Overview

Mysteries of the Social Brain describes the scientific underpinnings of human behavior and values. Through the retelling of fascinating clinical stories of people with neurological conditions, this book explores the parts of the brain that allow humans to thrive as social and creative beings. The authors reveal the relevance of our brain circuits to our well-being―and the well-being of our societies―and show what happens when changes in our brain circuitry drive changes in empathy, altruism, moral beliefs, and creativity. By integrating perspectives from neurology, psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience, the stories in this book offer novel insights into the inner workings of the social brain and reveal groundbreaking findings from work in frontotemporal dementia, emotion, and the science of human values. This book showcases the discovery that creativity can emerge when there is decline in the brain's language systems, a finding that highlights the robust, yet underappreciated connections between science and art. Listeners will learn about the biological basis of social behavior as well as simple steps that they can take to improve the functioning of their own social brains. This book will captivate general listeners as well as clinicians and scientists who are interested in human social behavior, cognition, and emotion.

Full Product Details

9798228830233

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Virginia Sturm is the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation Endowed Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Sturm, an affective neuroscientist and neuropsychologist at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, studies emotions, empathy, and social behavior in neurodegenerative disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions. Bruce L. Miller is the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he is the founding director of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and Global Brain Health Institute. Dr. Miller studies social behavior and creativity in neurodegenerative disorders. Keith Brown is an audiobook narrator and voice actor with a facility for European accents and languages, including audiobook-fluent German, Russian, Italian, and French. Other voice-over projects Keith has recorded include corporate/eLearning, informational videos, and commercials. Keith has been performing his entire life, spending a decade as an instrumentalist until a transformative high school production of Les Miserables awakened his passion for theater. (Funny story: he auditioned for Javert but won the role of Valjean!) This led Keith to conservatory training and an almost ten-year career as an opera singer and actor. Keith appeared at Carnegie Hall and traveled around the US and abroad, cultivating his natural ear for language, his love of artistic collaboration, and the extraordinary stamina and vocal control that the life of a narrator demands. As an experienced on-air personality, Keith has also hosted and produced classical music programs, sharing the fascinating stories behind the pieces and engaging the listener as only a storyteller can. He was proud to broaden the horizons of classical music audiences all over the country with the syndicated show he created, GAMEPLAY, which celebrates the worlds of video game music.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available