neuroscience and neurobiology books

	Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain (Neuroscience)
	By: Mark F Bear, Barry Connors, Michael Paradiso ISBN: 0781760038 Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Release Date: 01 February, 2006 Bioscience book rank: 21822	I am using this textbook in my neurobiology book and its very helpful. It is well written and they use examples that help you to connect to the topic. The Cd-Rom that comes with it is very helpful for learning neuroanatomy. This is a wonderful textbook, and like only a very few others I have read, is well written and interesting enough to be read as an excellent book. It is quite difficult to put down and I think most readers will find themselves reading more than is required for their class or reading it for pleasure alone. It is not a complete exhaustive reference on every topic in neuroscience, but it does not pretend to be (and I think it would lose some of its appeal to the intended audience if it did). For example, the brief mention of glial cells in chapter 2 was a little disappointing, then again, I have a textbook of close to a thousand pages on glial cells alone, but I think a little more coverage could have been given. But, there are additional resources given, which allows interested students to further explore concepts they have been introduced to in this text. <br /> <br />There is something to be said for a text that can be read cover to cover, with little strain, and give the reader a clear overview of the field. This book is really good for a general understanding of neuroscience and it has good pictures. This is really a beginning undergraduate level book and can be used as supplemental material for basic concepts when a student is starting to become more advanced, but it does not go into much detail. It is well-written and consequently easy to read. If you're looking for an introduction to neuroscience this is a good book. If you're looking for a reference book for higher level neuroscience this book won't meet standards.
	The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain
	By: Louis Cozolino ISBN: 0393704548 Publisher: W. W. Norton Release Date: 06 November, 2006 Bioscience book rank: 10256	Easy to read and understand. The information is very helpful as you look at attachment. The book came in exactly the same condition it was described, and it was right on time I am in a neuroscience book group composed of clinical psychologists and social workers that has been meeting for four years. We've read about 25 books in this group over the years. Much of it has been tough going. This and Cozolino's book, The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy, are two of the very best. They are comprehensive, clinically relevant, very well written, even entertaining. The clinical vignettes bring the neuroscience to life. His speculations as to the implications of the science and his ability to integrate it with attachment theory and clinical observations are compelling and stimulating. I have not written a review before but I am so grateful for these books that I felt motivated to do so. Couldn't recommend them more.
	Neuroscience, Fourth Edition
	By: Dale Purves ISBN: 0878936971 Publisher: Sinauer Associates, Inc. Release Date: 31 July, 2007 Bioscience book rank: 30045	This is a great text for medical school courses. I use this in conjunction with the Blumenfeld text, and between these two texts I feel I am well prepared for most of the questions on the exam. The figures are particularly helpful, seeing as many of the professors use them directly in their powerpoint presentations. This book is a really tough read. I know neuroscience probably isn't supposed to be an easy read, but the author jumps all over the place. The chapters are divided up into broad sections with long heading names that don't always imply what the section is about. There are no subheadings or lists, just block text and pictures, making it difficult to outline the book in your notes. There are boxes about pathologies thrown in randomly throughout the chapter, but because the box begins when you are in the middle of a sentence about something completely different I'm rarely drawn to read them. For the most part the pictures and diagrams are clear, but when I study from this book I have to supplement with my general anatomy and physiolgy book. On several occasions the text has referred to parts of the anatomy that aren't labeled on the diagram. Not my favorite textbook... Take a look at the content page and you will know. However, be aware that almost all info are based on the mammalian system. If you are a developmentalist, or working in other systems, this might not be able to fulfill your need. Nevertheless, it is overall a very good reference.
	Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge (Columbia Series in Science and Religion)
	By: B. Alan Wallace ISBN: 0231138342 Publisher: Columbia University Press Release Date: 29 September, 2006 Bioscience book rank: 10397	the perfect book to understand the link between science and the arts of the mind. <br />well written and clearly presented <br /> Unless you are involved in neuroscience, it is difficult to appreciate the magnitude of the seismic shifts that are occurring in our knowledge about the brain, and the extraordinary consequences for our understanding of what it means to be human. Or the important implications of the new brain sciences for such issues as education and legal responsibility. <br /> <br />There is a robust and growing literature on Buddhism, Western psychology and cognitive science, consciousness and the brain. And this book is a new installment that summarizes some of this work. <br /> <br />The author of this fine book is B. Alan Wallace who spent fourteen years as a Buddhist monk and was ordained by the Dalai Lama. He is also the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He has also translated a number of Tibetan Buddhist texts and is the author of several other books. <br /> <br />His central thesis is that although objective science has long said that religion, faith, belief and other subjective experiences are no more than epiphenomena of physical processes, that can and should change. He proposes that Western science and contemplative practices of Buddhism, and for that matter Christianity and Taoism, can be integrated to create a single discipline that he calls "Contemplative science." Alan contends that the development of this science is already underway and promises to illuminate both objective Western science and contemplative practices. It will in all likelihood bear many other fruits as well. <br /> <br />I am persuaded by what he has to say. I have never felt that we could or should relegate important human experiences to epiphenomena. Not only does it belittle meaningful experiences, it diminishes science. <br /> <br />As Albert Einstein once said, "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind." This book presents us with a roadmap to abolish both of those handicaps. <br /> <br />This is a must read for anyone interested in consciousness and human potential. <br /> <br />Highly recommended. <br /> <br /> <br />Richard G. Petty, MD, author of [[ASIN:0595458017 Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life]]
	The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Building and Rebuilding the Human Brain
	By: Louis Cozolino ISBN: 0393703673 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Release Date: 15 June, 2002 Bioscience book rank: 11339	The author explains how what we think programs our brain and how learning to think differently changes our brain: he explains the psyiology that underlies psychotherapy. He tells us what happens in the brain as we change our thoughts and feelings. (His thesis even explains why prayer and meditation work.) This book is a great source for all cognitive behavioral therapists. One of the main things I got from this book is that we can see how the architecture of the brain is set up for us to manage things from the top down--that is, to manage our emotions from the seat of our cognitive faculties. There are almost 10 times more nerve fibers carrying sensory information from the top down rather than from the bottom up; TO the subcortex FROM the neocortex rather than the other way around. This gives us some idea of the amount of power available to us, once we learn how to access it, to get the cognitive part of our brain to manage the emotional part. The other important part of the book is how our thinking and behavior continue to make physical changes in our brain as long as we live. The book certainly supports the idea of "brainswitching" to the neocortex when the subcortex is agitated with anxiety or depression, which is what all cognitive behavorial therapists try to teach people to do. As the book shows, you can do that by thinking particular thoughts that stimulate neural activity in the part of the brain from which you wish to function. Then, thanks to the neuroplasticity of the brain, if you do this often enough you can actually re-wire your brain to get out of depression and anxiety at will. A. B. Curtiss, author of BRAINSWITCH OUT OF DEPRESSION An excellent book combining the fields of neuroscience and psychotherapy and explaining the effects of emotional trauma on brain development.
	Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroscience, Fifth Edition
	By: S. Marc Breedlove, Mark R. Rosenzweig, Neil V. Watson ISBN: 0878937056 Publisher: Sinauer Associates, Inc. Release Date: 16 April, 2007 Bioscience book rank: 165715
	The Haunted Self: Structural Dissociation and the Treatment of Chronic Traumatization (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)
