Washoe County Library System

"Research has revealed that our brains are inherently noisy. A number of brain regions connected in what's dubbed the Default Mode Network (DMN) are always grinding away, engaged in a number of different involuntary activities that neuroscientists collectively call mindwandering: from daydreaming and self-chatter to ruminating about the past and worrying about the future. Not only does all of this inner commotion tug our attention away from the present...

Explores the thoughts and emotions of animals.

"If you feel like your brain is “glitching,” or working against you, know that you’re not stuck with the brain biology gave you. An upgrade is possible. In Brainhacker, you’ll learn how to “rewire” your brain and boost its power. David Farrow, author of The Farrow Method, helps you get inside your own head and call the shots, with concrete exercises and tips to train your brain to work for you. These tricks can instantly boost your memory,...

Corballis argues that mind-wandering has many constructive and adaptive features. These range from mental time travel?the wandering back and forth through time, not only to plan our futures based on past experience, but also to generate a continuous sense of who we are--to the ability to inhabit the minds of others, increasing empathy and social understanding. Through mind-wandering, we invent, tell stories, and expand our mental horizons. Mind wandering...

Includes stories of people who are able to navigate the world and communicate with others despite losing what many of us consider indispensable senses and faculties: the power of speech, the capacity to recognize faces, the sense of three-dimensional space, the ability to read, and the sense of sight. This book is a testament to the complexity of vision and the brain and to the power of creativity and adaptation, and it provides a whole new perspective...

"Google. Facebook. Twitter. Repeat. We live in a world unimaginable even a few decades ago, one like no other in human history. It's a parallel world where we can be on the move in the real world, yet always hooked into an alternative time and place. And although it's a two-dimensional world of sight and sound, it offers instant information, connected identities, and constant novelty. In this world, our screen technologies are increasingly where we...

"Apes can do a lot of things that we can, too: they can use tools, tell bigger from smaller, and even say hello. But one thing they can't do is say "see you tomorrow." That's not just because they don't speak English, but because they are unable to imagine reencountering another ape in the future. Humans, of course, can. As Thomas Suddendorf, Jon Redshaw, and Adam Bulley reveal, that represents a truly earth-shattering capacity. In The Invention of...

The "Your Brain Health" neuroscience podcaster outlines recommendations for promoting brain health and resilience throughout life, outlining helpful techniques for preventing memory loss and other neurodegenerative disorders.

"Joseph LeDoux offers a new framework for understanding how biological processes give rise to the sense of being an independent personality in the world. Theorizing the intricate interdependence of the bodily, neural, cognitive, and conscious realms, Ledoux explores the evolution of the human as an "ensemble of being" unique among Earth's animals"-- "One of the world's leading experts on mind and brain takes us on an expedition that reveals a new...

Despite all our highly publicized efforts to improve our schools, the United States is still falling behind. We recently ranked 15th in the world in reading, math, and science. Clearly, more needs to be done. In The Learning Brain, Torkel Klingberg urges us to use the insights of neuroscience to improve the education of our children.