical concepts - Provides an applied perspective of how spatial perception acts in the real world - Contains rehabilitation possibilities for spatial function loss

Hemispheric Asymmetry
Hemispheric Asymmetry

Author: Joseph B. Hellige

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 9780674005594

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Is "right-brain" thought essentially creative, and "left-brain" strictly logical? Joseph B. Hellige argues that this view is far too simplistic. Surveying extensive data in the field of cognitive science, he disentangles scientific facts from popular assumptions about the brain's two hemispheres. In Hemispheric Asymmetry, Hellige explains that the "right brain" and "left brain" are actually components of a much larger cognitive system encompassing cortical and subcortical structures, all of which interact to produce unity of thought and action. He further explores questions of whether hemispheric asymmetry is unique to humans, and how it might have evolved. This book is a valuable overview of hemispheric asymmetry and its evolutionary precedents.

Micro-, Meso- and Macro-Connectomics of the Brain
Micro-, Meso- and Macro-Connectomics of the Brain

Author: Henry Kennedy

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-03-10

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 3319277774

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This book has brought together leading investigators who work in the new arena of brain connectomics. This includes ‘macro-connectome’ efforts to comprehensively chart long-distance pathways and functional networks; ‘micro-connectome’ efforts to identify every neuron, axon, dendrite, synapse, and glial process within restricted brain regions; and ‘meso-connectome’ efforts to systematically map both local and long-distance connections using anatomical tracers. This book highlights cutting-edge methods that can accelerate progress in elucidating static ‘hard-wired’ circuits of the brain as well as dynamic interactions that are vital for brain function. The power of connectomic approaches in characterizing abnormal circuits in the many brain disorders that afflict humankind is considered. Experts in computational neuroscience and network theory provide perspectives needed for synthesizing across different scales in space and time. Altogether, this book provides an integrated view of the challenges and opportunities in deciphering brain circuits in health and disease.

Brain Architecture : Understanding the Basic Plan
Brain Architecture : Understanding the Basic Plan

Author: and Director NIBS Neuroscience Program University of Southern California Larry W. Swanson Milo Don and Lucille Appleman Professor of Biological Sciences

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2002-10-23

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 0198026463

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Depending on your point of view the brain is an organ, a machine, a biological computer, or simply the most important component of the nervous system. How does it work as a whole? What are its major parts and how are they interconnected to generate thinking, feelings, and behavior? This book surveys 2,500 years of scientific thinking about these profoundly important questions from the perspective of fundamental architectural principles, and then proposes a new model for the basic plan of neural systems organization based on an explosion of structural data emerging from the neuroanatomy revolution of the 1970's. The importance of a balance between theoretical and experimental morphology is stressed throughout the book. Great advances in understanding the brain's basic plan have come especially from two traditional lines of biological thought-- evolution and embryology, because each begins with the simple and progresses to the more complex. Understanding the organization of brain circuits, which contain thousands of links or pathways, is much more difficult. It is argued here that a four-system network model can explain the structure-function organization of the brain. Possible relationships between neural networks and gene networks revealed by the human genome project are explored in the final chapter. The book is written in clear and sparkling prose, and it is profusely illustrated. It is designed to be read by anyone with an interest in the basic organization of the brain, from neuroscience to philosophy to computer science to molecular biology. It is suitable for use in neuroscience core courses because it presents basic principles of the structure of the nervous system in a systematic way.

The Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior
The Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior

Author: John Hart (Jr.)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0190219033

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"Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior" is a cognitive neuroscience that maps cognitive/behavioral units with anatomical regions in the human brain. The brain-behavioral associations are based on functional neuroimaging combined with lesion studies. The findings will be used to explain differences in clinical syndromes with videos of patients included.