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The phenomenon of near-death experiences (NDEs) has fascinated humanity for centuries but remains famously difficult to define and study. This book presents a unique source, integrating historical, clinical, psychological, and neuroscientific approaches toward a modern scientific understanding of NDEs. Featuring exciting clinical and experimental details about processes in dying brains, it examines the physiological and psychological underpinnings of this extraordinary phenomenon. Chapters offer science-based accounts of NDEs as a natural part of the human condition informed by our biology and the remarkable capacities of the brain. By proposing that the origin of NDEs can be found in the physiology-dependent mental processes of the experiencer as expressed in altered states of consciousness, this book provides up-to-date insights for psychologists, psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and philosophers alike.
Human affective science has advanced rapidly over the past decades, emerging as a central topic in the study of the mind. This handbook provides a comprehensive and authoritative road map to the field, encompassing the most important topics and methods. It covers key issues related to basic processes including perception of, and memory for, different types of emotional information, as well as how these are influenced by individual, social and cultural factors. Methods such as functional neuroimaging are also covered. Evidence from clinical studies of brain disease such as anxiety and mood disorders shed new light on the functioning of emotion in all brains. In covering a dynamic and multifaceted field of study, this book will appeal to students and researchers in neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, biology, medicine, education, social sciences, and philosophy.
Developed specifically for students in the behavioral and brain sciences, this textbook provides a practical overview of human neuroimaging. The fully updated second edition covers all major methods including functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, multimodal imaging, and brain stimulation methods. Two new chapters have been added covering computational imaging as well as a discussion of the potential and limitations of neuroimaging in research. Experimental design, image processing, and statistical inference are addressed, with chapters for both basic and more advanced data analyses. Key concepts are illustrated through research studies on the relationship between brain and behavior, and review questions are included throughout to test knowledge and aid self-study. Combining wide coverage with detail, this is an essential text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, neuroscience, and cognitive science programs taking introductory courses on human neuroimaging.
Attention is critical to our daily lives, from simple acts of reading or listening to a conversation to the more demanding situations of trying to concentrate in a noisy environment or driving on a busy roadway. This book offers a concise introduction to the science of attention, featuring real-world examples and fascinating studies of clinical disorders and brain injuries. It introduces cognitive neuroscience methods and covers the different types and core processes of attention. The links between attention, perception, and action are explained, along with exciting new insights into the brain mechanisms of attention revealed by cutting-edge research. Learning tools – including an extensive glossary, chapter reviews, and suggestions for further reading – highlight key points and provide a scaffolding for use in courses. This book is ideally suited for graduate or advanced undergraduate students as well as for anyone interested in the role attention plays in our lives.
Fully updated for the second edition, this text remains a comprehensive and current treatment of the cognitive neuroscience of memory. Featuring a new chapter on group differences in long-term memory, areas covered also include cognitive neuroscience methods, human brain mechanisms underlying long-term memory success, long-term memory failure, implicit memory, working memory, memory and disease, memory in animals, and recent developments in the field. Both spatial and temporal aspects of brain processing during different types of memory are emphasized. Each chapter includes numerous pedagogical tools, including learning objectives, background information, further reading, review questions, and figures. Slotnick also explores current debates in the field and critiques of popular views, portraying the scientific process as a constantly changing, iterative, and collaborative endeavor.
The Neuroscience of Language offers a remarkably accessible introduction to language in the mind and brain. Following the chain of communication from speaker to listener, it covers all fundamental concepts from speech production to auditory processing, speech sounds, word meaning, and sentence processing. The key methods of cognitive neuroscience are covered, as well as clinical evidence from neuropsychological patients and multimodal aspects of language including visual speech, gesture, and sign language. Over 80, full color figures are included to help communicate key concepts. The main text focuses on big-picture themes, while detailed studies and related anecdotes are presented in footnotes to provide interested students with many opportunities to dive deeper into specific topics. Throughout, language is placed within the larger context of the brain, illustrating the fascinating connections of language with other fields including cognitive science, linguistics, psychology, and speech and hearing science.
Fully updated and revised, Cognitive and Social Neuroscience of Aging, 2nd Edition provides an accessible introduction to aging and the brain. Now with full color throughout, it includes over fifty figures illustrating key research findings and anatomical diagrams. Adopting an integrative perspective across domains of psychological function, this edition features expanded coverage of multivariate methods, moral judgments, cognitive reserve, prospective memory, event boundaries, and individual differences related to aging, including sex, race, and culture. Although many declines occur with age, cognitive neuroscience research reveals plasticity and adaptation in the brain as a normal function of aging. With this perspective in mind, the book emphasizes the ways in which neuroscience methods have enriched and changed thinking about aging.
