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I had a really interesting story idea the other day, and I want to determine whether it’s feasible. Can anyone recommend a good book on the human brain? I’m looking for something fairly technical, maybe a textbook or something similar. I’m not starting from scratch on this; I have a degree in biochemistry and graduate work in molecular biology. Based on what I already know, the idea looks good, but I want to get it really right. It’s _science_ fiction, after all.
If the idea is usable, I’ll have to work out a plausible mechanism. That will probably mean a trip to Philadelphia to one of the university libraries. Scheduling it around my family is likely to be a major undertaking, so I want to be prepared to make the most of the time I get.
(I suddenly miss being a student. Oh, for the days when I could just walk over and take my time selecting the right books! Alas, the weekly trip to our tiny public library usually revolves around picture books these days.)
I’m posting this a few places, in hopes that someone, somewhere will be able to suggest something. Feel free to post a reply or email me (it's in my profile) if you have suggestions.
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Are you looking for something about the micro-structure of neural tissue, something about the mechanics of cognition, or something in between those?
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
More about the structure than about cognition, at least thus far. I need information about growth factors, physical development, that sort of thing. I may start worrying about cognition later; I'm not sure.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Mar 2004
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My father-in-law is a physiologist, so I asked him if there was something he could recommend. He says that there isn't anything because no one really knows how the brain works.
He said BRAIN ARCHITECTURE by Larry W. Swanson is a good, basic book on brain anatomy.
For microanatomy of the brain, try THE SYNAPTIC ORGANIZATION OF THE BRAIN, edited by Gordon M. Shepherd.
He says that THE VISUAL NEUROSCIENCES, edited by Chalupa and Werner, is a two-volume work on the visual system of the brain that he's finding rather challenging, but he says if you can master it, you'll have a good idea of how the brain works.
Another great one on vision is A VISION OF THE BRAIN by Semir Zeki. (Most scientists feel that if you can understand how vision works, you have a idea of how the brain works.)
Steven Pinker's HOW THE MIND WORKS and anything by Oliver Sacks are worth checking into.
And a textbook like NEUROSCIENCE, second edition, with Dale Purves, etal, is very good.
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Are you aiming more for information on the developmental process of a human brain, apparent functions of parts of the brain and how disease and injury affect it, or the pathways along which information (sensory/emotional/cognitive/etc.) appears to travel in the brain?
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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I don't know much about stuff on the brain, although I second the Oliver Sacks recommendation, his stuff is incredible. I just wanted to say that my father, brother-in-law, and pastor all have PhDs in biochemistry. Small world, huh?
Posts: 818 | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
Thanks, Kathleen! And please convey my thanks to your father-in-law!
I should be able to find a lot of what I need in those sources. If nothing else, I'll get the background I need to be able to make sense of the research articles.
Now I get to explore the interlibrary loan system! (Our local branch is pathetic--in fact, our county system is pathetic--but the reference librarian was very encouraging about the idea of finding things through ILL.)
I read some of Sacks's work in college, actually. Very interesting.
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