Customer Reviews

The New Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes in a Complex World

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I feel honored and embarrassed by being the first reviewer of this book.

I am not a scientist and I admittedly struggled with the book so this review will be written from the point of view of a naive reader -- i.e. I am fairly familiar with some of the sciences, but not neuroscience. Be forewarned: the vocabulary/terminology used throughout this book can be overwhelming, even intimidating, not at times, but frequently. The depth of the ideas is quite deep. That the mind is what the brain does is probably the highest level statement that one can make, it is the "Open Sesame," to a world of astonishing complexity, beauty, and fragility. There is so much here in fact that a single reading will hardly do it justice. I had read another book by Goldberg, The Wisdom Paradox, found it accessible and loved it. It really has affected my life for the better. But this book is a whole order of magnitude beyond that. What Goldberg does, in addition to providing glimpses into his fascinating life (the man really needs to write an autobiography) -- unless you are a neuro-scientist -- is completely blow apart (the weak verb "deconstruct" hardly does it justice) every preconception and stale idea you may have on how the brain works. I have a strong interest in autism, for example, and this was the first book that gave me the beginning of an understanding as to why there are so many more males than females with the condition. I mention that in particular because if you are a PC reader, you may not be happy with this book. But Goldberg is fearless which makes for not only fascinating (and in regards to some of the case studies, heartbreaking) reading but thrilling as well.

So who might want to read this, other than specialist? Readers of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's "My Stroke of Insight" might want to give it a go as might people who enjoy Oliver Sack's works, but again be forewarned: this book is the real deal. Prepare to spend time with it. For the most part the author speaks to the reader as he would to a colleague. This is quite different from most science books these days. I think the primary audience are those who A) really want to understand how the brain works (at least as much as current science can tell us) or B) those who are involved in caretaker situations, e.g. autistic people, people with strokes or who have suffered head injuries (as Dr. Goldberg informs us, there are yearly 2 million TBIs -- Traumatic Brain Injuries -- in American alone). So what are you waiting for?

As for negatives, there are a couple. The book has some typoes. There aren't many and they aren't serious but they are there. Presumably they will be removed from future editions. The other is that towards the end of the book Dr. Goldberg lets himself get carried away with an analogy, what one might term the neuromorphic view of how human societies will evolve in the future. It's mildly diverting but questionable -- neurons do not have intentionality as we think of it in human terms, so the science of human action is ignored, rendering his speculations dubious at best. Worse is his primary source: he states (p. 279): "My favorite newspaper, the New York Times, has provided me with the necessary polemic ammunition." Oh dear. Someone should have warned him. But this sort of thing happens. Even the great Einstein, when he wandered into the areas of global disarmament and world government, wrote stuff that would have been viewed as crankish if it had come from anyone else.

I'm trusting, Dr. Goldberg, despite my criticism, would not mind the comparison with Einstein.

I am a specialist in the field, and I found Goldberg's book to be original, witty, honest, entertaining, personable, and intelligent. Mr Fish, Goldberg's mentor was Alexander Luria, not Isaac Luria ( Isaac was a distant cousin, perhaps, I think his specialty was the Kabbalah). Luria is in the background, and it is easy to see how Luria's views inculcate Goldberg's shaping view of how the brain works. For example, Luria waged a lifelong battle against brain "centers." Goldberg updates this, explains, elegantly, the difference between a priori and a posteriori, and why some of those modern opinions cannot be correct.

Goldberg presented his views about right-left brain decades ago, with the right brain addressing novelty, and the left brain, subroutines. He is right that his landmark papers got less attention than they deserved at the time, but this book will correct that injustice somewhat. Goldberg is now in private practice, and unfortunately, others will need to do some of the research.

I was especially interested in the tests that he developed, especially the Cognitive Bias Test. He has another test, which is sold, that recapitulates his mentor's (Luria's) tests, but the Cognitive Bias Test is truly his, and is in press according to his CV.

