Synopses & Reviews
and#147;Neuroscientist Giovanni Frazzetto enters the restless realm of human emotion through the portals of physiology, genetics, history, art and philosophy. Anger, guilt, anxiety, grief, empathy, joy and love are anatomized in turn, enlivened with research on everything from the role of monoamine oxidase A in anger to the engagement of opioid receptors as we thrill to music. And who knew that surrealist Salvador Dali created an art installation in the shape of a giant caterpillar to explore the process of sedation?and#8221;
and#151;Nature
and#160;
Is science ever enough to explain why we feel the way we feel?
In this engaging account, renowned neuroscientist Giovanni Frazzetto blends cutting-edge scientific research with personal stories to reveal how our brains generate our emotions. He demonstrates that while modern science has expanded our knowledge, investigating art, literature, and philosophy is equally crucial to unraveling the brainand#8217;s secrets. What can a brain scan, or our reaction to a Caravaggio painting, reveal about the deep seat of guilt? Can ancient remedies fight sadness more effectively than antidepressants? What can writing poetry tell us about how joy works? Structured in seven chapters encompassing common human emotionsand#151;anger, guilt, anxiety, grief, empathy, joy, and loveand#151;Joy, Guilt, Anger, Love offers a way of thinking about science and art that will help us to more fully understand ourselves and how we feel.
Review
"Engaging. . . . Very refreshing. . . . His analogies and images when explaining the science are often illuminating and sometimes inspired."
—The Times (UK)
Review
and#8220;In Frazzettoand#8217;s book, the Italian researcher and writer offers a fine primer on six emotions plus empathy. But before diving into the biology of each emotion (the role of the amygdala in fear and of serotonin reuptake in grief), he inspects his target through the lenses of psychology, philosophy, art and personal experience. What you see is that poetry offers more insight into our feelings than does neuroanatomy or biochemistry.and#8221;
and#8212;Washington Post and#160;
and#8220;Neuroscientist Giovanni Frazzetto enters the restless realm of human emotion through the portals of physiology, genetics, history, art and philosophy. Anger, guilt, anxiety, grief, empathy, joy and love are anatomized in turn, enlivened with research on everything from the role of monoamine oxidase A in anger to the engagement of opioid receptors as we thrill to music. And who knew that surrealist Salvador Dali created an art installation in the shape of a giant caterpillar to explore the process of sedation?and#8221;
and#8212;Nature
and#160;
and#8220;A remarkable look at the power of human emotion and the overuse of science in justifying human nature. . . . Refreshing. . . . Interweaving psychological and scientific experiments with endearing personal anecdotes and historical retellings, Frazzetto shows that we are, indeed, more than the sum of our brain scans. While his knowledge of case studies is impressive, itand#8217;s his own dealings with strong emotions like grief and love that make the book appealing. . . .and#160; Frazzetto has produced an homage to the history and of mankindand#8217;s devotion to flights of the heart and sparks of the brain.and#8221;
and#8212;Publishers Weekly
and#160;
and#8220;[An] intriguing book . . . . An enjoyable illumination of and#8216;that most private and shadowy territory, our emotions.and#8221;
and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
and#160;
and#8220;A masterful meld of science, art, and memoir on what makes us human.and#8221;
and#8212;Allen Frances, author of Saving Normal
and#160;
and#8220;Engaging... very refreshing. His analogies and images when explaining the science are often illuminating and sometimes inspired.and#8221;
and#8212;Henry Marsh, The Times, UK
and#8220;Wonderfully lucid.and#8221;
and#8212;Lisa Appignanesi, author of Mad, Bad and Sad and All About Love
and#8220;Intriguing... eye-opening. Frazzetto explains with admirable clarity.and#8221;
and#8212;James McConnachie, The Sunday Times, UK
and#8220;Frazzettoand#8217;s book guides readers through the latest neurological research, stopping at each revelation to question what has been discovered.and#8221;
and#8212;Philip Maughan, The New Statesman
and#8220;I finished feeling that I had learned a lot effortlessly ... his expressive style of writing is very enjoyable to read.and#8221;
and#8212;Matt Chorley, Popular Science UK
and#160;
Synopsis
Since Descartes famously proclaimed, "I think, therefore I am," science has often overlooked emotions as the source of a personandrsquo;s true being. Even modern neuroscience has tended, until recently, to concentrate on the cognitive aspects of brain function, disregarding emotions. This attitude began to change with the publication of Descartesandrsquo; Error in 1995. Antonio Damasioandmdash;"one of the worldandrsquo;s leading neurologists" (The New York Times)andmdash;challenged traditional ideas about the connection between emotions and rationality. In this wondrously engaging book, Damasio takes the reader on a journey of scientific discovery through a series of case studies, demonstrating what many of us have long suspected: emotions are not a luxury, they are essential to rational thinking and to normal social behavior.
