Electric Brain: How the New Science of Brainwaves Reads Minds, Tells Us How We Learn, and Helps Us Change for the Better

468 Pages·2020·12.278 MB·English

by  R.Douglas Fields

PRAISE FOR ELECTRIC BRAIN
“The Electric Brain tells the story behind one of the most basic and important
features of the nervous system—its electrical properties. Forget the hype
you’ve heard about ‘brainwaves.’ Read Doug Fields’s facile account of the
role of brain electrical activity in mind and behavior.”
—Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves: The
Four-Billion-Year-Story of How We Got Conscious Brains
“Brainwaves, not heartbeat, determine the threshold between life and death.
They can control drones and in turn be controlled by machines. Doug Fields
has done a remarkable job of lifting the veil on these mysterious, fascinating
emanations and their potential to change our behavior, influence our
personality, and teach us about the core of consciousness itself.”
—Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix
“A lively personal account of the wild west of brain wave research, opening
multiple windows to deep mysteries underlying our conscious and
unconscious selves. Lucid discussions of dreams, mental disorders, mind
control, and more provide the reader with a vibrant look into brain science
and its impacts on our lives. Strongly recommended.”
—Paul L. Nunez, PhD, neuroscientist and author of The New
Science of Consciousness: Exploring the Complexity of Brain,
Mind, and Self
“Douglas Fields explains how electricity is exploited in neuronal circuits for
both simple and complex functions. He does it in accessible language,
embedded in beautiful prose, where beyond discussing fascinating scientific
topics of brain works, the scientists come to the fore. A great book to
everyone interested in the most complex matter that exists.”
—György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain and The Brain
from Inside Out

Electric Brain copyright © 2020 by R. Douglas Fields
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
or reviews.
BenBella Books, Inc.
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Send feedback to [email protected]
BenBella is a federally registered trademark.
First E-Book Edition: February 2020
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019952185.
ISBN 9781946885456 (trade cloth)
ISBN 9781948836296 (electronic)
Editing by Sheila Curry Oakes and Alexa Stevenson
Copyediting by Elizabeth Degenhard
Proofreading by Sarah Vostok and Cape Cod Compositors, Inc.
Indexing by WordCo Indexing Services, Inc.
Text design by Publishers’ Design and Production Services, Inc
Cover design by Faceout Studio, Spencer Fuller
Cover image © Shutterstock / Sebestyen Balint; image editing by Faceout Studio, Spencer Fuller
Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing
Distributed to the trade by Two Rivers Distribution, an Ingram brand www.tworiversdistribution.com
Special discounts for bulk sales are available.
Please contact [email protected].
Dedicated to my father, Richard L. Fields
CONTENTS
PREFACE
PART I
DISCOVERING THE ELECTRIC BRAIN
CHAPTER 1 Broadcasts from the Mind
CHAPTER 2 It’s Alive! The Spark of Life
PART II
UNDERSTANDING BRAINWAVES
CHAPTER 3 Brainwaves Explained
CHAPTER 4 Deciphering the Brain’s Code
CHAPTER 5 Brainwaves, a Window into the Mind
CHAPTER 6 Consciousness, Riding on Brainwaves
CHAPTER 7 A Sea Change in Brainwaves While We Slumber
PART III
HARNESSING BRAINWAVE POWER
CHAPTER 8 Mind Control: Brain-Computer Interface
CHAPTER 9 Brainwaves Reveal Your Thoughts, Strengths, and
Weaknesses
CHATPER 10 Detecting Brain and Mental Disorders
CHAPTER 11 Mastering Your Own Brainwaves
CHAPTER 12 Into the Future
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER READING
REFERENCES AND NOTES
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PREFACE
B lue panel lights blink ominously on rows of black computers sealed inside
a glass room. I walk past the supercomputer nerve center and proceed
down an empty, dark corridor. Arriving at a door, I open it and enter a
cavernous room painted entirely black. Twenty-four digital cameras stationed
around the room pinpoint my every move. Two men stand up from behind a
bank of computer screens. I know that by using their sophisticated
instruments, they can eavesdrop on electrical transmissions flashing through
my brain. The most intimate details of my mind are theirs to see. They can
read my thoughts before I have them. They can watch my brain learn. They
can glean my intelligence, my propensity for adventurism, identify telltale
signatures of mental illness and neurological disorders, and predict my ability
to learn specific types of material. Am I a good reader? Bad at arithmetic?
Prone to depression? Developing early stages of Parkinson’s disease? These
deeply personal insights into my mind are available to them and other brain
scientists who are propelling a revolutionary leap in neuroscience that will
transform our world.
I’ve come to this place to meet these two neuroscientists and experience
for myself how they can watch my brain learn by tracking my brainwaves.
There is no need to open my skull and stick electrodes into my brain to tap
into my neural circuits. Electricity zipping through thousands of neurons deep
inside my cerebral cortex creates electromagnetic waves of energy that