I also was interested in some of his case studies, especially the horseman who had a mesencephalic injury. The "higher" functions of brainstem and cerebellar structures has been an idea that has emerged, and it would have been nice if Goldberg had developed the thought a little more and credited some of the others working in that area such as Jeremy Schamhmann and colleagues.

One criticism of the book is that it tends to ramble, and could have used more editing to remove typos that kept unctously irritating my right frontal lobe and basal ganglia.

I learned a tremendous amount from this book and I thank Dr. Goldberg for writing it.

As a neuroscientist and a clinician I found this book to be especially helpful as a general reference book; a book that provides a bird's eye view of human brain. Goldberg's theories of functional cortical organization, frontal lobe function, and hemispheric differences and their relationship to clinical disorders are original, cohesive, elegant, and parsimonious. They provide a robust and reliable theoretical framework for a scientist-practitioner, the type of framework that is quite often hard to discern from contemporary neuroscience textbooks. While only time will tell to what extent Goldberg's theories reflect the actual workings of the brain, for now I find no better road map to help me navigate through theoretical and clinical neuroscience.

This is a remarkable book, by a remarkable man.

All of us who work with older people need to take advantage of the findings of the rapidly emerging science of behavioral neurology, and this is one of the two books I recommend as a starting point (the other is Norman Doidge's amazing "The Brain that Changes Itself.")

Goldberg weaves together three "tales." One is the story of his relationship in the Soviet Union with his teacher and mentor, the late Isaac Luria, and of the ruses Goldberg adopted to avoid joining the communist party and escape to the West - without putting Luria at risk of official repression. The second is a technical and clinical tale intended to allow the general reader to understand how the frontal lobes of the brain function - and what happens when they malfunction. The third story ties the first two together: it outlines a theory of brain organization, and an explanation of why the human brain is split into two hemispheres. Goldberg accounts for this division in terms of our ability to deal with novel situations, and his theory has numerous interesting implications. Among other things, he assigns southpaws (like me) a very positive role in the overall economy of human types (we're the innovators.) In this Goldberg contrasts sharply with other writers who want to treat left handedness as a pathology.

In working with older people who are having difficulty with decision making, I have found that Goldberg's theories are extremely useful. People with dementia often develop grave problems in dealing with situations that require them to formulate and act on their own goals, or to adapt to novel circumstances and Goldberg explains why this is so.

The strength of Goldberg's character, humor and humanity shine through every sentence of this book, including the more technical parts, and this book will interest anyone who wants to understand more about what it means to be human.

What an incredibly comprehensive study on Executive Functioning. However, if you are new to this study, this book is a difficult read. This gentleman is brilliant and I loved the personal stories he interjected but I spent a lot of time looking up words and educating myself on some of the background information.

I would recommend this book if you are in a field where knowledge of this disability is important.

THE NEW EXECUTIVE BRAIN: FRONTAL LOBES IN A COMPLEX WORLD provides a fine survey by a scientist, clinician and educator who has completely revised and expanded his previous book to blend in the latest details on what science can tell of the human brain. From the latest findings in neuroscience and neuropsychology to how choices affect the brain and how language may not be a result of the central adaptation of the left hemisphere, this is a 'must' for any health or general collection.

I'm not a psychologist, or a scientist. What I am is a passionate learner, which I value above anything. I do this for free because I love it. I read everything under the sun about this topic.

And for years I've immersed myself in brain science. This book is nothing short of amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about the brain. Yes, it has a non-PC nature. But isn't that what science is about in the first place? Dr. Goldberg does a good job at presenting his ideas in terms of being non-PC.

However, I am not only a passionate learner of brain science, but also of culture, society, and social conditioning. Now, to say the book is selling sickness is a bit over the top - I agree. But I did catch your attention, and this is important for the following reason:

Humans in certain terms are like some animals. We shouldn't be caught off guard and blinded by our perceptions of our own glory. We have to be realistic. Realism hasn't anything to do with being pessimistic or optimistic. Realism is as it is. This is why I appreciate Dr. Goldberg's non-PC presentation. We are humans, and our objective is to follow reality as closely as possible so that we can survive and thrive. This is our adaptive trait.

