Written with a light touch, but using hard science, Welcome to your Brain will answer all the questions you’ve ever had about how that amazing three pounds in your skull works – and how you can help it work better. Written by two top neuroscientists, they dispel all the myths (such as we only ever use 10% of our brains!), and show how understanding your brain can also be useful.
This is full of interesting information, presented in a light, informative manner. It’s divided in short chapters, which means you can read from beginning to end, or dip into the sections that most interest you.
The first section explains a little about how your brain works, and includes info on issues such as jet lag and weight regulation. The second delves into how your senses work, inclusing explaining why mice don’t like diet coke!
Section outlines how the brain changes throughout the various stages of life, including learning and ageing. The fourth looks at emotion, and the fifth is about the rational brain, which includes intelligence and memory.
The last section looks at the brain in an altered state, exploring issues such as sleep, stroke, and alcohol.
Each chapter includes the main content, plus extra sections, which include practical tips, myth busting, and ‘Did you know?’. These look at issues such as ‘increasing happiness’, ‘how does your brain know a joke is funny?’, ‘should you cram for an exam?’ and ‘is your brain like a computer?’
This is a great book to have your shelf, to dip in and out of, or to answer those important questions when they’ve been discussed down the pub!
Rider Books (paperback) April 2008 £12.99 from Random House
