What happens in our brains when we compose a melody, write a poem, paint a picture, or choreograph a dance sequence? How is this different from what occurs in the brain when we generate a new theory or a scientific hypothesis? In this book, Anna Abraham reveals how the tools of neuroscience can be employed to uncover the answers to these and other vital questions. She explores the intricate workings of our creative minds to explain what happens in our brains when we operate in a creative mode versus an uncreative mode. The vast and complex field that is the neuroscience of creativity is disentangled and described in an accessible manner, balancing what is known so far with critical issues that are as yet unresolved. Clear guidelines are also provided for researchers who pursue the big questions in their bid to discover the creative mind.
What happens in our brains when we compose a melody, write a poem, paint a picture, or choreograph a dance sequence? How is this different from what occurs in the brain when we generate a new theory or a scientific hypothesis? In this book, Anna Abraham reveals how the tools of neuroscience can be employed to uncover the answers to these and other vital questions. She explores the intricate workings of our creative minds to explain what happens in our brains when we operate in a creative mode versus an uncreative mode. The vast and complex field that is the neuroscience of creativity is disentangled and described in an accessible manner, balancing what is known so far with critical issues that are as yet unresolved. Clear guidelines are also provided for researchers who pursue the big questions in their bid to discover the creative mind.
This book introduces new and provocative neuroscience research that advances our understanding of intelligence and the brain. Compelling evidence shows that genetics plays a more important role than environment as intelligence develops from childhood, and that intelligence test scores correspond strongly to specific features of the brain assessed with neuroimaging. In understandable language, Richard J. Haier explains cutting-edge techniques based on genetics, DNA, and imaging of brain connectivity and function. He dispels common misconceptions, such as the belief that IQ tests are biased or meaningless, and debunks simple interventions alleged to increase intelligence. Readers will learn about the real possibility of dramatically enhancing intelligence based on neuroscience findings and the positive implications this could have for education and social policy. The text also explores potential controversies surrounding neuro-poverty, neuro-socioeconomic status, and the morality of enha
Within the last two decades, the field of cognitive neuroscience has begun to thrive, with technological advances that non-invasively measure human brain activity. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment on the cognitive neuroscience of memory. Topics include cognitive neuroscience techniques and human brain mechanisms underlying long-term memory success, long-term memory failure, working memory, implicit memory, and memory and disease. Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory highlights both spatial and temporal aspects of the functioning human brain during memory. Each chapter is written in an accessible style and includes background information and many figures. In his analysis, Scott D. Slotnick questions popular views, rather than simply assuming they are correct. In this way, science is depicted as open to question, evolving, and exciting.
As scientific inquiry and public interest in the adolescent brain grows, so too does the need for an accessible textbook that communicates the growing research on this topic. The Neuroscience of Adolescence is a comprehensive educational tool for developmental cognitive neuroscience students at all levels as it details the varying elements that shape the adolescent brain. Historical notions of adolescence have focused on the significant hormonal changes that occur as one transitions from childhood to adolescence, but new research has revealed a more nuanced picture that helps inform our understanding of how the brain functions across the lifespan. By emphasizing the biological and neurobiological changes that occur during adolescence, this book gives students a holistic understanding of this developmental window and uniquely discusses the policy implications of neuroscience research on the lives of young people today.
As scientific inquiry and public interest in the adolescent brain grows, so too does the need for an accessible textbook that communicates the growing research on this topic. The Neuroscience of Adolescence is a comprehensive educational tool for developmental cognitive neuroscience students at all levels as it details the varying elements that shape the adolescent brain. Historical notions of adolescence have focused on the significant hormonal changes that occur as one transitions from childhood to adolescence, but new research has revealed a more nuanced picture that helps inform our understanding of how the brain functions across the lifespan. By emphasizing the biological and neurobiological changes that occur during adolescence, this book gives students a holistic understanding of this developmental window and uniquely discusses the policy implications of neuroscience research on the lives of young people today.
Within the last two decades, the field of cognitive neuroscience has begun to thrive, with technological advances that non-invasively measure human brain activity. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment on the cognitive neuroscience of memory. Topics include cognitive neuroscience techniques and human brain mechanisms underlying long-term memory success, long-term memory failure, working memory, implicit memory, and memory and disease. Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory highlights both spatial and temporal aspects of the functioning human brain during memory. Each chapter is written in an accessible style and includes background information and many figures. In his analysis, Scott D. Slotnick questions popular views, rather than simply assuming they are correct. In this way, science is depicted as open to question, evolving, and exciting.
