Mental Brain

The quest for enlightenment has occupied mankind for millennia. And from the depictions we’ve seen—monks sitting on meditation cushions, nuns kneeling in prayer, shamans communing with the universe—it seems that this elusive state is reserved for a chosen few. But now, neuroscientist David Perlmutter and medical anthropologist and shaman Alberto Villoldo have come together to explore the commonalities between their specialties with the aim of making enlightenment possible for anyone.

Imagine unlocking your full brain power with ADHD-optimized nutrition. You don't need a fancy pantry overhaul. The truth is many brain-boosting foods are affordable and readily available. Not only will this book help your focus and mood, but it might even save you time and money!

How do neurons turn into minds? The problem of consciousness has gnawed at us for millennia. In the last century there have been massive breakthroughs that have rewritten the science of the brain, and yet the puzzles faced by the ancient Greeks are still present. In The Consciousness Instinct, the neuroscience pioneer Michael S. Gazzaniga puts the latest research in conversation with the history of human thinking about the mind, giving a big-picture view of what science has revealed about consciousness.

Sorry, you can’t actually “train your brain”. But you can force it to adapt, grow, and perform to its full potential. The brain is the seat of our consciousness, identity, and higher thoughts. But it is also a flesh and blood machine that can wear down, grow tired, and malfunction. Learn how to prevent this and be your best.

At thirty-seven, Dr. Stephanie Cacioppo was content to be single. She was fulfilled by her work on the neuroscience of romantic love—how finding and growing with a partner literally reshapes our brains. That was, until she met the foremost neuroscientist of loneliness. A whirlwind romance led to marriage, to sharing an office at the University of Chicago. After seven years of being inseparable at work and home, she lost her beloved husband following a devastating battle with cancer.

In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins. In this landmark book, scientist and psychologist Drew Westen shows how electorates vote not with their heads but with their hearts, and how the marketplace that matters most is the marketplace of emotion - filled with values, images, analogies, moral sentiments, and moving oratory.

In simple language and easy-to-follow exercises, Your Resonant Self synthesizes the latest discoveries in brain science, trauma treatment, and the power of empathy into an effective healing method that literally rewires our brain and restores our capacity for self-love and well-being. Each chapter weaves the core concepts of neurobiology with guided meditations, painting an inspiring picture of the human brain's inherent yearning toward healing and wholeness.

Licensed therapist and mental health writer Dr. Kathleen Smith offers a smart, practical antidote to our anxiety-ridden times. Everything Isn't Terrible is an informative and practical guide—featuring a healthy dose of humor—for people who want to become beacons of calmness in their families, at work, and in our anxious world. Everything Isn't Terrible will inspire you to confront your anxious self, take charge of your anxiety, and increase your own capacity to choose how you respond to it.

In Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot, eminent neuropsychiatrist and best-selling author Richard Restak, M.D., combines the latest research in neurology and psychology to show us how to get our brain up to speed for managing every aspect of our busy lives.

The march of climate change is stunning and vicious, with rising seas, extreme weather, and oppressive heat blanketing the globe. But its effects on our very brains constitute a public-health crisis that has gone largely unreported. Based on seven years of research, this book by the award-winning journalist and trained neuroscientist Clayton Page Aldern, synthesizes the emerging neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics of global warming and brain health. A masterpiece of literary journalism, this book shows readers how a changing environment is changing us today, from the inside out.

Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but a "kluge", a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind - think duct tape, not supercomputer - that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature.

The effective therapist must have knowledge of evolution and neuroanatomy, as well as the systems of our brains and how they work together to give rise to who we are, how we thrive, and why we suffer. This book will give clinicians all they need to understand the social brain, the developing brain, the executive brain, consciousness, attachment, trauma, memory, and the latest information about clinical assessment. Key figures and terms of neuroscience, along with numerous case examples, bring the material to life.

Join a quest for the Holy Grail within each of us: the optimized brain. In Smarter Tomorrow, Ricker shares the spoils of her decade long adventure. After countless expert interviews, poring through hundreds of research studies from around the world, and testing dozens of tools on herself—including nicotine, video games, meditation, and even a little-known beverage from the Pacific islands—she explains how some experiments failed hilariously, while others transformed her cognition.

The first edition of this book tackled these important questions of interpersonal neurobiology - that the brain is a social organ built through experience - using poignant case examples from the author's years of clinical experience. Elegant explanations of social neuroscience wove together emerging findings from the research literature to bring neuroscience to the stories of our lives.

Why are some people compelled to take big risks on big ideas, attempting to change a market or, indeed, the world in ways that others find delusional? And why do they keep trying, again and again, often after repeated failures and at great personal expense? Neil Seeman is one of those people: an internet entrepreneur steeped in North American start-up culture. He is also the son of one of Canada's most important brain scientists.

Beilock examines how attention and working memory guide human performance, how experience and practice and brain development interact to create our abilities, and how stress affects all these factors.

Recovering from a brain injury can be a challenging and prolonged process. Learn how to maximize your recovery from the effects of brain injuries with the guidance of Sandeep Vaishnavi, MD, PhD, and Vani Rao, MBBS, MD, two leading medical experts with extensive experience helping patients recover from concussion and other brain injuries. Healing the Traumatized Brain explains how the brain works, how injuries affect the brain, and how to use your brain's own power to recover.

The most important thing we can do for our children is to have conversations with them. Parent-child talk is a fundamental, critical factor in building grit, self-control, leadership skills, and generosity. This landmark account of a new scientific perspective by the founder and director of the Thirty Million Words Initiative, Professor Dana Suskind, describes what works and what doesn't. Discover how to create the best "language environments" for children by following the simple structure of the Three Ts: Tune In, Talk More, Take Turns.

It's a near-universal experience among mental health practitioners: a patient drops a bombshell—a critical disclosure that moves the treatment forward—on their way out, with a hand on the doorknob. This "doorknob moment" creates a stressful dilemma for clinicians, especially when the patient is distraught. Should the clinician end the session on time, or run over and be late for the next patient? Here, seasoned psychiatrist Daniela V. Gitlin provides clinicians with a clear, evidence-based answer.

A chronic sense of unease. Nagging what-ifs. Worry about what other people think. Paralyzing phobias. Full-blown panic attacks. Anxiety shows up in a lot of different ways and can permeate every aspect of your life. The good news is that although it can feel confusing and overwhelming—as if things will never get better—it is possible to retrain your brain and put yourself back in the driver's seat.