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The Executive Brain is the first book to explore in popular scientific terms one of the most important and rapidly evolving topics in contemporary neuropsychology, the most "human" and recently evolved region of the brain—the frontal lobes. Crucial for all high-order functioning, it is only in humans that the frontal lobes are so highly developed. They hold the key to our judgment, our social and ethical behavior, our imagination, indeed, to our "soul." The author shows how the frontal lobes enable us to engage in complex mental processes, how vulnerable they are to injury, and how devastating the effects of damage often are, leading to chaotic, disorganized, asocial, and even criminal behavior.
Made up of fascinating case histories and anecdotes, Goldberg's book offers a panorama of state-of-the-art ideas and advances in cognitive neuroscience. It is also an intellectual memoir, filled with vignettes about the author's early training with the great Russian neuropsychologist A.R. Luria, Goldberg's escape from the Soviet Union, and his later interactions with patients and professionals around the world.
| 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| 2 | An End and a Beginning: A Dedication | 7 |
| 3 | The Brain's Chief Executive: The Frontal Lobes at a Glance | 21 |
| 4 | Architecture of the Brain: A Primer | 27 |
| 5 | The Orchestra's Front Row: The Cortex | 37 |
| 6 | The Conductor: A Closer Look at the Frontal Lobes | 69 |
| 7 | Different Lobes for Different Folks: Decision-Making Styles and the Frontal Lobes | 87 |
| 8 | When the Leader Is Wounded | 113 |
| 9 | Social Maturity, Morality, Law, and the Frontal Lobes | 139 |
| 10 | Fateful Disconnections | 157 |
| 11 | "What Can You Do for Me?" | 193 |
| 12 | Frontal Lobes and the Leadership Paradox | 215 |
| Epilogue | 227 | |
| References and Notes | 231 | |
| Index | 247 |
Anonymous
Posted March 27, 2001
'The Executive Brain...' by Elkhonon Goldberg reads like a work of fiction while providing all the necessary ingredients for a serious textbook. Especially refreshing are the biographic detours that empower the hardcore scientific and clinical subject matter with a very humane touch. Goldberg's metanalytical speculations will tickle the imagination of both an aspiring student of the brain and the grizzled university professor. Overall, this book is a fine piece of work and is highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the brain with the capital letter 'B'.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 1, 2001
As Elkohonon Goldberg describes it, the brain's frontal lobes determine everything that's most human about us--from our willpower to our morals to our creativity to our leadership abilities. I enjoyed Goldberg's detailed discussions of all that these fragile bits of gray matter do for us, and of the strange and curious things that occur when they are damaged. Although the book does include some serious science, Goldberg makes it eminently readable for the layperson¿in part through his witty sense of humor and in part through the stories he tells of his own life. Never does this book sound like a professor lecturing; it unfolds as tales told by a brilliant, funny, compassionate, logical teacher, one who is clearly fascinated by his work and, most importantly, able to communicate the wonder of it to his readers.
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Posted January 5, 2010
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Overview
The Executive Brain is the first book to explore in popular scientific terms one of the most important and rapidly evolving topics in contemporary neuropsychology, the most "human" and recently evolved region of the brain—the frontal lobes. Crucial for all high-order functioning, it is only in humans that the frontal lobes are so highly developed. They hold the key to our judgment, our social and ethical behavior, our imagination, indeed, to our "soul." The author shows how the frontal lobes enable us to engage ...