Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are - Couverture rigide

Seung, Sebastian

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0547508182 ISBN 13 : 9780547508184

Editeur : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

Synopsis

Connectome The author is at the forefront of a revolution in neuroscience. He believes that our identity lies not in our genes, but in the connections between our brain cells - our own particular wiring, or connectomes. This book tells the story of how the author and a group of researchers are mapping these connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse. Full description

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

We know that each of us is unique, but science has struggled to pinpoint where, precisely, our uniqueness resides. Is it in our genes? The structure of our brains? Our genome may determine our eye color and even aspects of our personality. But our friendships, failures, and passions also shape who we are. The question is: how?

Sebastian Seung, a dynamic professor at MIT, is on a quest to discover the biological basis of identity. He believes it lies in the pattern of connections between the brain’s neurons, which change slowly over time as we learn and grow. The connectome, as it’s called, is where our genetic inheritance intersects with our life experience. It’s where nature meets nurture.

Seung introduces us to the dedicated researchers who are mapping the brain’s connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse. It is a monumental undertaking—the scientific equivalent of climbing Mount Everest—but if they succeed, it could reveal the basis of personality, intelligence, memory, and perhaps even mental disorders. Many scientists speculate that people with anorexia, autism, and schizophrenia are "wired differently," but nobody knows for sure. The brain’s wiring has never been clearly seen.

In sparklingly clear prose, Seung reveals the amazing technological advances that will soon help us map connectomes. He also examines the evidence that these maps will someday allow humans to "upload" their minds into computers, achieving a kind of immortality.

Connectome is a mind-bending adventure story, told with great passion and authority. It presents a daring scientific and technological vision for at last understanding what makes us who we are. Welcome to the future of neuroscience.

Revue de presse :

An amiable guide, witty and exceptionally clear in describing complex matters for the general reader...fascinating...beautifully explained and analyzed-as I might have expected from a writer who has produced the best lay book on brain science I've ever read (Daniel J Levitin Wall Street Journal )

This is complicated stuff, and it is a testament to Dr. Seung's remarkable clarity of exposition that the reader is swept along with his enthusiasm, as he moves from the basics of neuroscience out to the farthest regions of the hypothetical, sketching out a spectacularly illustrated giant map of the universe of man (Abigail Zuger New York Times )

An elegant primer on what's known about how the brain is organized and how it grows, wires its neurons, perceives its environment, modifies or repairs itself, and stores information. Seung is a clear, lively writer who chooses vivid examples (Susan Okie Washington Post )

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Date d'édition: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0547508182
• ISBN 13: 9780547508184
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 384