Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain - And How They Guide You

by Rebecca Schwarzlose

Overview

“A profoundly illuminating account of how the brain works . . . Rebecca Schwarzlose is a neuroscientist with a novelist's literary flair.” —Cass R. Sunstein, author of Too Much Information

A path-breaking journey into the brain, showing how perception, thought, and action are products of maps etched into your gray matter—and how technology can use them to read your mind

Your brain is a collection of maps. That is no metaphor: scrawled across your brain’s surfaces are actual maps of the sights, sounds, and actions that hold the key to your survival. Scientists first began uncovering these maps over a century ago, but we are only now beginning to unlock their secrets—and comprehend their profound impact on our lives. Brain maps distort and shape our experience of the world, support complex thought, and make technology-enabled mind reading a modern-day reality, which raises important questions about what is real, what is fair, and what is private. They shine a light on our past and our possible futures. In the process, they invite us to view ourselves from a startling new perspective. 
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In Brainscapes, Rebecca Schwarzlose combines unforgettable real-life stories, cutting-edge research, and vivid illustrations to reveal brain maps’ surprising lessons about our place in the world—and about the world’s place within us.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358699323
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/21/2022
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	646,901
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

REBECCA SCHWARZLOSE is a neuroscientist at Washington University in Saint Louis. She holds a PhD in neuroscience from MIT and has served as chief editor of the scholarly journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. She lives in Saint Louis.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 An Atlas of You: What Is a Brain Map? 7

2 The Tyranny of Numbers: Why Brain Maps Exist 25

3 How Brain Maps Determine What We See and Feel 45

4 Out of the Ether: Brain Maps for Hearing 71

5 Brain Maps and Codes for Taste and Smell 85

6 On the Move: Brain Maps for Action 107

7 Maps in the Making: How Brain Maps Develop and Adapt 131

8 Knowing Again: Brain Maps for Recognition 151

9 Imagining, Remembering, and Paying Attention with Brain Maps 171

10 Comprehending and Communicating with Brain Maps 191

11 Maps as Portals: Mind Reading and Mind Writing with Brain Maps 213

12 How Brain Maps Weigh Us Down and How We Rise Above Them 243

Acknowledgments 257

Notes 259

Index 287

Editorial Reviews

Schwarzlose’s presentation of cutting-edge science is consistently accessible and concise, as is her historical perspective on early brain research . . . This is deeply enjoyable and thoroughly researched.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Rebecca Schwarzlose is a neuroscientist with a novelist’s literary flair. Brainscapes is a profoundly illuminating account of how the brain works—and of how the maps within our heads determine what we see, recognize, remember, and feel. It’s about miracles, and it’s a complete inspiration.” —Cass R. Sunstein, author of Too Much Information

“This book is the Lonely Planet travel guide to the brain. With humility, humor, and the familiarity of a local, Rebecca Schwarzlose takes you by the hand and shows you around some of the strangest landscapes of the cortex. In Brainscapes, the brain becomes an open atlas, full of illuminating maps—just one of many enlightening metaphors in this meticulously documented and artfully decorated book.” —Stanislas Dehaene, author of How We Learn and Consciousness and the Brain 

“In lively prose, Schwarzlose introduces you to your inner cartographer: a complex brain that continuously constructs shifting maps of the world, charted from the perspective of your own body. These maps are not just created by you—they are you. They conjure what you feel, what you remember, and what you do.” —Lisa Feldman Barrett, author of How Emotions Are Made and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

“In Brainscapes, Rebecca Schwarzlose takes the reader on a journey through the brain by explaining all the ways it uses ‘maps’ to help us experience the world and act in it.  I thoroughly enjoyed this broad-in-scope, and beautifully written, book.” —Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves

“A beautiful book about one of the most fundamental properties of the brain—its ability as a mapmaker. The meat in our heads organizes and controls everything we do, from perception to emotion, action to cognition, by mapping complex information into simple spaces. Brainscapes explains that deep truth in clear, compelling language. It’s a fascinating, well-told story, worth the read.” —Michael Graziano, author of Rethinking Consciousness

“Brainscapes will change how you think about the brain and how you understand your own mind. This is a fascinating and original exploration of the physical principles that enable you to do all that you do, and be who you are.” —Tali Sharot, author of The Influential Mind
 

From the Publisher