Synopsis
An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, M.D., traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives theyve transformedpeople whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable. We see a woman born with half a brain that rewired itself to work as a whole, blind people who learn to see, learning disorders cured, IQs raised, aging brains rejuvenated, stroke patients learning to speak, children with cerebral palsy learning to move with more grace, depression and anxiety disorders successfully treated, and lifelong character traits changed. Using these marvelous stories to probe mysteries of the body, emotion, love, sex, culture, and education, Dr. Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.
Synopsis
A leading brain scientist's look at the neurobiology of pleasure-and how pleasures can become addictions. Whether eating, taking drugs, engaging in sex, or doing good deeds, the pursuit of pleasure is a central drive of the human animal. In The Compass of Pleasure Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden explains how pleasure affects us at the most fundamental level: in our brain.
As he did in his award-winning book, The Accidental Mind, Linden combines cutting-edge science with entertaining anecdotes to illuminate the source of the behaviors that can lead us to ecstasy but that can easily become compulsive. Why are drugs like nicotine and heroin addictive while LSD is not? Why has the search for safe appetite suppressants been such a disappointment? The Compass of Pleasure concludes with a provocative consideration of pleasure in the future, when it may be possible to activate our pleasure circuits at will and in entirely novel patterns.
Synopsis
From the New York Times bestselling author comes a andquot;hugely entertainingandquot; (NPR.org) look at vice and virtue through cutting-edge science
As he did in his award-winning book The Accidental Mind, David J. Lindenandmdash;highly regarded neuroscientist, professor, and writerandmdash;weaves empirical science with entertaining anecdotes to explain how the gamut of behaviors that give us a buzz actually operates. The Compass of Pleasure makes clear why drugs like nicotine and heroin are addictive while LSD is not, how fast food restaurants ensure that diners will eat more, why some people cannot resist the appeal of a new sexual encounter, and much more. Provocative and illuminating, this is a radically new and thorough look at the desires that define us.
Synopsis
Is science ever enough to explain why we feel the way we feel? In this engaging account, renowned neuroscientist Giovanni Frazzetto blends cutting-edge scientific research with personal stories to reveal how our brains generate our emotions. He demonstrates that while modern science has expanded our knowledge, investigating art, literature, and philosophy is equally crucial to unraveling the brainand#8217;s secrets. What can a brain scan, or our reaction to a Caravaggio painting, reveal about the deep seat of guilt? Can ancient remedies fight sadness more effectively than antidepressants? What can writing poetry tell us about how joy works? Structured in seven chapters encompassing common human emotionsand#151;anger, guilt, anxiety, grief, empathy, joy, and loveand#151;Joy, Guilt, Anger, Love offers a way of thinking about science and art that will help us to more fully understand ourselves and how we feel.
About the Author
Antonio Damasio, a neurologist and neuroscientist, is at the University of Southern California, where he directs a new brain research institute dedicated to the study of emotion and creativity. He is also an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute. The recipient of numerous awards (several shared with his wife Hanna Damasio, also a neurologist and neuroscientist), he is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of two other widely acclaimed books, The Feeling of What Happens and Looking for Spinoza.
Table of Contents
Introduction xi
PART I
Unpleasantness in Vermont 3
Gage's Brain Revealed 20
A Modern Phineas Gage 34
In Colder Blood 52
PART II
Assembling an Explanation 83
Biological Regulation and Survival 114
Emotions and Feelings 127
The Somatic-Marker Hypothesis 165
PART III
Testing the Somatic-Marker Hypothesis 205
The Body-Minded Brain 223
A Passion for Reasoning 245
Postscriptum 253
Notes and References 269
Further Reading 293
Acknowledgments 299
Index 301