The Brain Book

This new edition of the award-winning The Brain Book uses the latest findings from neuroscience research and brain-imaging technology to take you on a journey into the human brain. Artworks and scans reveal the brain's anatomy in unprecedented detail. Step-by-step sequences unravel and simplify complex processes, such as how nerves transmit signals and how a memory is laid down and recalled. The book answers fundamental and compelling questions about the brain and cognitive neuroscience, such as what it means to be conscious and what happens in the brain when we use language to communicate. It also explains the brain's resilience and neuroplasticity - the ability to constantly adapt and reorganize neural connections to learn new skills or to cope with traumatic brain injuries. Written by award-winning author Rita Carter, this is an accessible reference book to a fascinating part of the human body. Thanks to improvements in scanning technology, our understanding of the brain is changing fast. Now in its fourth edition, The Brain Book draws on the latest information to provide a fascinating guide to one of science's most exciting frontiers.

A science and medical writer, Rita Carter has twice been awarded the Medical Journalists' Association prize for outstanding contribution to medical journalism. She has written several books and been shortlisted for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books. She holds a doctorate in brain science from Leuven University.