Product Description

Today a brain scan reveals our thoughts, moods, and memories as clearly as an X-ray reveals our bones. We can actually observe a person's brain registering a joke or experiencing a painful memory. Drawing on the latest imaging technology and the expertise of distinguished scientists, Rita Carter explores the geography of the human brain. Her writing is clear, accessible, witty, and the book's 150 illustrations--most in color--present an illustrated guide to that wondrous, coconut-sized, wrinkled gray mass we carry inside our heads.
Mapping the Mind charts the way human behavior and culture have been molded by the landscape of the brain. Carter shows how our personalities reflect the biological mechanisms underlying thought and emotion and how behavioral eccentricities may be traced to abnormalities in an individual brain. Obsessions and compulsions seem to be caused by a stuck neural switch in a region that monitors the environment for danger. Addictions stem from dysfunction in the brain's reward system. Even the sense of religious experience has been linked to activity in a certain brain region. The differences between men and women's brains, the question of a "gay brain," and conditions such as dyslexia, autism, and mania are also explored.
Looking inside the brain, writes Carter, we see that actions follow from our perceptions, which are due to brain activity dictated by a neuronal structure formed from the interplay between our genes and the environment. Without sidestepping the question of free will, Carter suggests that future generations will use our increasing knowledge of the brain to "enhance those mental qualities that give sweetness and meaning to our lives, and to eradicate those that are destructive."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19986 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.com
In the last decades of the 20th century, scientists have come to believe that the human brain is almost completely modular. Every bit of the brain does something in particular, and surprisingly specific abilities, memories, and responses are in localized areas. Journalist Rita Carter has drawn a map of what is known (and speculated) about the mind in a heavily illustrated field guide to the human brain.

Carter and her scientific editor, neuropsychologist Christopher Frith, cover the state of the mind in a reasonably accurate, accessible way. They emphasize topics that are likely to be of some practical interest--such as Alzheimer's or attention deficit disorder--but not so much as to give a distorted picture of the field.

Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book are the sidebars written by a variety of leading names in mind-brain science. Roger Penrose writes on computer minds, Francis Crick on consciousness, Steven Rose on memory, John Maynard Smith on social evolution, William Calvin on mosaic minds, Kay Redfield Jamison on creativity and bipolar disorders, and more. It's a stellar assortment, more than worth the price of admission--and there's a map of the mind on the cover, in case you misplace yours. --Mary Ellen Curtin

From Publishers Weekly
Carter, a distinguished English medical journalist, has written a handsome and very accessible book designed to introduce laypeople to contemporary neurochemistry, neurobiology and brain research. Carter shows how this research has traced emotions, impressions, thoughts and behaviors?from tasting a sprig of thyme to solving a math problem to killing an intruder?to particular parts of the brain. Descriptions of normal brain function are interspersed with details about the research and about extraordinary, illuminating cases: of the woman to whom the name "Richard" tasted like chocolate, of the man who tried to have sex with a sidewalk. Readers learn that sense-data from the eyes and ears go first to the thalamus; that falling in love may be caused by a single chemical called oxytocin; and that one thinker, Itzhak Fried, has hypothesized "syndrome E," a neurobiological disorder, in young men who carry out genocides. Mixing established knowledge with new speculations, Carter takes care to tell readers which is which. She strews her text with bright diagrams and pictures, and avoids specialized or technical language: readers of Scientific American, or even of Oliver Sacks, may find themselves wishing for more detail. Carter seems to be writing for adults and teens who don't know the field and want to learn it, and she does it right. Short inset essays (some by distinguished scientists, others by Carter) address such specific topics as the chemistry of drug addiction, the origins of autism and alleged differences between gay and straight brains. 100 color & 50 b&w illustrations.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
YA-A readable overview of the social implications of brain research and an examination of some mind studies. Yet, Carter reminds readers that "the vision of the brain we have now is probably no more complete or accurate than a sixteenth-century map of the world." Interspersed within the text are wonderful sidebars, some of which offer insight from world-renowned researchers, and others that just shine a light on the subject matter. "Scanning the Brain," for example, offers clear explanations of nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMR), computerized tomography (CT), positron-emission tomography (PET), and other types of brain scans. Carter offers interesting examples and illustrative comparisons throughout. Colorful and visually pleasing photos and artwork help to fill in the gaps in readers' understanding and add to the book's usefulness for reports. Sections such as "Is Autism an Extreme Form of Male Brain?" and the explanation of synaesthesia (blending of senses, or "seeing sounds," "tasting what is seen") make for fascinating reading. There is an extensive bibliography for each chapter and a complete index. Young adults will find comprehending brain functions a bit easier, and surprisingly interesting, with this reference source.
Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

This is the only one to read for your first
I just finished this book and wanted to add another five star review as well as comment on anyone who didn't rate this book highly. I'm by no means an expert but have a deep curiosity about our inner workings. I've read a few other books by some of the juggernauts of neurology like Damasio, Le Doux, Linden, and Ramachandran.

Two quick points on why I really enjoyed it.
The first was it's brilliant holistic viewpoint of the entire brian. These other writers are all great but you must have prior knowledge before you dive into them. Plus, they tend to focus on one central theme to the brain while ignoring other components. This is that book that will give you up to date information on most topics I've come across. You'll find she addresses all of these scientist's works within her book and gives a brilliant and highly accessible synopsis of their theories as well as many more researchers. In a addition, it has an enormous amount of visual aids that are incredibly important. As an example, I just finished Synaptic Self and had that been my first book, I wouldn't be able to point to where the limbic system is in a brain. You won't have any problem identifying where the occipital module is after finishing this.