The General Theory of human memory is the most prominent result of the cognitive revolution in psychology. Despite its role in modern memory research, the General Theory is not well understood. This book describes the General Theory of human memory and applies it to numerous empirical phenomena. It details the prominent architectures for formally modeling the flow of information among the proposed memory structures using the search of associative memory (SAM) and the retrieving effectively from memory (REM) models.
This innovative text introduces neuroscience students to the visual language of scientific publications, teaching scientific literacy, research methods, and graphical literacy in an engaging way. Employing a 'pictures first' pedagogical approach, it walks the reader step-by-step through the interpretation of neuroscience figures and explains the principles of experimental design. The major research techniques – from neuroimaging, to behavioral methods, to genetics and comparative approaches – are explored, illuminating how they are represented graphically in journal articles, and their strengths and limitations as a research tool. More than 130 example figures provide experimental paradigms for the more difficult-to-visualize methods, and depict actual results taken from the recently published scientific literature. Data from several study designs are discussed, including clinical case studies, meta-analyses, and experiments from behavior to molecular genetics. Concrete examples of experiments are provided along with each method, helping students with the design of their own research questions.
Cognitive and Social Neuroscience of Aging is an introduction to how aging affects the brain, intended for audiences with some knowledge of psychology, aging, or neuroscience. The book includes figures illustrating brain regions so that extensive familiarity with neuroanatomy is not a pre-requisite. The depth of coverage also makes this book appropriate for those with considerable knowledge about aging. This book adopts an integrative perspective, including topics such as memory, cognition, cognitive training, emotion, and social processes. Topics include consideration of individual differences and the impact of disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's disease) on brain function with age. Although many declines occur with age, cognitive neuroscience research reveals plasticity and adaptation in the brain as a function of normal aging. This book is written with this perspective in mind, emphasizing the ways in which neuroscience methods have enriched and changed thinking about aging.
An exciting introduction to the scientific interface between biological studies of the brain and behavioural studies of human development. The authors trace the field from its roots in developmental psychology and neuroscience, and highlight some of the most persuasive research findings before anticipating future directions the field may take. They begin with a brief orientation of the brain, along with genetics and epigenetics, and then summarise brain development and plasticity. Later chapters detail the neurodevelopmental basis of a wide variety of human competencies, including perception, language comprehension, socioemotional development, memory systems, literacy and numeracy, and self-regulation. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in developmental cognition or neuroscience, this textbook covers the prenatal period through to infancy, childhood, and adolescence. It is pedagogically rich, featuring interviews with leading researchers, learning objectives, review questions, further-reading recommendations, and numerous colour figures. Instructor teaching is supported by lecture slides and a test bank.
With advances in medicine and medical innovation, the face of neurosurgery has changed dramatically. A new era of surgeons value the need to undertake research in everyday practice and actively participate in the clinic and laboratory in order to improve patient prognosis. Highlighting the principles of basic neuroscience and its application to neurosurgical disease, this book breaks down neurological conditions into current academic themes and advances. The book is split into two sections, with the first covering basic and computational neuroscience including neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and the growing use of artificial intelligence. The second section concentrates on specific conditions, such as gliomas, degenerative cervical myelopathy and peripheral nerve injury. Outlining the pathophysiological underpinnings of neurosurgical conditions and the key investigative tools used to study disease burden, this book will be an invaluable source for the academic neurosurgeon undertaking basic and translational research.
How do the billions of connections between neurons in our brain change as we learn and remember? This is the story of the discovery and the discoverer of synaptic pruning, the process of synapse elimination central to making us who we are. Taking the reader from Professor Peter Huttenlocher's childhood in wartime and post-war Germany to his emigration to the US to reunite with his mother and the launch and progress of a career in medicine and research, we uncover the motivations and process of scientific discovery that led to an unexpected leap in our understanding of the human brain. Decades after the discovery, the importance of synaptic pruning to early learning, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions are now in the process of being uncovered.
