Mysteries of the Mind

Authoritative yet easy to understand, Mysteries of the Mind, takes the lay reader on a fascinating tour through one of biology's most exciting and enduring frontiers-- the workings of the human brain, Best-selling author Richard Restak, himself a practicing neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, explores this topic on several levels as he describes the brain's structure and operation in both conscious and unconscious states.

He then probes the vital roles played by genetics and experience on this, truly the most adaptable organ of the body. He also investigates those regions of the brain involved in sleep, memory, and emotion, and ponders the mystery of consciousness.

Lavishly illustrated with more than 130 full-color photographs and drawings, Mysteries of the Mind follows in the National Geographic Society tradition of presenting information clearly, accurately, and in a highly visual way.

Restak's text brings you up to date on recent advances in brain research and defines the essential scanning technologies that today afford us nearly unrestricted views of the living brain, such imaging techniques, by the way, have revealed that the brain's visual and word-processing systems are far more complex than previously thought.

Restak also examines what happens inside the brain when things go wrong-- the effects on the brain of addiction, stress, aging, injury, depression, and other brain illnesses--and summarizes the potential treatments for various maladies, Then he embarks on a section that explores likely future directions for brain research, including the treatment of brain disorders and rehabilitation of the brain itself through pharmaceuticals, prosthetics, implants, and other means, Finally, Restak offers a sampling of real-life case histories, presenting the facts about each patient and letting you make the analysis and diagnosis.

A master at explaining the complexities of the human brain in everyday terms, neurologist and best-selling author Richard Restak, M,D, has written many books on this subject, including The Brain and Brainscapes, In Mysteries of the Mind, he reveals both the brain's fascinating physical aspects--its structure, its capabilities, and how it works--as well as the psychological and emotive side we call the mind.