Written by two neurophysiologists from the University of Washington, this online text presents the basics of neuroscience through conversations held between a surgeon and his patient.
The authors William H. Calvin, Ph.D. (University of Washington) and George A. Ojemann, M.D. (University of Washington) have created an extremely clever way of leading readers on a “tour of the cerebral cortex” through the telling of their patient Neil’s story.
The text is also available in Dutch and German. Dr. Calvin suggested that his text is suitable for biology and cognitive neuroscience supplementary reading lists. I think it would be a great read for anyone wishing to learn more about how our brains work. Much of the information is included within conversations between Neil and his doctor – it explains things in great detail without reading like a textbook. It’s little wonder that Conversations with Neil’s Brain: The Neural Nature of Thought & Language was a bestseller.
Table of Contents for this Unique Cognitive Neuroscience Textbook
- A Window to the Brain
- Losing Consciousness
- Seeing the Brain Speak
- If Language Is Left, What’s Right?
- The Problems with Paying Attention
- The Personality of the Lowly Neuron
- The What and Where of Memory
- How Are Memories Made?
- What’s Up Front
- When Things Go Wrong with Thought and Mood
- Tuning Up the Brain by Pruning
- Acquiring and Reacquiring Language
- Taking Apart the Visual Image
- How the Brain Subdivides Language
- Why Can We Read So Well?
- Stringing Things Together in Novel Ways
- Deep in the Temporal Lobe, Just Across from the Brain Stem
- In Search of the Narrator
View this Free Online Material at the source:
Conversations with Neil’s Brain: The Neural Nature of Thought & Language