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by: John J. Ratey  List Price: $15.95 Amazon.com's Price: $10.85 You Save: $5.10 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 612 EAN: 9780375701078 ISBN: 0375701079 Label: Vintage Manufacturer: Vintage Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 416 Publication Date: January 08, 2002 Publisher: Vintage Release Date: January 08, 2002 Studio: Vintage Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com: Before consulting with customer service, it's always a good idea to read the manual. Psychiatrist John Ratey has condensed years of research on one of the most intimidating yet ubiquitous pieces of hardware in the world into the ever-handy User's Guide to the Brain. More intellectually stimulating than day-to-day practical, the Guide uses tales from Ratey's practice and other clinical venues, tidbits from neuroscientific research, and plain common sense to suggest how the brain develops and manifests personality and behavior. With section titles like "Free Will and the Anterior Cingulate Gyrus," many readers will feel intimidated, but Ratey is careful to direct his explanations to all--even those without a PhD in neuroanatomy. His interesting four-theater theory of mental function is the most directly practical section of the book, incorporating the author's years of experience with patients into a sensible framework that readers can use to better tune their own systems. Describing the changing of the guard from psychoanalysis to a more biological paradigm, Ratey writes: Neuroscientists have, in a sense, simply taken over the elite, almost clerical office once held by analysts. The language used to describe the brain is, if anything, more opaque than any of the old psychoanalytic terminology, which was itself so obscure that only trained professionals could wade through the literature. Most people never even bother to learn such terminology, deeming that, like the language of the computer scientists of the early 1970s, it is better left to the nerds.Determined to help us overcome our sense of helplessness in matters cranial, Ratey has shown that we can understand ourselves better and can learn quite a bit from the nerds. --Rob Lightner Product Description: John Ratey, bestselling author and clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, here lucidly explains the human brain’s workings, and paves the way for a better understanding of how the brain affects who we are. Ratey provides insight into the basic structure and chemistry of the brain, and demonstrates how its systems shape our perceptions, emotions, and behavior. By giving us a greater understanding of how the brain responds to the guidance of its user, he provides us with knowledge that can enable us to improve our lives. In A User’s Guide to the Brain, Ratey clearly and succinctly surveys what scientists now know about the brain and how we use it. He looks at the brain as a malleable organ capable of improvement and change, like any muscle, and examines the way specific motor functions might be applied to overcome neural disorders ranging from everyday shyness to autism. Drawing on examples from his practice and from everyday life, Ratey illustrates that the most important lesson we can learn about our brains is how to use them to their maximum potential. Download Description: Bringing order and relevance to the cascade of recent brain-search findings, the author makes clear how the brain responds to the guidance of the user. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Intriguing, Interesting, but Lacks Citations"A User's Guide to the Brain" is an intriguing essay on the mind, as the subtitle implies: Perception, Attention and the Four Theatres of the Brain. Written in 2001, the 401 pages over ten chapters is more of Dr. Ratey's personal memoirs and anecdotes written in the first person than a medically written essay without any interjected opinions or afterthoughts, which is more of what I was hoping to find. Dr. Ratey, however, makes several claims and refers to several papers without the much needed citations ... Read More Rating:  - Best Book On The Brain YetThis is the best written book on the brain and mind that I have seen yet, and I've seen and read a bunch. Ratey can write so well that it was a pleasure to read. The book is very comprehensive and insightful. I'd give it 10 stars if the rating system could handle it. Rating: - A good guide for the laypersonThis text is exactly what it promised--a layman's guide to neuroscience and the brain. Ratey gives a wonderful explanation of everything from how information passes from one part of the brain to the next, to shooting holes in the idea that one brain cell equals one memory, or that the brain can be easily divided up into parts and functions. He delves into thought and memory, explaining their processes and how things can go wrong, resulting in various neurological disorders. And he talks about experimental ... Read More Rating: - Great bookThis is a book that is very understandable to read for someone that is not medical. It is an enjoyable book with information anyone can understand. There are only a few illustrations but they are useful. I recommend this book for anyone pursuing a better understanding in the workings of the human processor "brain". Rating: - An excellent guide to the brainThis is an excellent guide to the brain and how it works. The focus on movement and its role in the brain, as well as neuro-chemistry provides fascinating insights into how the brain works and even how such disorders as ADHD are caused by neurological deficits. The book is written in easy to understand language, but also with an appreciation of the potential reader. I definitely recommend it as a good introduction to neuro-science and the mysteries of the human body. 
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