Life on earth has evolved under a consistent cycle of light and darkness caused by the earth's rotation around its axis. This has led to a 24-hour circadian system in most organisms, ranging all the way from fungi to humans. With the advent of electric light in the 19th century, cycles of light and darkness have drastically changed. Shift workers and others exposed to high levels of light at night are at increased risk of health problems, including metabolic syndrome, depression, sleep disorders, dementia, heart disease, and cancer. This book will describe how the circadian system regulates physiology and behavior and consider the important health repercussions of chronic disruption of the circadian system in our increasingly lit world. The research summarized here will interest students in psychology, biology, neuroscience, immunology, medicine, and ecology.
The Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism presents an introduction to the neural bases and cognitive processes of the bilingual brain. It covers foundational knowledge required for study in the area of bilingualism, including prominent theories and research methodologies, and the state of research in relevant fields of psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. Major topics include bilingual development and brain plasticity; aphasia and the bilingual brain; cross-linguistic effects of bilingualism; bilingual lexical and conceptual memory; and cognitive and neurocognitive effects of bilingualism. This book represents the first of its kind to bring together the various psychological and theoretical issues of bilingualism with respect to language processing and representation, while providing insight into the 'reality' of the bilingual brain.
Now in its fifth edition, this accessible and comprehensive text highlights the most important theoretical, conceptual and methodological issues in cognitive neuroscience. Written by two experienced researchers who excel at teaching, the consistent narrative ensures that concepts are linked across chapters, and the careful selection of topics enables readers to grasp the big picture without getting distracted by details. Clinical applications such as developmental disorders, brain injuries and dementias are highlighted. In addition, the analogies and examples, opening case studies, and 'In Focus' boxes both engage and demonstrate the relevance of the material to real-world concerns. Revised for even greater clarity, the fifth edition features new and updated artwork, 'Key Questions' to review concepts, and 'Thought Questions' which develop the critical thinking skills needed to evaluate future developments in this fast-moving field. An expanded set of online resources is also available.
In this revised and updated edition of Hunt's classic textbook, Human Intelligence, two research experts explain how key scientific studies have revealed exciting information about what intelligence is, where it comes from, why there are individual differences, and what the prospects are for enhancing it. The topics are chosen based on the weight of evidence, allowing readers to evaluate what ideas and theories the data support. Topics include IQ testing, mental processes, brain imaging, genetics, population differences, sex, aging, and likely prospects for enhancing intelligence based on current scientific evidence. Readers will confront ethical issues raised by research data and learn how scientists pursue answers to basic and socially relevant questions about why intelligence is important in everyday life. Many of the answers will be surprising and stimulate readers to think constructively about their own views.
This new edition provides an accessible guide to advances in neuroscience research and what they reveal about intelligence. Compelling evidence shows that genetics plays a major role as intelligence develops from childhood, and that intelligence test scores correspond strongly to specific features of the brain assessed with neuroimaging. In detailed yet understandable language, Richard J. Haier explains cutting-edge techniques based on DNA and imaging of brain connectivity and function. He dispels common misconceptions – such as the belief that IQ tests are biased or meaningless. Readers will learn about the real possibility of dramatically enhancing intelligence and the positive implications this could have for education and social policy. The text also explores potential controversies surrounding neuro-poverty, neuro-socioeconomic status, and the morality of enhancing intelligence for everyone.
The Neuroscience of Sleep and Dreams provides comprehensive coverage of the basic neuroscience of both sleep and dreams for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. It details new scientific discoveries, places those discoveries within evolutionary context, and links established findings with implications for sleep medicine. This second edition focuses on recent developments in the social nature of sleep and dreams. Coverage includes the neuroscience of all stages of sleep; the lifespan development of these sleep stages; the role of non-REM and REM sleep in health and mental health; comparative sleep; biological rhythms; sleep disorders; sleep memory; dream content; dream phenomenology, and dream functions. Students, scientists, and interested non-specialists will find this book accessible and informative.
Everybody eats, and what we eat – or do not – affects the brain and mind. There is significant general, applied, academic, and industry interest about nutrition and the brain, yet there is much misinformation and no single reliable guide. Diet Impacts on Brain and Mind provides a comprehensive account of this emerging multi-disciplinary science, exploring the acute and chronic impacts of human diet on the brain and mind. It has a primarily human focus and is broad in scope, covering wide-ranging topics like brain development, whole diets, specific nutrients, research methodology, and food as a drug. It is written in an accessible format and is of interest to undergraduate and graduate students studying nutritional neuroscience and related disciplines, healthcare professionals with an applied interest, industry researchers seeking topic overviews, and interested general readers.