50 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know

Condenses all we know about the human brain and how it works into a series of introductions to the most important concepts. Costandi writes for the "Guardian" and "Scientific American".

Introduction. STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM: The nervous system;
The neuron doctrine;
Glial cells;
The nervous impulse;
Synaptic transmission;
Sensory perception;
Movement;
Topographic mapping;
Specialized brain regions;
Brain asymmetry. YOUR BRAIN, YOUR SELF: Mirror neurons;
The connectome;
Embodied cognition;
Bodily awareness;
Free will;
Sex differences;
Personality;
Brain-damaged patients;
The theatre of consciousness;
Consciousness disorders. THOUGHT PROCESSES: Attention;
Working memory;
Learning and memory;
Mental time travel;
Memory (re)consolidation;
Decision-making;
Reward and motivation;
Language processing;
Executive function. THE DYNAMIC BRAIN: Cell migration and axon pathfinding;
Cell death;
Synaptic pruning;
Neuroplasticity;
Adolescence;
Stress and the brain;
The ageing brain;
Neurodegeneration. BREAKING FROM DOGMA: Adult neurogenesis;
Epigenetics;
Default mode;
Brain-wave oscillations;
Prediction error. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND CHALLENGES: Neural stem cells;
Brain stimulation;
Cognitive enhancement;
Brain scanning;
Decoding;
Brain-computer interfacing;
Neuroscience and the law;
Neuroethics. Glossary. Index.