So lets look at this phenomenon of human nature by comparing it to the way some animals behave - When a peacock sees its reflection in a mirror, it thinks that it is another peacock. Humans are more intelligent in this case, to a degree. Since we are social learners, we are absolutely horrible at distinguishing what is truly, genuinely our own thoughts, from what others have instilled in our heads. It is incredibly difficult to distinguish your thinking patterns (which you have engaged in for years) as strictly a byproduct of your own unique learning experience, as opposed to them being a by-product of social learning. As a species, this is a huge advantage, but at the same time, can be our curse.

Dr. Goldberg's book constantly emphasizes the extreme "subtlety" and of mental disorders and the incredible frequency at which they occur (because our lobes are fragile due to how extensively they are wired with the rest of the brain). He takes science and turns it into dogma by neglecting to look at both sides of the issue, namely what constitutes mental disorder and what constitutes normal, everyday behavior. The focus predominately on mental disorders without the equal counterbalance of pointing out the flip side of the coin is a downfall of this book. He is very limited when it comes to explaining the gray area of brain function and development.

Please follow this:

Your brain is wired to seek value, or that which it perceives as important. SO... If you don't have enough trust in your own mental faculties (which many people do not), your brain (paradoxically) will automatically start to preoccupy itself with feelings of insecurity about it's own stability, due to how the book is presented. If you procrastinate, Dr. Goldberg probably won't hesitate to say that it's a disorder of the frontal lobes. If you start reading a book and don't finish it, the implication is that you may be suffering from subtle frontal lobe disorders, if you make mistakes and are frequently absent-minded, it can probably be the subtle early signs of a frontal lobe disorder. Now let me ask you this: How many people does the above apply to? Pretty much everyone. Dr. Goldberg fails to provide an extensive counter argument to this phenomenon of human behavior and why it occurs.

He takes on a very black-and-white stance on this because he does not instruct people on how to use the frontal lobes effectively. He writes about how they work, but not how to use them. And most people do not know how to use them effectively, as a result of this book, they may as well be convinced that they are very vulnerable or ill - which is highly unlikely, statistically.

Knowing this, Dr. Goldberg continues to present the idea that continuous mental erring can be a sign of subtle brain disorders. And I kid you not, the emphasis of *subtle* is pointed out at least 10 times over a short period especially after chapter ten.

Perhaps Dr. Goldberg did not focus on the gray area because most people cannot deal with it since it can be rather complicated for the average person. But in my opinion, since we are a species that is highly influenced by authority figures and the people around us, it is rather irresponsible how the book is portrayed because unless you are a highly confident, autonomous person, you will start finding faults and maybe even believe that something is permanently wrong with you.

It is so ironic that he fails to mention that we can develop the frontal lobes into a potent instrument. He neglects to say this and skips right into the area of subtle brain disorders, which is something totally different from simply not knowing how to use and develop the frontal lobes in the first place.

Overall I highly recommend this book. Please use it as a source of value rather than be taken in by the inevitable inherent faults within it. This is why I pointed out that things that we often think and take as our own, are in reality not our own. It is vital to *learn* the boundary and trust in your own experience of life rather than be like a leaf in the wind, constantly reacting to authority figures and persuasive information. Not trusting yourself is not a "subtle" mental disorder. How do you know? Because you have a conscious will and you can develop trust in yourself as the autonomous unit that you are in the first place.

Finally - why only two stars? Over the years I have developed an extremely low tolerance level for faulty information (which this book is not), faulty presentation (which some of this book IS, regardless of it being non-PC - and this may lead to much headache for certain people), and general misguided arguments. The reason is that, again, we are highly influenced by the people and ideas around us. Be very critical, but realistic.

Cheers!! =)