The Neuroscience of Expertise examines the ways in which the brain accommodates the incredible feats of experts. It builds on a tradition of cognitive research to explain how the processes of perception, attention, and memory come together to enable experts' outstanding performance. The text explains how the brain adapts to enable the complex cognitive machinery behind expertise, and provides a unifying framework to illuminate the seemingly unconnected performance of experts in different domains. Whether it is a radiologist who must spot a pathology in a split second, a chess grandmaster who finds the right path in a jungle of possible continuations, or a tennis professional who reacts impossibly quickly to return a serve, The Neuroscience of Expertise offers insight into the universal cognitive and neural mechanisms behind these achievements.
This book addresses a growing need for accessible information on the neuroscience of addiction. In the past decade, neuroscientific research has greatly advanced our understanding of the brain mechanisms of addiction. However this information still remains largely confined to scientific outlets. As legislation continues to evolve and the stigma surrounding addiction persists, new findings on the impact of substances on the brain are an important public health issue. Francesca Mapua Filbey gives readers an overview of research on addiction including classic theories as well as current neuroscientific studies. A variety of textual supports - including a glossary, learning objectives and review questions - help students better reinforce their reading and make the text a ready-made complement to undergraduate and graduate courses on addiction.
The Neuroscience of Expertise examines the ways in which the brain accommodates the incredible feats of experts. It builds on a tradition of cognitive research to explain how the processes of perception, attention, and memory come together to enable experts' outstanding performance. The text explains how the brain adapts to enable the complex cognitive machinery behind expertise, and provides a unifying framework to illuminate the seemingly unconnected performance of experts in different domains. Whether it is a radiologist who must spot a pathology in a split second, a chess grandmaster who finds the right path in a jungle of possible continuations, or a tennis professional who reacts impossibly quickly to return a serve, The Neuroscience of Expertise offers insight into the universal cognitive and neural mechanisms behind these achievements.
Nearly one million people take their own lives each year world-wide - however, contrary to popular belief, suicide can be prevented. While suicide is commonly thought to be an understandable reaction to severe stress, it is actually an abnormal reaction to regular situations. Something more than unbearable stress is needed to explain suicide, and neuroscience shows what this is, how it is caused and how it can be treated. Professor Kees van Heeringen describes findings from neuroscientific research on suicide, using various approaches from population genetics to brain imaging. Compelling evidence is reviewed that shows how and why genetic characteristics or early traumatic experiences may lead to a specific predisposition that makes people vulnerable to triggering life events. Neuroscientific studies are yielding results that provide insight into how the risk of suicide may develop; ultimately demonstrating how suicide can be prevented.
Nearly one million people take their own lives each year world-wide - however, contrary to popular belief, suicide can be prevented. While suicide is commonly thought to be an understandable reaction to severe stress, it is actually an abnormal reaction to regular situations. Something more than unbearable stress is needed to explain suicide, and neuroscience shows what this is, how it is caused and how it can be treated. Professor Kees van Heeringen describes findings from neuroscientific research on suicide, using various approaches from population genetics to brain imaging. Compelling evidence is reviewed that shows how and why genetic characteristics or early traumatic experiences may lead to a specific predisposition that makes people vulnerable to triggering life events. Neuroscientific studies are yielding results that provide insight into how the risk of suicide may develop; ultimately demonstrating how suicide can be prevented.
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience of Aging is an introduction to how aging affects the brain, intended for audiences with some knowledge of psychology, aging, or neuroscience. The book includes figures illustrating brain regions so that extensive familiarity with neuroanatomy is not a pre-requisite. The depth of coverage also makes this book appropriate for those with considerable knowledge about aging. This book adopts an integrative perspective, including topics such as memory, cognition, cognitive training, emotion, and social processes. Topics include consideration of individual differences and the impact of disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's disease) on brain function with age. Although many declines occur with age, cognitive neuroscience research reveals plasticity and adaptation in the brain as a function of normal aging. This book is written with this perspective in mind, emphasizing the ways in which neuroscience methods have enriched and changed thinking about aging.
