Customer Reviews

The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love

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

 

 

Did you know that scientist estimate that only 5% of a normal person's actions are decided consciously? The rest are results of automated processes that make up the so called cognitive unconscious. Civilisation advances create an ever increasing repertoire of human actions that are executed automatically as humans move their conscious mind to be preoccupied with more complex operations that require conscious thinking. Why is this observation so important? Because influences on brain unconscious processes can alter our behaviour so much without us knowing it. This is the key issue discussed in this book.

The starting point of the book is that the brain does not function in isolation and that there are many brain processes that take place in the realm of cognitive unconscious. This unconscious is like a back door into our mind that something or someone else can use it to influence us. Richard Restak uses a very scientific approach to introduce the reader in the world of neuroscience using a very user friendly style. While the language is accessible, the argument has scientific quality and he always uses descriptions of scientific experiments conducted elsewhere by well known scientists and research institutions. All the mental processes described in the book are mapped backed to areas in the brain using fMRI technology (functional Magneto Resonance Imaging).

The reading will captivate you and sometimes it will surprise you. You will be astounded when you discover how much of what you thought is YOU as a conscious person is based on simple automated circuitry that can be so easily influenced by external factors. The brain is a neutral powerful computing machine that does not make the difference between right or wrong, or internal or external. Starting from simple experiments about subliminal and supraliminal influence, priming and illusion of truth, the author raises the tempo and talks about mirror neurons, more complex models based on emotion and human interaction to show how easily humans can be influenced - if PEOPLE ALLOW IT. This is the good news: you can take action and protect yourself if you understand the possibilities. In a way, this is the opposite of what professional liars do: they convince themselves that what they say is genuinely meant to protect something or somebody.

Richard Restak talks towards the end of the book about brain processes related to moral judgement. Here the technology stops being useful: the mixture of "rational" and "emotional" thoughts is so complex that fMRI cannot be used to identify exactly the relationship between different brain areas and how exactly the final result (the thought) is calculated. I felt a little bit that this part of the book lack clarity and conviction; it sounded more "ethical" than scientific compared with the rest of the book. This was probably because these particular brain processes are most complex. It is also true that they appeared relatively recently in the human evolution and they cannot be localised clearly in the brain like other primal emotions are.

The very last part of the book discusses how clever marketing campaigners exploit the way the brain works. I found extraordinary the claim that a marketing campaign can actually ALTER the memory. After an ad is run repeatedly in front of your eyes, after a while your memory comes up in a different form. And, you will never know it! I also found amusing that some of the methods used by marketers were applied successfully in the market place long before the scientists created the theory that explains it. But the nastier of all applications are in the field of politics, insurance and employment.

Overall, this is an intriguing little book. It is readable, it is interesting, it is modern, it is rigorous enough to make good demonstrations to support an argument and I think it is useful. You will enjoy reading about G Johansson analysis of perception of motion, or Sally-Ann test or the illusion of truth effect.

The synopsis of The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Play by Richard Restak leads the reader to believe that the book centers on the ways marketers and politicians utilize the current findings in neuroscience to influence and manipulate society. Contrary to the synopsis, Restak uses three quarters of the book summarize findings in neuroscience using examples written in lay man's terms. Only about a fourth of the book is focused on using neuroscience to effectively market products and ideas to society. The result is a vast overview of neuropsychology, rather than an in depth analysis of neuromarketing.

The book is separated in ten chapters, spanning various topics from "How the Brain Processes Information" to "The Empathic Brain: Blurring the Boundaries Between Self and Others." The beginning of the book is devoted to explaining the physiology and function of the brain, focusing on the frontal lobe. Restak illustrates the function of the frontal lobe by providing a case when "frontal lobe functioning is compromised." He introduces the case of Jonathan Meaden, a business consultant who Restak eventually diagnoses with frontal lobe dementia. Meaden suffered from "generalized indifference..., impaired social judgment, diminished emotional responses, faulty practical judgment, and problems with self control." Restak explains that Meaden suffered from damage to his frontal lobes, introducing physiology and function of the brain to the reader. This becomes the encompassing style of the book; rather than using technical terms, Restak utilizes examples and case studies to demonstrate his point.

