Over the past thirty-five years, there has been an explosive increase in scientists' ability to explain the structure and functioning of the human brain. While psychology has advanced our understanding of human behavior, various other sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, and biology, have determined the critical importance of synapses and, through the use of advanced technology, made it possible actually to see brain cells at work within the skull's walls. Here Jean-Pierre Changeux elucidates our current knowledge of the human brain, taking an interdisciplinary approach and explaining in…mehr
Over the past thirty-five years, there has been an explosive increase in scientists' ability to explain the structure and functioning of the human brain. While psychology has advanced our understanding of human behavior, various other sciences, such as anatomy, physiology, and biology, have determined the critical importance of synapses and, through the use of advanced technology, made it possible actually to see brain cells at work within the skull's walls. Here Jean-Pierre Changeux elucidates our current knowledge of the human brain, taking an interdisciplinary approach and explaining in layman's terms the complex theories and scientific breakthroughs that have significantly improved our understanding in the twentieth century.
Jean-Pierre Changeux is Professor of Neurobiology at the Collège de France and Director of the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Institut Pasteur, Paris. His books include Conversations on Mind, Matter, and Mathmatics (Princeton) with Alain Connes, and Raison et Plaisir.
Inhaltsangabe
Preface to the Princeton Science Library Edition Preface 1 The "Organ of the Soul" - from Ancient Egypt to the Belle Epoque 3 Man Thinks with His Brain 3 Body and Soul 7 Phrenology 13 The Neuron 21 Electric Current and "Medicinal Substances" 29 The "Good Sense" of History 36 2 The Component Parts of the Brain 38 The Macroscopic View of the Brain 39 The Expansion of the Neocortex 43 Microcircuits 46 Wiring 52 Modules or Crystals 58 From Mouse to Man 65 3 Animal Spirits 67 Cerebral Electricity 68 The Nerve Signal 73 Oscillators 77 From One Neuron to Another 83 The Keys to Molecule Locks 90 "Psychic Atoms" Reexamined 95 4 Into Action 97 To Sing and to Flee 98 To Drink and to Suffer 103 To Enjoy and to Be Angry 107 To Reach Orgasm 112 To Analyze 115 To Speak and to Do 120 From Stimulus to Response 124 5 Mental Objects 126 The Materiality of Mental Images 127 From Percept to Concept and Thought 130 Toward a Biological Theory of Mental Objects 134 Assembling the Neurons 140 Problems of Consciousness 145 Attention 151 The Calculation of Emotion 158 Seeing Mental Objects 161 The Substance of the Spirit 168 6 The Power of the Genes 170 Anatomical Mutations 171 Heredity and Behavior 175 The Simplicity of the Genome and the Complexity of the Brain 180 The Automaton Cell 186 The Embryo System 191 The Genesis of the Cortex 195 The Predestination of the Brain 202 7 Epigenesis 205 Differences between Identical Twins 206 The Behavior of the Growth Cone 212 Regression and Redundancy 216 The Dreams of the Embryo 220 Building the Synapse 223 The Theory of Epigenesis by Selective Stabilization of Synapses 227 The Experimental Testing of Epigenesis 229 Hemispheric Specialization - a Genetic or Epigenetic Process? 235 The Cultural Imprint 241 "To Learn Is to Eliminate" 246 8 Anthropogenesis 250 Monkey Chromosomes 251 Fossil Puzzles 255 The Winks of the Young Chimpanzee 259 Genes for Communication and Selective Stabilization 264 The Genetics of Australopithecus 268 The "Phenomenon of Man" Reconsidered 271 9 The Brain - Representation of the World 273 Glossary 285 Notes 293 Bibliography 301 Index 333
Preface to the Princeton Science Library Edition Preface 1 The "Organ of the Soul" - from Ancient Egypt to the Belle Epoque 3 Man Thinks with His Brain 3 Body and Soul 7 Phrenology 13 The Neuron 21 Electric Current and "Medicinal Substances" 29 The "Good Sense" of History 36 2 The Component Parts of the Brain 38 The Macroscopic View of the Brain 39 The Expansion of the Neocortex 43 Microcircuits 46 Wiring 52 Modules or Crystals 58 From Mouse to Man 65 3 Animal Spirits 67 Cerebral Electricity 68 The Nerve Signal 73 Oscillators 77 From One Neuron to Another 83 The Keys to Molecule Locks 90 "Psychic Atoms" Reexamined 95 4 Into Action 97 To Sing and to Flee 98 To Drink and to Suffer 103 To Enjoy and to Be Angry 107 To Reach Orgasm 112 To Analyze 115 To Speak and to Do 120 From Stimulus to Response 124 5 Mental Objects 126 The Materiality of Mental Images 127 From Percept to Concept and Thought 130 Toward a Biological Theory of Mental Objects 134 Assembling the Neurons 140 Problems of Consciousness 145 Attention 151 The Calculation of Emotion 158 Seeing Mental Objects 161 The Substance of the Spirit 168 6 The Power of the Genes 170 Anatomical Mutations 171 Heredity and Behavior 175 The Simplicity of the Genome and the Complexity of the Brain 180 The Automaton Cell 186 The Embryo System 191 The Genesis of the Cortex 195 The Predestination of the Brain 202 7 Epigenesis 205 Differences between Identical Twins 206 The Behavior of the Growth Cone 212 Regression and Redundancy 216 The Dreams of the Embryo 220 Building the Synapse 223 The Theory of Epigenesis by Selective Stabilization of Synapses 227 The Experimental Testing of Epigenesis 229 Hemispheric Specialization - a Genetic or Epigenetic Process? 235 The Cultural Imprint 241 "To Learn Is to Eliminate" 246 8 Anthropogenesis 250 Monkey Chromosomes 251 Fossil Puzzles 255 The Winks of the Young Chimpanzee 259 Genes for Communication and Selective Stabilization 264 The Genetics of Australopithecus 268 The "Phenomenon of Man" Reconsidered 271 9 The Brain - Representation of the World 273 Glossary 285 Notes 293 Bibliography 301 Index 333
Rezensionen
An outstanding attempt to convey to the general public an interdisciplinary understanding of the human nervous system.
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