The structure of the brain and the exact location of any particular region is indicated by proper diagrams. However, after few chapters, the information load becomes difficult to handle and you need to look back at previous pages to compare the present discussion to that presented earlier. This is easy in a paperback, but might be troublesome in Kindle. So I advise the reader to make use of bookmarks extensively. But the best approach would be to read the book with a notebook and pen in your hand. Keep making notes of the various diagrams and discussions. This would definitely enrich your experience.

One suggestion to the writer and publisher:- adding one complete diagram with labels indicating various regions of the brain would help. Though individual regions are introduced one by one in the book — and it is indeed justified so as not to overwhelm the reader — after some time the information content becomes too large to remember, so that the reader has to keep flipping back the pages. In the same way, regions like amygdala and hypothalamus are introduced and explained adequately, and quite understandably the terms are simply used later throughout the book. However, if the reader is going through the book very slowly, which is quite common for science, popular science and non-fiction books, they may have difficulty recalling what the particular region was about. In this case also, the readers would require to go back to the page where it was introduced. In Kindle format, I do not see any way out. However, in paperback format, a summary diagram can be provided. One way to do this is to devote two pages after the Contents and before the first chapter. A diagram of the brain with different regions labelled can be presented on the right hand side page and a complete list of the various regions, and the various roles they play can be given on the left page. This would make it much easier for the reader to go through the book.

At some places, the book indeed becomes too difficult to follow e.g., the last few pages of the first two chapters (fear and memory). In few other instances, the discussion becomes too long than is perhaps required, leading to the reader losing thread of the discussion e.g., the discussion on serotonin and dopamine. In fact, occasionally the writer himself acknowledges the involved and complicated nature of the subject. I understand that the subject itself is quite complicated and the writer has indeed done a good job of simplifying to a great extent. That the description is still very difficult shows the complexity of the subject and not the inadequacy of the writer. Still, the writer could have used analogies to explain the complicated theories. In fact, he does utilize such means occasionally. For example, to illustrate the different stages of sleep in the discussion Measuring sleep with the EEG,  he gives examples of people in an auditorium engaged in conversation and of chanting by Gregorian monks. I agree that giving analogy for each and every concept is impractical, but for the more complex concepts, this method could have been further used. Note that most of these concepts and the terms noted in preceding paragraph must be trivial and elementary for researchers working in the field of neuroscience. However, for the people who are not familiar with this field, following such discussion and remembering the names could be an uphill task. And anyhow, neuroscientists would not read this book, as most probably they do not need it. Instead, laypersons would be more interested in this work, more so for the growing interest in the field among the community. And it is these readers that the book should strive to address.

My opinion? Ratings by different critics would differ. As I said, this book is a mixed bag, with certain sections very easy to follow and some very difficult. However, one thing is certain — after you have finished reading this book, you would be better informed and feel glad at having learned something new and useful. You would wonder how could you take this most important part of your body for granted. No, this book doesn’t teach you everything on this subject, but it  will certainly give you a solid, reliable and intelligent foundation. After that, all those newspaper and TV reports on neuroscience research would start making sense to you.

But yes, you the reader will also have to put in some effort. You cannot simply lie back and hope that all the knowledge would seep into your mind like vitamin D from sunlight. You cannot, and it means absolutely cannot, read this book while going to sleep. It is not very difficult to follow; however, you need to stay alert, active and attentive. The advantages are not just academic in nature; in fact, certain sections e.g., usage of electronic devices, effects of exercise and caffeine, understanding depression and addiction could be immediately used to modify your lifestyle.

I would recommend this book to my colleagues and friends, and specially to the students in my group.

Title: Your Brain, Explained: What Neuroscience Reveals About Your Brain and its Quirks
Author: Marc Dingman
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Print Book Length: 256 pages
Price (Paperback): $22.95
Price (Kindle): $12.25
My rating:
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Source: Ucodesoft

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