Understanding the Brain

Understanding the Brain delivers a great review of the neurobiology, systems, and frontiers of cognitive neuroscience.... Dowling is a master teacher, having collected quips, stories, and illustrations over 30 years.... You can see why freshmen could be captivated by these illustrations of the complex physiology of the synapse. And for the practitioner, Dowling provides teaching stories for our clinical encounters.... I recommend this book to physicians interested in the brain, and in thinking about thinking, as it provides a rich review that we might leverage for our patients, and our own aging and dynamic brains and minds.-- "Family Medicine"
Understanding the Brain is not only an instant classic among neuroscience texts, but also makes compelling reading. Drawing on lessons learned from the eye of a horseshoe crab and from surrealist film maker Luis Bunuel, Dowling tells the story of how the molecular machinery of the human brain assembled our mind and how our minds beget reason, dreams and the imagination.--Gerald Weissmann, MD, Research Professor of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, Book Review Editor, The FASEB Journal
I began Dowling's book thinking I'd skim the early chapters and move on quickly to the sexy topics of memory and consciousness. But Understanding the Brain is so beautifully written, the story of how the brain is constructed from billions of cells so awe inspiring, that I started on page 1 and read every word. A perfect book for students trying to decide whether to major in neuroscience or for anyone who simply wants to know how nature constructs a thinking, feeling, human brain. The clarity of Dowling's writing allows the reader to sail through the more challenging sections without losing sight of the big picture or the humbling, jaw-dropping, almost inconceivable genius, of nature.--Nancy Hopkins, Amgen Inc Professor of Biology Emerita, MIT