	By: Onno van der Hart, Ellert R. S. Nijenhuis, Kathy Steele ISBN: 0393704017 Publisher: W. W. Norton Release Date: 10 November, 2006 Bioscience book rank: 40900	"they said he was a most peculiar man" - Paul Simon <br /> <br /> <br />Note: as you read this review, please keep context in mind. There is a huge lack of up-to-date information on trauma treatment, and this book contains some valuable information. <br /> <br />by NO means do I want to discourage purchases of this book. Instead, I want to discourage attitudes that I find insulting, as well as lack of clarity that I see. <br /> <br />However, if you are a treatment provider, a client, or anyone else wanting information, and you are interested in this book, I highly recommend you read it and judge for yourself. <br /> <br />Please do not allow me to judge for you. This is one reason I don't like having to assign stars. I assigned one-star b/c I see a lot I don't like contained here. <br /> <br />that said, <br /> <br />here is my review: <br /> <br />This book is a revealing portrait of why talk therapy in general, and trauma therapy in particular, is all too often dead in the water. <br /> <br />Therapists are doing a marvelous job of putting themselves out of business. Here's why. <br /> <br />This book is heavily laden with descriptions of client 'badness.' to be sure, that badness comes from atrocious child abuse, so we are told, but - <br /> <br />people are still 'bad.' they are very very 'bad.' <br /> <br />they are hard to work with, confusing, complicated, difficult, and a whole host of other unattractive adjectives. <br /> <br />However, look at who is NOT interviewed for this book. Clients, that's who. We read unflattering case studies about them. We don't hear from them. <br /> <br />Yes, I did read this book. It was a hard slog b/c it was written with no consideration for clarity. I literally spent hours poring over different pages and trying to understand some critical yet basic concepts, such as 'structural dissocation.' Even though that was quite difficult, I continued on and read the rest of the book. <br /> <br />What I see is this: <br /> <br />- a difficult-to-understand model is poorly articulated. <br /> <br />- there are no data to show a success rate that justifies taking on this approach. <br /> <br />where are the data? that is my question. and I am by NO means a managed care advocate. the OPPOSITE in fact. <br /> <br />However, my belief is that poorly written, poorly documented models that require a LOT of effort feed RIGHT into managed care. <br /> <br />why? b/c they are very easily shown to be unworkable and unreasonable. This leaves the door open for managed care advocates to come in and say 'talk therapy is stupid," which is an unreasonable generalization. <br /> <br />I see that throughout this book, clients are written about with massive disrespect. The FACT that we must pay large sums of money to be in trauma therapy, unless perhaps we are poor and then exceptions are made, is not considered. <br /> <br />And I don't get the theoretical underpinnings either. <br /> <br />Why go back to Janet, for example? there is no logical reason to prefer Janet over more modern understandings. or if there is, the case was not made for that choice in this book. <br /> <br />note: if experts are going to use Janet, I highly suggest a contemporary trauma expert taking some time to re-translate his works into English. I believe relying on old translations may be a real mistake. For example, disaggregation was the word that was translated to mean dissocation. Maybe disaggregation should be used. It makes more sense to me. <br /> <br />I do not see the logic in naming people things like 'apparently normal personality' and 'emotional personality.' for one thing, I find such names insulting. for another thing, they are difficult to understand. it is stated that 'emotional personality' refers to a particularly intense type of emotion - that is a recipe for disaster. <br /> <br />There is no point to using a name that will require repeated explanations 'no, it's NOT what you think it is...' why bother? <br /> <br />as for the central premise, that clients have a phobia of facing trauma, I find that both inaccurate and insulting. I personally tried with pathological persistence to communicate it. no one cared. no one listened. <br /> <br />and then, due to abuse that include sado-masochistic behaviors such as strangulation and suffocation, as well as repeated blows to the head, I suffered brain injury. I was unable to be clear after that point. <br /> <br />I lost the ability to speak, to understand language, and to understand abstract concepts. it was gone, gone, gone. I could speak and understand to some small degree. it was not totally gone. but it was maybe 10% of what it should have been. <br /> <br />I got by b/c of great good fortune. I have a proficient auditory memory and I memorized sounds, which I called 'meaningless non-words' and then spit back the sounds without comprehension. I also used the book Karen by Marie Killilea to work on do-it-yourself brain rehabilitation. <br /> <br />My story is quite unusual. Still, there is NO excuse for assuming that people have a phobia of trauma without checking. maybe the phobia is of deteriorating performance, which in this uncaring country often leads to job loss, and then ending up in poverty. maybe it is of being exiled in the current day for being 'unacceptable.' <br /> <br />several of these therapists do work with a poor population. but what I see here as well is a tendency to pathologize people and give them what the treatment provider wants, and not what the person wants. My husband grew up in poverty and I am familiar with this dynamic when I see it. he got unwanted, useless things at Christmas. He said that people making repairs for their old, inexpensive home would have been far more useful. but no one asked them what they wanted. <br /> <br />I am not a false memory advocate in any way. <br /> <br />NONE Of this is to argue that ALL Of the points made here are invalid. I am sure some people do have a phobia of trauma. and I am sure that there is much other technical information here that is accurate. <br /> <br />but, as the saying goes "who you are speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying." and I find this to represent unproductive attitudes that we are all better off not feeding into. <br /> <br />Finally, I have to admit something. I read something that the authors did that very much turned me off to this book. I