The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Ca n Change Them

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Ca n Change Them

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Ca n Change Them

The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live--and How You Ca n Change Them

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Overview

What is your emotional fingerprint?

Why are some people so quick to recover from setbacks? Why are some so attuned to others that they seem psychic? Why are some people always up and others always down? In his thirty-year quest to answer these questions, pioneering neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson discovered that each of us has an Emotional Style, composed of Resilience, Outlook, Social Intuition, Self-Awareness, Sensitivity to Context, and Attention. Where we fall on these six continuums determines our own “emotional fingerprint.”

Sharing Dr. Davidson’s fascinating case histories and experiments, The Emotional Life of Your Brain offers a new model for treating conditions like autism and depression as it empowers us all to better understand ourselves—and live more meaningful lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780452298880
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 12/24/2012
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 318,733
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 7.78(h) x 0.64(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Richard J. Davidson is a professor and director of the W. M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior and the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Sharon Begley is the senior health and science correspondent at Reuters. She is the bestselling author of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Scientific Quest xi

Chapter 1 One Brain Does Not Fit All 1

Chapter 2 The Discovery of Emotional Style 13

Chapter 3 Assessing Your Emotional Style 43

Chapter 4 The Brain Basis of Emotional Style 67

Chapter 5 How Emotional Style Develops 91

Chapter 6 The Mind-Brain-Body Connection, or How Emotional Style Influences Health 113

Chapter 7 Normal and Abnormal, and When "Different" Becomes Pathological 137

Chapter 8 The Plastic Brain 161

Chapter 9 Coming Out of the Closet 177

Chapter 10 The Monk in the Machine 199

Chapter 11 Rewired, or Neurally Inspired Exercises to Change Your Emotional Style 225

Acknowledgments 253

Notes 259

Index 273

What People are Saying About This

Deepak Chopra

Richard Davidson and Sharon Begley have created a pioneering look at the brain chemistry of our emotions. By looking at Davidson's scientific proof that meditation and other cognitive practices actually change the brain, the authors enable all of us to genuinely modify our most difficult emotional habits and create new and more fruitful ones. Look forward to cultivating keener attention, having more attunement to others, and being more connected to your own intuition. It's all possible—and this book shows you how. (Deepak Chopra, author of How to Know God)

Jerome Groopman

Richard Davidson, a visionary neuropsychologist, joins with Sharon Begley, one of the most astute science writers, to illuminate the dimensions of our emotional make up and offer cogent and compelling ways for us to grow into more effective and fulfilled selves. (Jerome Groopman, Recanati Professor, Harvard Medical School, Co-Author "Your Medical Mind:" How to Decide What is Right for You.)

Antonio Damasio

Richard Davidson's distinguished scientific career has been dedicated to making sense of human emotion and deepening its significance. Now, with the help of writer Sharon Begley, he turns a trove of accumulated facts into wisdom accessible to lay readers and directly applicable to their lives. (Antonio Damasio, Ph.D., author of Self Comes to Mind and The Feeling of What Happens)

Daniel Gilbert

Whether he is measuring neural activity in the laboratory or climbing the Himalayas to meet the Dalai Lama, Davidson is an inveterate explorer who has spent a lifetime probing the deep mystery of human feeling. Don't miss this smart and lively book by the world's foremost expert on emotion and the brain. (Daniel Gilbert, Ph.D., author of Stumbling on Happiness)

Martin E. P. Seligman

What a gift from the world's leading neuroscientist who works on what makes life worth living. This is a must read for everyone who is interested in positive psychology. (Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., author of Learned Optimism and Flourish)

From the Publisher

"The Emotional Life of Your Brain is an eye-opener, replete with breakthrough research that will change the way you see yourself and everyone you know. Richard Davidson and Sharon Begley make a star team: cutting-edge findings formulated in a delightful, can't-put-it-down read. I loved this book." -Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., author of Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman

The Emotional Life of Your Brain is an eye-opener, replete with breakthrough research that will change the way you see yourself and everyone you know. Richard Davidson and Sharon Begley make a star team: cutting edge findings formulated in a delightful, can't-put-it-down read. I loved this book. (Daniel Goleman, author Emotional Intelligence)

Jack Kornfield

The best book I know on how to use the exciting discoveries of neuroscience to change your life. A fabulous read - a scientific adventure story like Sherlock Holmes meeting Watson and Crick with the Dalai Lama as their advisor. (Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart)

Dacher Keltner

In this spine-tingling journey through the hills of the Himalayas and the circuitry of your brain, visionary neuroscientist Richard Davidson uncovers deep and practical insights into humanity's oldest questions. Who are we as individuals? What are the origins of our minds? How do we find peace and cultivate greater kindness for all? Weaving together the latest neuroscience of brain plasticity and emotion and the timeless wisdom of Buddhist thought, "The Emotional Life of your Brain" will lead you to answers to these questions, and leave you inspired by science and the promise of change for the better. (Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., author of Born to Be Good)

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