Conversations With Neil's Brain: The Neural Nature Of Thought And Language

by William H. Calvin and George A. Ojemann

Book Overview

In a series of stories before, after, and even during neurosurgery, an epileptic patient, Neil; his surgeon, George Ojemann; and neuroscientist William Calvin work together to remove a portion of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201483378
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Entertaining Science

Entertaining insight into how the brain works with anecdotal stories from a neourophysioligists/nuerosurgeon's viewpoint

great for laymen or students

I read this book as part of my first neurobiology course and I thought it was just awesome. The book is written so that most people (not only undergraduate neurobiology majors) will be able to understand and appreciate it. It's an awesome book, which explains how the brain works by going through conversations between a surgeon and his curious patient.

Excellent Reading

This book describes a type of epilepsy surgery usingsubdural electrode grids prior to surgery. I underwentthe same surgery as described in this book. This bookis a very readable book that explains this kind of surgeryin understandable language to the average reader. A mustread for anyone with epilepsy.

Excellent reading

This is a great book. Complex technical concepts are put across in a readable and entertaining way, yet it avoids being too superficial, or too "matey" in its style. As a cognitive psychology student it has helped me to understand the physical foundations of psychological phenomena, and had added depth to the psychological treatment of thought and language that I have been studying. But as well as this, it is an excellent read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in how our brains work.

A clear look at how our brain works.

Conversations with Neil's Brain By Calvin & Ojemann.Reviewed by Dr. Charles FinlayThis is a trip through the brain, "Neil's Brain," Traveling through dendrites, axioms, and the web of the neuro-cortex into a better comprehension of what the brain does. Deep into the amygdala across to the hippocampus and onto the frontal lobe, all in a well mapped adventure to a better perception how our brains work. Neil, who's brain we examine, is a combination of treatments and discoveries about the brain rolled into one person. This is a well-written story about a "subject" with a dilemma that can be remedied by the use of brain surgery. As we travel the neuro-cortex of "Neil's Brain" the mystery of how the brain works is simplified into an understanding of the inner machinery of the living brain. If you are interested in the how and why the brain does what it does this is a good place to start. Conversations with Neil's Brain is an adventure and a "text" book. It is fun to read and overflows with information on the parts and process of the brain.