Inside the Brain: Revolutionary Discoveries of How the Mind Works (Paperback)

by Ronald Kotulak (Author) "Seeing stars, it dreams of eternity..." (more)
Key Phrases: low noradrenaline, fetal tissue transplants, low serotonin, National Institute, University of California, Chicago Tribune (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The brain and how it works has long been one of life's more intriguing mysteries. Ronald Kotulak, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, explores some of the secrets of the human brain by marshaling the work of the leading researchers in the field. This book, the culmination of Kotulak's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, offers theories on how environment, diet, and a host of other factors affect neurological development. Among other things, the book offers groundbreaking evidence on how unhealthy surroundings foster serious imbalances in neurological chemicals and, in turn, unhealthy or violent behavior. Inside the Brain is essential reading for parents, those concerned with sociological factors on development, or anyone curious about the workings of the mind. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Kotulak, a Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer, interviewed approximately 300 researchers around the world to write this nontechnical report on the latest findings about the brain. The text is divided into three parts: how the brain gets built; how the brain gets damaged; how the brain fixes itself. Kotulak presents many startling findings, the most important of which, for him, is that "the brain gets better and better through exercise but 'rusts' with disuse. It is the ultimate use-it-or-lose-it machine." One implication of this finding is that people who actively use their brains throughout life have greatly reduced chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. The author devotes considerable attention to the effects of alcohol?positive and negative?on the brain and elucidates why alcohol and other recreational drugs ingested by the mother are horrendous for the developing fetus. The book is laced with prescriptions for social policy based on the latest scientific findings of brain research?for example, that society would do better to treat the violent as diseased rather than imprison them. This book will be of most interest to inquiring lay readers. Illustrations.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Revised edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836232895
• ISBN-13: 978-0836232899
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice, informative little book., March 24, 2002

By	Carlos Camara "marrorris2" (Monterrey, Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book raises some very important issues. It is a popular account of some not-so-modern-anymore research in brain plasticity, development and neurochemistry, as well as some genetics. The main points the author wishes to get across are the fact that the brain is molded by the enviroment, that molecular neurobiology is beginnig to use the brain's plasticity to heal it, and that behavior and personality have strong biological bases. All of these points are corroborated, and the book discusses work done by lots of interviewed neuroscienctists. The text is real easy to understand, and has a lot of valuable information in it. It is by a journalist, and reads like a piece of journalism.
The thing I most dislike about these kinds of books is that thay are too optimistic. Yes, you understood right. ONly one side of the debate is presented. And the research discussed is oversimplified to astonishing degrees. I mean, it is not scienctifically responsible to make claims like "receptor x is for agressiveness, receptor y for attentiveness, receptor z for arousal". Those are gross simplifications. It is simply ridiculous to make such claims. Another thing is that the author fails to mention that almost every research mentioned is contested by some other that failed to get the same results. Genes or receptors for this or that arise every week, are refuted the next week, and brought back to life the next week after that. The field is really promising, but it is also really murky right now.
The discussion on plasticity, new thechniques fighting strokes and Altzheimers, and the importance of enviroment on development are pretty accurate, however. The author does a good job in showing the great impact the change of view from "hard-wired" to "fluid" has had in the neurosciences. This is really some of the most iteresting issues, and those that most easily will have an impact on daily life. But the book is by no means scientifically rigorous.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good solid beginning for those interested in the brain, May 12, 2000

By	K. L Sadler (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I tend to collect books on the brain, partly because of my personal interest and the fact that I am a neuroscientist and an educator, especially of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people. I am always on the lookout for good quality books which provide simple but concise descriptions of the brain's capacities and the impact of drugs, alcohol, and injuries on the brain. Kotulak does a pretty good job, and actually provided me with some interesting information which wasn't available in textbooks. He also backed up his information with reliable research, even though it gets confusing occasionally between hard science researchers such as those who do MRI and catscan studies of the brain, and soft science researchers or those who are in the psychiatric professions. He does the reader a favor by providing them other places to go if they find a particular part of the brain or the problems of the brain by quoting these researchers and providing them as references. On the whole the book is worthwhile, and it is available for my students and peers to read as a good start in basic neuroscience. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh, [e-mail]

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A positive and useful book about the brain, October 6, 2000

By	Heika Sample (Klamath Falls, OR) - See all my reviews

When this book was first assigned in a college course, I sighed inwardly, imagining long nights filled with tongue twisting neurobabble in my future. So I was happily surprised when I found the writing to be consise, easy-to-read, and above all, interesting. Inside the Brain is written for the non scientist by a non scientist. The theories discussed are riveting. I never had any idea that child rearing before the age of five could have such a positive or negative affect on a child's brain. Or that violence can become hard-wired through the environment a child is raised in. The discussion of addiction and alcoholism is fascinating. I would be very happy if a cure for these deadly and humiliating diseases was found in the near future. Although much of what is presented in the book is grim, Kotulak manages to put a touch of hope into all of the findings. People from all walks of life would benefit from the information found in this book.