A bulk of the book describes how we perceive society, why we perceive it the way we do, and the unconscious decision making. In one example, Restak introduces the Sally-Ann test, "a false belief test [that is used] to evaluate one person's ability to attribute mental states to another person." The test consists of three images; the first shows Sally placing her doll in a carriage, the second shows Ann taking the doll and placing in a box when Sally leaves, and the third shows Sally enters the room. Restak asks the reader, "Where will Sally look to find her doll?" Many would answer that Sally would look in the carriage, the last place she saw the doll. Restak points out that this requires the reader to put themselves in Sally's place, and imagine how they would approach the situation, otherwise known as mentalizing. He explains that this process requires use of the superior temporal sulcus, cingulated cortex, and most importantly, the medial prefrontal cortex, which is used "whenever we direct our attention inward and think about ourselves, or outward and think about others." Restak also mentions that most people mentalize after the age of four, with the exception of those with autism (80% fail the Sally-Ann test).

Another interesting example Restak offers is of Benjamin Libet's observations in 1985. Libet measured EEG signals of patients who were requested to make simple finger movements. He showed that between 500 and 1000 milliseconds before the movement, a scalp-recorded brain readiness potential occurred. Using this case study, Restak argues that "[o]ur brain, it appears knows our decisions before we do." He implies that we seem to make conscience decisions, but in reality we are just a function of neurons firing in the brain. Restak offers other interesting case studies, experiments, and anecdotes; however, he often falls short of fully explaining how marketers can use this information to influence society.

The latter part of the book finally attempts to explain how neuroscience can make an impact on marketing to society. One of the best examples Restak offers to illustrate this is the Pepsi Challenge study. In this study, people had their brains scanned while given a blind taste test between Pepsi and Coca-Cola. More subjects preferred Pepsi, and brain scans showed that there was enhanced activity in the ventral putamen, "a component of the brain's reward system." The test was repeated with the brand of soda known. The subjects overwhelmingly chose Coke as their preferred soda. Brain scans showed that there was an increase of activity of the medial prefrontal cortex, "a key site for executive-style decision making," and in the hippocampus, an area that is related to memory. Restak shows that although people prefer the taste of Pepsi, Coke is consciously preferred because of the type of marketing Coca-Cola employs. Coca-Cola's marketing aims to evoke emotional responses with the brand by reminding consumers of "happy memories" they may have had in the past associated with Coke.

The Naked Brain is easy to read, and incredibly informative. Although Restak offers multiple examples to illustrate his point, the examples become repetitive. In essence, Restak summaries many of the developments in neuroscience and ties it to psychology, without much analysis. When Restak eventually tries to explain neuromarketing, he explains why current marketing techniques work from a neuroscience standpoint, rather than presenting developments in neuroscience than can affect the marketing of products. I highly recommend this book to those who are new to the field of neuroscience and neuropsychology. If you are looking for techniques of neuromarketing, you may want to search for another book.

Richard Restak has published several books about the functioning of the human brain, all intended for a general audience. In my opinion, this is the best of them, covering a great deal of material in a manner that should be accessible to all.

The focus is on two aspects of the brain in the early twenty-first century: both the most recent research on the brain itself and the effects of new technologies in the areas of both biology and information technology on the brain.

The book covers such areas as the role of both talent and practice in achieving mastery in playing music, the effects of increased bandwidth of information transmission on our ability to pay attention, recent discoveries that the brain is far more plastic (able to "rewire" itself) than had previously been believed, and the ethical questions concerning prescribing psychoactive drugs for patients with no disorder that can be diagnosed.

I also found Dr. Restak's cautious attitude about what we really do know quite appealing.