The second point is it's excellent writing style. One viewer wrote he read it in a few days because it was to simple. Like I said, it's a brilliant synopsis of many, many researchers and if you take the time to memorize what she's saying, it can be a handful. For instance, understanding the differences in male/female brains will take some time, especially if you commit terms like medial prefrontal nucleus of the hypothalamus or want to memorize what INAH3 stands for. This won't be a massively time consuming book because every page has diagrams (which are invaluable to this topic). And while some reviewers saw this as a weakness, I saw it as a strength. It's up to the reader to decide if this is what they are looking for in a book. I honestly felt the lack of diagrams in other books created a very confusing picture to try to sort out.

I may be biased because I have read a few other books but I kept reading this and felt like every page was a light bulb going off in my head telling me, "Ah-ah, this is what they were getting at in this other book." In all honesty, I just can't imagine a more thorough and complete guide to the brain.

Incredibly interesting, insightful, and easy to read, but also incredibly deterministic
I gave this book five stars in spite of disagreeing strongly with almost all of her philosophical conclusions. I hope this tells you something about how good this book is. I find it hard to believe that there is a better introductory book out there on the topic of modern neuroscience. This one is incredibly easy to understand, is one of the most interesting non-fiction books I've read in some time, and is not one of the typical pseudo-science books floating around on this subject. Rita Carter has been reporting on scientific advances for many years, and her ability to explain science to non-professionals is an invaluable asset to us lay-readers. Usually even popular level science books are a bit hard to get through, but this one is truly fun and easy, while not falling into the trap of oversimplification that some popular level science writers tend to fall into.

There are only two complaints I have about this book. The first is relatively minor: there are too many illustrations. I really do appreciate her illustrations, as they help me visualize exactly what she is talking about, but there are just too many pictures of the brain with different sections lit up as she talks about them. She could easily have included a full-page picture of the brain with all the sections labeled and then as she got to them in the book we could look at that picture to see what she was talking about. Instead we probably got at least 50 pictures (I think that's a very concervative estimate) of the brain with different areas highlighted. It would have saved probably 10-15 pages to cut those out, and there would have been no loss.

The second problem I had is much more significant, and has been noted by previous reviewers. This is her unfortunate conclusion which pervades the book. That conclusion is reductionism. She assumes that since we know that the brain effects us, we are nothing but physical processes, and as a result, we are completely determined. She literally says that free will is an illusion produced by evolution to help us survive. Such a conclusion makes me wonder why you would taket the time to write this book, or even care about philosophy if that were the case. The idea that the physical state of our brain necessitates our actions pervades the whole book, and is somewhat irritating. She entirely fails to recognize the difference between being predisposed to doing something and being predetermined to do something. For example, she notes that damage to the frontal lobe often results in symptoms that are psychopathic in nature. She concludes from this that the people who behave in this way literally have no choice in the matter. The very fact that it is "most" and not "all," should be a clue that this is taking it a bit far.

A better conclusion, which she does not even mention as a possability, is that the our individual physical brains makes us far more inclined to certain behavior, but does not necessitate it. In some cases it does appear that brain damage can remove significant amounts of a person's free will. She notes the famous case of Phineas Gage to support this, as after having a metal spike driven through his frontal lobe he lost the ability to carry out plans, and lived only for the moment. There are two significant problems with using this to show that we do not have free will. (1) The very fact that he could make plans, even though he could not carry them out, seems to indicate that he did have free will, though it was severely limited. (2) It is quite a stretch to say that no one has free will because Phineas Gage's free will was severely limited because of a head injury.

Other than the unfortunate philosophical conclusions, this was a superb book that really unveiled the workings of the human brain. You may wish to read a book about different views on philosophy of mind before you delve into this, however, as that will really help you recognize when Carter is going beyond what is merited by the science and into her own materialist reductionistic philosophy.

Overall grade: A

A terrific, simplified, user-friendly introduction to neuroscience
Ditto what other readers have said about the user-friendliness of Carter's book. The many sidebars and illustrations make an otherwise dauting topic--heuroscience--accessible to a lay audience as well as providing a handy basic reference for the more scientifically-minded.

I did deduct a star, however, for an oversimpliication to the point of misrepresentation of a number of subjects. Carter's discussion of the amydgala and dopamine are two areas. Add Antonio Damasio, Joseph LeDoux, Elkhonon Goldberg, Candace Pert, Karl Pribram, Jeffrey Schwartz, and a number of other neuroscientists for a more complete understanding of the state of current knowledge.

I do, however, disagree that Carter has taken a reductionist, materialist approach. I think such assumptions result from her lack of in-depth treatment--one that is difficult to avoid at the level at which she presents information. In addition, the fact that she is a science writer and not a scientist, does generate some misleading statements. Her background and intended audience and purpose should be kept in mind.

Another science writer who has penned a very accessible and fascinating exploration of neuroscience is "Mind Wide Open: Your brain and the neuroscience of everyday life" by Steven Johnson. While his book lacks illustration, he tells it as a story from his experiences exploring different brain mapping technologies, and shares what he learned along the way with his reader. I was especially fascinated by his discussion of the role of dopamine. I only wish he'd included far more references than he did--espeically on that subject. (As an educator, I'm interested in the role of dopmaine in the attention system as well as in AD(H)D.)

These two books together provide an excellent lay overview of neuroscience. For a more in-depth look, include some of the other authors--especially Pert for a more integrative, non-reductionist, mind-body approach.