Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind

by Michael S. Gazzaniga, George R. Mangun, Richard B. Ivry, et al.

Book Overview

Seeks to demonstrate how the complex processes of the mind - perception, language, memory, feelings - are made possible by the underlying biology of the brain. The text explores the neurological chemistry behind critical diseases and suggest various treatments. A series of interviews with researchers brings the science to life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393972194
• ISBN13: 9780393972191
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 4.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.8" x 11.2"

Customer Reviews

Great for any cognitive neuroscience or cognition class

This book is very easy to read and understand. It explains terms in a simple way that is easy to understand. I initially used this book for my cognitive neuroscience class and now I use it for my cognition class. It has a lot of diagrams, which is great when you are studying areas like the different parts of the brain. I think this would be a really good book for college students who are studying psychology or neuroscience.

Excellent

Research in cognitive neuroscience has exploded in the last two decades, mostly due to the rise of experimental techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission topography, but also due to the ability now to simulate neuronal behavior computationally. This book, written by leading experts in the field is written for the student in mind, so anyone with a strong curiosity about what has been accomplished in cognitive neuroscience up till now will gain a lot from reading the book. The study of the brain is fascinating and there is every indication that a thorough understanding of cognitive processes, including the nature of consciousness, will be achieved in this century. Just a small sample of some of the questions that arise from the reading of the book include: 1. What is the cause of akinetopsia, i.e. loss of motion perception? 2. What is the relationship between learning and memory? 3. How limited is short-term memory and where are sensory memories stored? 4. Why were `working memory' models proposed and what evidence is there to support them? 5. What is the difference between declarative and nondeclarative memories? 6. What is the connection between amnesia and the medial temporal lobe? 7. Just how accurate are the experimental techniques of PET and fMRI? 8. Is damage to the hippocampus sufficient to block the formation of new long-term memories? 9. Does damage to the medial temporal lobe and diencephalic memory systems affect both episodic and semantic memory? 10. What brain systems support procedural memory? 11. Is there any evidence that brain lesions can affect the perceptual representation system but leaving the declarative memory untouched? 12. How much is known about the molecular mechanisms of synaptic strengthening in long-term potentiation? 13. Just how much is known about the neural organization of language? 14. What evidence is there for domain-specific knowledge systems that are evolutionarily adapted? 15. What is the nature of the segmentation problem and what is its relevance in the neuronal modeling of language use and acquisition? 16. Is reading represented by a specialized input system? 17. What are the differences between the modular and interactive models of language comprehension? 18. What evidence is there for the garden-path model of syntactic analysis? 19. What is the nature of agrammatic aphasia and what causes it? 20. What is semantic paraphasia what causes it? 21. What is the nature of Broca's aphasia? 22. What connection, if any, is there between the size of the corpus callosum and autism? 23. Why, from an evolutionary perspective, is it advantageous to have hemispheric specialization? 24. How does the frequency hypothesis explain hemispheric asymmetries in visual perception? 25. How effective are the computational models of visual system? 26. What experiments indicate that cortical cell number cannot by itself fully explain human intelligence? 27. In contrast to nonhuman anim

Not for those without background

This book is not intended for the general reader, reader with cellular neuroscience background, but has a target audience of advanced undergraduate or graduate level students with relevant background. Also would be useful for the psychology professional without specific or with dated cognitive neuroscience background, or others intending a research or applied clinical career in the area. Appropriate background would necessarily be at least an undergraduate course in cognitive psychology, with additional help provided by biological psychology or a medical professional in neurology. Discussions of principles and mechanisms are at a "functional machinery" level and thus would not make sense to those without some previous training in those principles. It just isn't a basic text, thus, no glossary of basic terms is included. Yes, the material is both abstract and complex, but so is brain function, and we are just beginning to learn. There are very, very few textbooks that survey this area which only became a separate field of study sometime around 1986. Other reading material in the field consists entirely of professional level chapters in compiled and edited texts. The only other broad survey text that I know of is Marie Banich's book on the related area of Cognitive Neuropsychology.

Best overall for Cogntive Neuroscience

I have used it in an upper division undergraduate psychology class, and in my students' rankings of textbooks, this book has consistently been ranked higher than any other text I've used.The level is beyond a simple introductory psychology text, but is very appropriate for the upper division course. The numerous full-color illustrations and photographs are especially helpful in illustrating key points. It covers the full spectrum of the neural basis of cognition, from simple perception through the biology of emotion to the basis of consciousness (with very interesting case studies of brain damaged patients throughout).

very thorough

I agree with other reviewers that this is not best suited as an introductory textbook; however it seems to work fine as a source of information for the student who has already taken intro psychology. There is a lot of terminology, but everything seemed to be very well explained. We did note an error or two. Overall I think this book is great.