'''The Naked Brain by Richard Restak'''

A revolutionary new look at the progress of neuroscience in the new millenium. This short work is a synopsis of the extensive research Restak has been doing concerning brain mapping and the influence this will likely have on advertizing, work, love and many other aspects of our everyday lives. This book elaborates upon a field begun by Penfield and Jasper in the 1950's which began with neural stimulation and localization theory and is now being revised by modern neurologists, neurosurgeons and psychologists to include neural networks involving several areas of the brain. The book begins with a flashback to the past; a look into the humble beginnings of neuroscience and its progenitors. 18th century reseacher Angelo Mosso gained insight from a peasant named Bertino who several years earlier suffered a head injury which destroyed the bones of his skull covering his frontal lobes. Through observation, Mosso found that pulsations could provide a measure of brain function during mental activity. More accurate measures were later developed using dyes, and today we use CAT scans, MRI's and PET scans. An anatomical diagram then follows, giving the reader a basic lesson in neuroanatomy in the following pages. A wide range of topics are discussed in great detail, especially brain areas and networks involving emotions.


Some highlights of the book include:

-the chapter called "Compassion and the Frontal Lobes" (pgs. 114-120)

-the anterior cingulate cortex's (ACC) role in love (pgs. 131-136)

-the description of the "cognitive unconscious"

-economic decison making, involving the parietal cortex, striatum and prefrontal cortex (pgs. 185-190)

-the interplay of the anterior insula (area involved with disgust), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (goal-oriented part of brain) and the ACC. If one is disgusted by an unfair offer, the AI will initially be activated, followed by the DPLC, which will attempt to appease and accept the offer, and finally a decision will be made on the part of the ACC to accept or regect the deal. (pgs. 187-188)

-the description of the brain'e plasicity

- information concerning the nucleus accumbens, or pleasure center of the brain (pg. 208)

This is another one of Dr. Restak's outstanding books. He renders difficult technical information in a readily understandable fashion. Moreover, he explains the ramifications of the research to society. Brain imaging is a hot topic now. It engenders much excitement and hype. Dr. Restak puts this research in its proper perspective.

From the title of the book, a reader would assume that the book focuses on the "neurosociety" that is developing today through brain research and technologies. In a way, this assumption would be correct in that it gives examples of studies in neuromarketing, but anyone attempting to actually learn neuromarketing techniques would be incredibly let-down after reading a whole book and walking away from it with little more than what is typically taught in a general marketing class. I found Dr. Restak's work exceptionally interesting in that he gave synopses of neuroscience studies that have been done, describing what is known about the brain and its processes to date and what to look forward to in the future, both near and far. He writes for an uninformed crowd, simplifying most of the information and explaining all the basics, which is wonderful if you know nothing about the brain, but it can get a little annoying if you have anything beyond the very basic knowledge, as you recognize the over-simplicity and repetitiveness.

The book is divided into an introduction, ten chapters, and an afterward with each section divided further into several subsections. The first half to two-thirds of the book is mainly a string of studies and tests that explain some part of brain processing and, occasionally, an interesting neurological/psychological disorder. For example, the author talks about the rare and intriguing "Environmental Dependency Syndrome" in chapter two, describing it as when a patient suffers damage to the frontal lobe and "develops a peculiar and irresistible urge to imitate other people's actions." In describing this disorder, Restak both entertains the reader and makes his point about the cognitive unconscious and willed control. What I also found interesting was his description of typical, everyday behaviors and their origin in brain processes.

Emotions and memory are brain processes that everyone accesses multiple times on a daily basis. However, what actually is responsible for the experiences that we all take for granted? Restak's explanations are all framed artfully around an experiment. To illustrate the lack of conscious control over emotions, he details an experiment performed by Paul Whalen where fearful faces were flashed on a screen to subjects at a rate at which they could not consciously perceive the faces, but the brain activated from stimulation by the fearful faces because emotions are not dependent upon us knowing their cause. The amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for emotions, will "stir like a lion awakening from its nap" upon seeing a fearful face, "it doesn't matter whether you consciously perceive the faces."

While describing memory, Restak reports that 50 percent of adults will remember a trip they took as a child in a hot air balloon with their uncle after looking at a fake picture. People can create a variety of false memories, and to illustrate the point Restak tells the story of the psychologist Jean Piaget and his false memory from childhood. Piaget distinctly remembers a man attempting to kidnap him while he was with his nanny on the Champs-Elysées. His memory of this event is remarkable, but it never happened. The nanny had fabricated the story and only told his family the truth years later. Piaget later described his memory of the event as "a memory of a memory, but false."