will admit my bias. I saw a Holocaust survivor being described in ways I found that lacked compassion and were not kind. <br /> <br />In other words, the Shoah was just another type of trauma, and the survivor was somehow 'pathological' or maybe 'not quite right somehow' b/c her 'emotional self' expressed pain. <br /> <br />I read this in the authors' description of Charlotte Delbo's works, and there was another person mentioned, I believe. <br /> <br />I have to say, I really dislike this. My personal belief is that it truly desecrates the memory of the Holocaust to reduce it to just another type of trauma that some people have survived. I find that to be a monumental trivialization. But then I have to say, I heard Elie Wiesel speak when I was in college and he said much the same thing (far more eloquently) and I never forget that. <br /> <br />In sum: I don't think we are a separate class of persons b/c we have been through trauma. I think we are people, with all of the variations that people show. Including the Holocaust as another type of 'trauma' was offensive to me b/c I think it is not accurate, fair, or OK to do that, and it shows a possible bias towards denying our humanity, by grouping people who are very much not like each other and defining them as a separate type of person. <br /> <br />--- <br /> <br />Again, <br /> <br />I am in the minority here. <br /> <br />Others have read this and found it helpful. <br /> <br />I am a client, not a therapist. This book may be easier for therapists to understand (although I am not certain that is the case b/c I have heard otherwise). <br /> <br />But I have heard from one therapist, that this book helped her very much in her practice. <br /> <br />so my suggestion would be: please use the information and disregard the attitude, if the attitude is one that you find uncomfortable. At last - a truly excellent text on the psychological aspects of trauma-related disorders! This book provides a clear and comprehensive account of the theory and management of complex PTSD and complex dissociative disorders. In approaching the difficulties of categorising all the phenomena seen in these severely disturbed patients, the authors have taken a bird's eye view, presenting their theory of structural dissociation and linking it in a useful and meaningful way to a phased treatment model. <br /> <br />The issue of dissociation has been phenomenologically challenging and even more difficult to unravel theoretically. Van der Hart, Nijenhuis and Steele have accomplished this task with a quite densely written, but lucid, volume which draws on the work of Janet, expanding his concepts and defining a range of terms that greatly assist in conceptualising how dissociation and its consequences occur, and how its manifestations produce the symptoms these patients present. It draws on the growing neurobiological research into the underpinnings of dissociation and highlights the centrality of the phobic response to the traumatising event in the maintenance of dissociation. <br /> <br />The authors importantly distinguish between potentially and actually traumatising events, and traumatic experiences, recognising that only some people develop psychopathological symptoms or mental disorders in response to exposure to a particular event, which can then be identified as a traumatising event which produced a traumatic experience. This can be seen in contrast to the person who does not develop psychopathology and to whom the identical event may be quite stressful, but by definition is not traumatic. <br /> <br />While this theoretical analysis might seem a sufficient endeavour, the second part of the book provides an overarching map to treatment, connecting it throughout with the previously described theoretical framework. In contrast to many previous attempts, the plan provides an understanding of how the phased model of treatment seeks initially to consolidate the patient's response to the traumatising event, thereby attempting to diminish the likelihood of further disintegration. Further it does not view fusion of the dissociative parts, if this can be achieved, as the final therapeutic goal for those who dissociate in response to the traumatising event, but rather suggests that the ultimate task of treatment is to assist the patient to overcome the `phobia of normal life'. <br /> <br />Without doubt, the most helpful text yet for clinicians working in a psychological framework in this controversial field. <br /> In THE HAUNTED SELF the authors, Onno van der Hart, Ellert Nijenhuis and Kathy Steele present a theory of structural dissociation that builds upon the work of Pierre Janet and ties together the recent developments in the areas of trauma and dissociation. They build their theory methodically and concisely, tackling the difficult subject of dissociation and its effects on survivors of trauma. Their writing is compassionate and understanding, illuminating their therapeutic skills while at the same time delving into one of the most misunderstood and confounding areas of psychology with clarity and thoughtfulness. <br /> <br />The book is a challenging read, not because of the language, but because of the thoroughness and detail devoted to the construction of the authors' somewhat complex theory. Divided into two sections, the first constructs the theory of structural dissociation itself, with the second section presenting the phase oriented treatment, including examples illustrating the therapeutic processes involved. <br /> <br />The theory the authors present is consistent with recent advances in neuroscience and has the potential to impact the treatment of those suffering from a range of psychological disorders. The authors fully acknowledge and solicit