Customer Reviews

Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very impressed with the 3rd edition of this book back when I was in graduate student, and the 4th edition seems to have kept up the high standards. I highly recommend this book for anyone approaching advanced studies in any behavioral or neuroscientific field.

This textbook covers human neuropsychology from a more scientific, as opposed to clinical, viewpoint than many other graduate-level textbooks. Perhaps this is due to the authors' own research experiences, which have been conducted primarily with animal models. Personally, I think that this is a great strength, since the authors very effectively tie together the findings from human and animal work, and fill in the gaps which would remain speculative if one had to rely solely upon research with human subjects and clinical cases.

What this means is that there is very limited discussion of assessment and diagnosis, but a thorough review of the anatomical and neurochemical organization of the brain, and well as a thorough review of brain function broken down by behavioral domain (sensory, motor, language, memory, etc.) and by cortical region (frontal, temporal, parietal etc.).

Although published in 1996, this book still remains fundamentally state of the art, and a fine textbook in the field.

I used this text in its 4th edition in graduate school and I found it to be one of the clearest, concise, and best-illustrated textbooks on brain and behavior I'd ever read. The double column presentation of the text made reading and study a bit easier. Some of the motor and sensory pathway figures in the 4th edition were excellent--they were well detailed and presented in an appropriate amount of space on the page. However, this 5th edition is by far an inferior product. The text is now single column, and worst of all the once large, eye-catching, and detailed figures are too often shoved over into the margin--in many instances the 4th edition illustrations have been replaced by tiny dumbed-down figures. I cannot recommend this edition to students or instructors. A 5 for the text, a 1.5 for the presentation and illustrations.

I just wanted to point out a few things for those looking to find a deal on the editions pubished before the fifth. I bought the 4th edition for a class, saved some bucks, but I have been having to constantly check with folks who have the 5th edition because many chapter and heading locations have changed between the two editions. In addition to this, there are several new chapters that reflect the development of neuroscience in the years between the two editions, such and brain imaging and plasticity. Now after struggling with the earlier edition for two months I am having to biuy the fifth to get the assigned chapters that are not in the fourth.

So, the 4th edition certainly is a good text, but be aware of the changes if you are using this for classwork.

This book is an excellent reference on neuropsychology. I am a graduate student in neuroscience and I was pleasantly surprised to note that this book was very thorough in its discussion of different topics. My research concerns aspects of activity in the temporal lobe and the authors have discussed some of the cutting edge literature.This book is definitely a cut above the normal neuroscience textbooks.

The authors have clearly taken the time to go through the literature and pick out interesting papers and placed them in a quick and readable manner. I would recommend this book to any student of systems neuroscience for a good introduction to the fascinating aspects of brain function. In fact I would go as far as saying that this book is an ideal companion to the now dated bible of neuroscience (Kandel, Schwartz and Jessel).

This work is titled "Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology." The work provides a very nice perspective on what is know about the human brain and how it affects our thinking and decision-making.

One positive feature: it is well written and you do not have to be a doctoral student in neuropsychology to follow the book from chapter to chapter.

A second positive feature is the wide ranging coverage of basic subjects--from the evolution of the brain to its basic organization to the structure and function of the cortex to a discussion of higher functions (such as memory, language, emotions, and so on), as well as abnormalities that can occur in the brain.

All in all, a valuable volume that provides the reader with a good introduction (at more than a very basic level) to the structure and functioning of the human brain. It also makes us think a little bit about what it means to be a human.

The book is an excellent source for information on the relationship between the brain and behavior

Very conceptual with alot of research cases and physiological aspects, but perfect for anyone who is preparing for neurosciences and want a NO NONSENSE textbook to have and to keep referring to. It is definately fundamental

This is a heavy book with lots of information packed in it! Everything is written in an interesting way, with verbal descriptions and often, with visual depictions. It helped me to understand terms,how the brain is structured, functions, how it is affected by brain injuries and disorders, and how certain diseases and injuries are affected by the brain. A really good text!

A wonderful text that I had a prior version back in 1994 in neuropsyc as a course textbook. Enjoyed it at the time and enjoy the updated version now as a general reference, and interesting read for those days when I want to review fundamentals from it.

The illustrations were/are strong with cases and descriptions that assist in the understanding of core concepts. I do agree with others in that an earlier version would be just as fine of you are keen to save a few dollars in this purchase.

As a huge fan of memory and memory research this book is one I do find myself looking at from time to time, even years (and years) after graduation.

This book has a way of practically presenting information to help you integrate the facts with other concepts related to the nervous system and brain. The authors go into enough depth and are concise and to the point, you will not find yourself constantly embarking on another dreaded long boring chapter. Chapters are 20-30 pages long, but are enough to keep you interested. In the beginning of each chapter there are cases that are poignant to the chapter. Good book, check it out.