Later in the book, Restak finally delves into what the reader expects the book to talk about, the neurosociety and neuromarketing. He builds off Piaget's story of false memory to show how marketers can use false memories to help market their products using memory morphing. In one example, adults "remembered" drinking Stewart's root beer from the bottle as a child because the bottles today are "embossed with such phrases as `original,' `old-fashioned,' and `since 1924', [and] provided customers with the basis for forming a false memory, an illusion of a childhood experience they never had." Another fascinating neuromarketing topic referred to is brand loyalty, citing specifically the "Pepsi Challenge" where in a blind taste test, most preferred Pepsi, but if the brand of the beverage is known, Coca Cola is preferred. Researchers associated these results to the "emotional impact of a brand name" suggesting that the emotional connection with the customer is a more important marketing strategy than having a preferred product.

In the last chapter, Restak describes the "office-obsessed" employee, the person who is typing away on his laptop while sitting at the beach on vacation. Surprisingly, Restak dedicates part of the chapter to condemning this type of behavior and automated technology on the grounds of it changing our brains: "Thanks to an emphasis on speed, efficiency, and economy aimed at eliminating `unneeded' employees, face-to-face communication in our present business-oriented culture is becoming rare. This alters how our brains process empathy and other emotional responses. And things can be expected to get worse." He goes on to talk about increased human interactions with robots. How long can we interact with robots before becoming one emotionally?

After all of the fascinating and ground-breaking results of the brain studies, the reality check comes in at the end where Restak essentially starts stepping on the proverbial brakes. He discusses the limitations, the generalizations, and the oversimplifications of much of the research. Although findings in many of the areas of interest are promising, there is still much to learn, and Restak cautions against jumping to conclusions: "The use of imperfect information about the brain to draw unwarranted and extravagant claims about personality and behavior has a colorful history that we should be wary of repeating."

As a whole, I greatly enjoyed the book. Restak's style of writing is entertaining and engaging. I would recommend this book to any reader interested in getting a glimpse at the research being done in some of the newest and, arguably, the most culturally relevant neuroscience topics. Just keep in mind that you will be getting a lot of background information in the beginning before reaching the "juicier" material. Also, be sure to read the introduction and afterward. I know they are sometimes skipped to avoid "fluff," but in this book, they pose some very interesting questions and house intriguing topics.

Dr. Restak provides an insightful look at recent research into the workings of the human brain. My left hemisphere Mini-me says Dr. Restak is onto something. But then again, what does mini-Me know? He's just a loud mouth after thought. The one disappointment is that The Naked Brain does not deliver much in explaining how neuroscience is fashioning marketing and thought control in the modern world. The book promises more than it delivers on that last front. Nonetheless a real eye opener. Or should we say an expose on the structure of the human brain? We're not what we think we are.

Some days I think whoever gets paid to make up book titles should, maybe, read more than the first and last chapters of those books. Truth in advertising would be good.

Be that as it may, this is a fascinating and readable book and I enjoyed it very much. I think both my college students and the general public will find Restak's study of what makes us tick enlightening. This book,centered on the brain and various social interactions, is full of very intriguing stuff indeed.

Restak's challenge to the reader: "We can employ this new knowledge about social neuroscience to advance human freedom within the neurosociety, or we can allow irresponsible people to use this knowledge in ways that are not always to our advantage. By learning as much as we can about the social applications of emerging knowledge about the brain, we will be in a position to resist manipulation..."

Maybe!

Kim Burdick
Stanton, DE

Richard Restak did an excellent job in fully exposing The Naked Brain. He exposed the foundation that makes us unique individuals and reflects why we think and behave differently regardless of our environment and level of education. Great job!

This purchase was pretty much perfect, the delivery of the purchase was a little slow, but the book is in good condition and nothing else was really wrong with the purchase.