Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Forget Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life

Science News,  March 8, 2008  

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WELCOME TO YOUR BRAIN: Why You Forget Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life

SANDRA AAMODT AND SAM WANG

The human brain is more like a crowded Chinese restaurant than a computer, write neuroscientists Aamodt, editor in chief of Nature Neuroscience, and Wang, of Princeton University. Whereas computers process information sequentially, the brain handles multiple channels of information in parallel. Packed with billions of neurons, the human brain has layers of systems that arose for one purpose and then were adopted for others. The authors provide an overview of how human brains process sensory and cognitive information, regulate emotions, and form memories, By debunking myths about the brain--such as that drinking kills brain cells and that classical music makes babies smarter--the authors say they hope to replace misinformation with the latest scientific findings. In addition to cocktail party topics, the authors offer well-researched advice on how to keep an aging brain sharp. Bloomsbuty, 2008, 220 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $24.95.

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