feedback for those parts of their theory that are in need of further research. They also use the work of many others who have extended our knowledge of trauma and dissociation and its treatment over the past century. <br /> <br />Rather than approaching dissociative disorders by only examining the modern theories and developments, they begin with the work of Janet and thus are able to define the sequential breakdown of the personality in the face of traumatic incidences. Their theory respects the varied nature of individual responses making their approach most accessible for those who work directly with any dissociative system, from the simplest ranging to the most complex or polyfragmented. <br /> <br />This book is great advanced reading for those DID'ers who have already read everything else out there and are looking for more. Although it is dense, if you can make your way through it, you will find yourselves, as I did, commenting on how `on the mark' it feels. <br /> <br />THE HAUNTED SELF should be required reading for all psychology and neurobiology students as well as for all private practitioners and those currently working with the mentally ill in institutions, programs and educational settings. It is also excellent material for those seeking to understand more about the functions of the brain. <br /> <br />
	Theoretical Neuroscience: Computational and Mathematical Modeling of Neural Systems
	By: Peter Dayan, L. F. Abbott ISBN: 0262541858 Publisher: The MIT Press Release Date: 01 September, 2005 Bioscience book rank: 122227	I am a mathematician and economist interested in how human brain works. To me, (so far) this is the best book using equations to describe the overall picture of brain functions. Even though it might not touch in-depth research topics, I am sure it gives anyone interested in neuroscience very solid foundations on which more advance topics are built. (It actually invites me to more in-depth research topics, such as reinforcement learning, reward-punishment system, etc.) <br /> <br />If math is your familiar language (says, system of differential equations and Bayesian probability), and you are interested to know, in technical details, how the brain functions, this book is for you. Then, I think, you can go into research topics of your interests after finishing reading this book. "Theoretical Neuroscience" is an in-depth introduction to modeling of neural systems from the chemical/electrical processes within neurons, up through small networks of neurons. It is a little dry, but provides a wealth of information on modeling the electrophysical and computational properties of neurons. This book covers a wide range of different and important subjects of this field and provides by this a good overview to students new in neuroscience. On the other hand side, the topics discussed are not described thoroughly, but stay on the surface. This maybe no big problem for undergraduates who try just to understand the basics but certainly this is not satisfactory for more advanced students or researches. <br /> <br />In my opinion, this book blurs the view of the reader by presenting results about experiments and theoretical models side by side in a way that no fair and solid discussion is provided indicating clearly the limitations and problems of current models. By this, one could get the feeling that the presented models are more than tool to analyse data. However, exactly this is not true for most of the models as can be seen by the fact that these models can also be found in other areas than neuroscience with other interpretations.
	The Neuroscience of Fair Play: Why We (Usually) Follow the Golden Rule
	By: Donald W. Pfaff, Edward O. Wilson ISBN: 1932594272 Publisher: Dana Press Release Date: 15 December, 2007 Bioscience book rank: 99909	THE NEUROSCIENCE OF FAIR PLAY: WHY WE (USUALLY) FOLLOW THE GOLDEN RULE offers a key to understanding behavior, based not on moral theory but neuroscience. The ethics governing everyday living have direct connections to brain circuitry, and Dr. Pfaff draws some important connections between brain signals and science to ethical behavior patterns in society. An excellent survey, this is especially recommended for libraries strong in business, science, or health. <br /> <br />Diane C. Donovan <br />California Bookwatch <br /> Just a quick comment on the book: <br /> <br />1.) This book would have been much better as an article than a book. <br /> <br />2.) Most people will either not be able to or will not want to follow the science presented in this book. <br /> <br />3.) While the science in the book is solid, the social conclusions that the author draws from the science is often flawed, or at least highly suspect. <br /> <br />4.) This book is laying the groundwork for justifying the chemical modification of behavior that you have only read about in science fiction books, Prozac x 100. The concluding chapter essentially advocates for the "treating" the most violent criminals with drugs so that they have a better sense of fair play. You may or may not agree with this, but once these processes exist to be applied to criminals they also exist to be applied to other people. The author does not broach this issue and therefore, I believe, implicitly supports such further applications of this science. <br /> <br />5.) #4 may be a good reason to read this book. All the reviews I have seen on this site are not critical enough of the profound implications of this sort of research.
	Moral Psychology, Volume 3: The Neuroscience of Morality: Emotion, Brain Disorders, and Development (Bradford Books)
	By: Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ISBN: 0262693550 Publisher: The MIT Press Release Date: 31 January, 2008 Bioscience book rank: 34532