The Brain in Context: A Pragmatic Guide to Neuroscience

281 Pages·2020·1.897 MB·English

by  Jonathan D. Moreno, Jay Schulkin

Praise for
THE BRAIN IN CONTEXT
“Jonathan D. Moreno and Jay Schulkin provide a wonderfully engaging
account of the human brain and how it works. They smoothly blend the latest
in scientific discoveries with a broad historical and philosophical perspective.
The Brain in Context goes down easy and fires the imagination. Delightful
and illuminating!”
Kent Berridge, James Olds Distinguished University Professor of
Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Michigan
“Moreno and Schulkin deftly deploy an irresistible array of fascinating sto-
ries and witty, accessible analysis to open up a new worldview of our poorly
understood brains. They treat us to the very best in philosophical, historical,
and scientific analysis and illustrate how we arrived at knowing what we
know as well as what we only think that we know about our brain as a whole.
The Brain in Context is an indispensable read for all of us who use our brains
yet scratch our heads about how they work. A true treat for all our minds to
read and to ponder about!”
Amy Gutmann, president and Christopher H. Browne
Distinguished Professor of Political Science and professor
of communication, University of Pennsylvania
“The Brain in Context is a grand pragmatic tour through neuroscience and our
quest to understand the brain. Remarkable in its trajectory from historical
times to the pressing issues of contemporary research, the style is informal
and clear. This new view on the state of modern neuroscience will be a plea-
sure to read for experts and enthusiasts alike, leaving us with a broad sense
of the present state of the field.”
Michael Hawrylycz, Allen Institute for Brain Science
“Immerse yourself in this exhilarating book and you will be guided skillfully
through much of contemporary neuroscience and its associated philosophy;
there’s always been a close connection between the two. We are our brains:
they make us human but also individuals. Many of the most serious and
life-d amaging disorders occur when the brain malfunctions. In this book,
you’ll find a most readable account not only of what we currently know about
the brain in all its complexity and variety, but also what we don’t.”
Joe Herbert, University of Cambridge
“The Brain in Context is a user-f riendly book filled with interesting and infor-
mative essays about our brains as we understand them, how we achieved that
understanding, and mistakes made along the way. A delight to read.”
Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves:
The Four-B illion- Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains
“A highly engaging introduction to what we know and don’t know about
the brain, surveying areas of solid understanding while also emphasizing the
large gaps and uncertainties that remain. This book will provide value for
anyone seeking a balanced perspective on this fascinating organ, which still
remains mysterious in many ways. The authors are distinguished behavioral
neuroscientists with broad interests, and they write with verve as well as
authority.”
Hal Pashler, editor in chief of Encyclopedia of the Mind
“How the brain works is as hard to explain to the general public as it is to stu-
dents studying for a PhD in neuroscience. That’s because no one has come up
with a ‘Grand Theory’ of brain function, a conceptual framework analogous
to Darwin’s theory of biological evolution. The Brain in Context serves up an
accessible and fascinating introduction to current thinking about what the
brain does and how it does it. Moreno and Schulkin have rich backgrounds
in writing about neuroscience, and do an admirable job of guiding readers
between the current extremes of ‘neurohype’ (neuroscience is about to solve
the world’s problems) and ‘neuropessimism’ (the brain is so complex that tan-
gible neuroscience solutions are indefinitely far away).”
Larry W. Swanson, author of Brain Architecture:
Understanding the Basic Plan
T H E B R A I N I N
C O N T E X T

T H E
B R A I N
I N C O N T E X T
A Pragmatic Guide to
Neuroscience
JONATHAN D. MORENO
JAY SCHULKIN
and
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup . columbia . edu
Copyright © 2020 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Moreno, Jonathan D., author.
Title: The brain in context : a pragmatic guide to neuroscience /
Jonathan D. Moreno and Jay Schulkin.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, [2019] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019006025| ISBN 9780231177368 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780231547109 (e-b ook)
Subjects: LCSH: Neurosciences—P opular works. |
Neurotechnology (Bioengineering)
Classification: LCC RC341 .M727 2019 | DDC 612.8/233—d c23
LC record available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019006025
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-f ree paper.
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design: Alex Camlin
Cover image: Freepik
ALSO BY JONATHAN D. MORENO
Impromptu Man: J. L. Moreno and the Origins of Psychodrama,
Encounter Culture, and the Social Network
Mind Wars: Brain Science and the Military in the Twenty- First Century
The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America
Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans
Deciding Together: Bioethics and Moral Consensus
COAUTHORED BOOKS
Ethics in Clinical Practice (with Judith Ahronheim and Connie Zuckerman)
Discourse in the Social Sciences: Strategies for Translating Models of Mental Illness
(with Barry Glassner)
ALSO BY JAY SCHULKIN
Reflections on the Musical Mind: An Evolutionary Perspective
Naturalism and Pragmatism
Effort: A Behavioral Neuroscience Perspective on the Will
Bodily Sensibility: Intelligent Action
Roots of Social Sensibility and Neural Function
The Neuroendocrine Regulation of Behavior
COAUTHORED BOOKS
Milk: The Biology of Lactation (with Michael L. Power)
The Evolution of Obesity (with Michael L. Power)

CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1 Electrifying 6
2 Constructing 32
3 Evolving 68
4 Imaging 96
5 Engineering 121
6 Securing 138
7 Healing 164
8 Socializing 181
Not the Last Word 201
Acknowledgments 205
Notes 207
References 213
Index 257