50 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know

Moheb Costandi is a molecular and developmental neurobiologist turned science writer. He writes for the Guardian and Scientific American, and is the author of the weblog Neurophilosophy. He is based in London.

Introduction. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: The nervous system; The neuron doctrine; Glial cells; The nervous impulse; Synaptic transmission; Sensory perception; Movement; Topographic mapping; Specialized brain regions; Brain asymmetry. YOUR BRAIN, YOUR SELF: Mirror neurons; The connectome; Embodied cognition; Bodily awareness; Free will; Sex differences; Personality; Brain-damaged patients; The theatre of consciousness; Consciousness disorders. THOUGHT PROCESSES: Attention; Working memory; Learning and memory; Mental time travel; Memory (re)consolidation; Decision-making; Reward and motivation; Language processing; Executive function. THE DYNAMIC BRAIN: Cell migration and axon pathfinding; Cell death; Synaptic pruning; Neuroplasticity; Adolescence; Stress and the brain; The ageing brain; Neurodegeneration. BREAKING FROM DOGMA: Adult neurogenesis; Epigenetics; Default mode; Brain-wave oscillations; Prediction error. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND CHALLENGES: Neural stem cells; Brain stimulation; Cognitive enhancement; Brain scanning; Decoding; Brain-computer interfacing; Neuroscience and the law; Neuroethics. Glossary. Index.