The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human

by Ramachandran, V. S.

• ISBN13: 9780393340624
• ISBN10: 0393340627
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780393080582
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-23
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• More Book Details

Summary

In this landmark work, V. S. Ramachandran investigates strange, unforgettable cases'¬ ;from patients who believe they are dead to sufferers of phantom limb syndrome. With a storyteller'¬"s eye for compelling case studies and a researcher'¬"s flair for new approaches to age-old questions, Ramachandran tackles the most exciting and controversial topics in brain science, including language, creativity, and consciousness.

Author Biography

V. S. Ramachandran is the director of the Center for Brain and Cognition and a professor with the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California, San Diego. He lives in Del Mar, California.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xxiii
Introduction No Mere Ape	p. 3
Phantom Limbs and Plastic Brains	p. 24
Seeing and Knowing	p. 41
Loud Colors and Hot Babes: Synesthesia	p. 75
The Neurons that Shaped Civilization	p. 117
Where is Steven? The Riddle of Autism	p. 136
The Power of Babble: The Evolution of Language	p. 153
Beauty and the Brain: The Emergence of Aesthetics	p. 192
The Artful Brain: Universal Laws	p. 218
An Ape With a Soul: How Introspection Evolved	p. 245
Epilogue	p. 289
Glossary	p. 294
Notes	p. 306
Bibliography	p. 327
Illustration Credits	p. 340
Index	p. 342
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