The Brain Explained

This is a fascinating, easy to read, book for the ordinary person who wants to know how the brain works, and would like some ideas about how to get it working even better. It has lots of clear explanations - like why we feel stress after the cause has gone, and lots of diagrams and pictures to complement the text.

At the end of each of the 7 chapters there are questions to ponder on, and at the end of the book there is a list of further resources that relate to each chapter.

There are many interesting facts/statements such as "95% of Alheimers' cases are not linked to the genes you are born with" and there are many case histories given, including some which have been in the public eye.

The main message (I got) is "Use it or Lose it", or work hard to regain/learn it. Therefore it is important to continuously train your brain. The book suggests you need work each part of your brain, and provides a few worksheets to help you understand which parts you are currently using effectively, and then offers a lot of ideas on how to get the other parts working better. There are also examples of neuroplasticity where people who have lost the use of parts of their brains, have been able to retrain other parts of their brain to take over these lost functions.

The book is clearly set out, so it is easy to refer back to particular sections of interest - helped by an extensive Index at the back. There is also a useful glossary of terms - though I (with no medical background) had no need of the glossary whilst reading the book.

A fascinating book, that I shall certainly be referring back to again and again. I'm not sure how well it would work on an e-reader, give that there are various worksheets - which once completed need cross-referencing with activity sheets. Colour is also important for the diagrams.

Better with age is an entertaining and informative book about how to use our brain in order to live longer and better. The author, financial representative before, brain coach now, uses a comprehensible language to guide us through the evolution of the nervous system in order to get to the most complicated structure we know: the human brain, an immense treasure we own but we don't know and use enough. It has also the extraordinary capacity of repairing and improving itself through the whole lifespan thanks to the neuroplasticity. Use it or lose it - is the leit-motiv of the book and the author explains why it is so important and how to do this. How we use our brain is our responsability and in our interest so we need a guide to do it well.

Dividing the brain in five zones that are associated with various tasks, the author explains through the Brain Portfolio Tool (a metaphore taken from the financial world) that we need to invest in all of them and to give them a chance for acting and she suggests the activities we can do to achieve this goal. A balanced activity of all zones is fundamental for good health of the brain and the body in older age. (As an artist I was somewhat surprised that crafts, drawing and sculpture are associated with parietal lobe (artisan activities) together to bicycle and horseback riding and hunting (adventure activities), while art was associated with occipital lobe).

In the same way are described the superpowers of the brain. She also tells us concrete examples of people of various age that activating them have succeed in improving his/her own life.

In the last chapter the author analyzes long-agers' behaviour and lifestyle, their social, economical and cultural environment in different high-income countries searching for a key. She also is investigating for the dramatic number of Alzheimer's cases in the USA pointing out the probably causes and so suggesting the solutions.

The book is written in a reader-friendly language, the illustrations and the layout facilitate easy reading and comprehension. Every chapter has engagement questions getting the reader personally involved.

I was extremely excited to get a copy of this book to review. I have a fascination with how the brain so able to adapt and learn. So when I looked at the description, I knew I needed to add it to my 'to read' list.

This book is a self-help book, for those who are middle-aged up. Now that doesn't count the young people out. The motto is 'use it or lose it'. We all know that is true for the rest of our body, but the unseen organ called the brain is no different. In fact, is should be our number one concern. We live in a time of high pressure and stress. We have all the world at our fingertips but should we neglect our precious brain. Before I started studying Education, I had no idea of the capabilities of our minds. As I near the end of my degree, I have become more and more interest in our potential as human beings.

This book tackles our abilities from the perspective that we need to help ourselves, especially as we age. Science now knows we can keep learning and strengthening our brains right through life. I have to agree as I see elderly people who are vibrant. When I question them, most have kept learning and held on to their hope and dreams. They have continued to 'help themselves' while continuing to grow. This book offers insight into continued growth and redevelopment of the brain. It is not a book of crossword puzzles and mind benders. It is a book of genuine growth and continued development.

The author offers insight into brain diseases like Alzheimer's and brain injuries. There is a scientific insight into this amazing part our body that we often neglect. I enjoyed the science incorporation in the book along with the examples of people who have defied the odds and restructured their brains to continue life to the fullest.

This book is for everyone. It is aimed at the more mature age groups, but I differ on this idea and would encourage all ages to read this and take on board some of the ideas presented. You are never too young to take care of your mind, after all, it makes your body move, digest, love, and speak. Start looking after the most important part of your body today. A good starting point will be reading this book; it's easy to devour and just as easy to start following the principles within.

This book packages some good general advice in an annoying and pretentious style, and mixes it with a lot of sloppy technical science. You may find the style less annoying than I do, in which case you might gain motivation from the book's positive tone.

I think the useful information content of the book can be summed up in one short paragraph. It is important to exercise your brain as you get older, both for physical and mental health. However just as you wouldn't try to get physically fit by doing only bicep curls; you'd also do some cardio and stretching, and some exercises designed to strengthen balance and coordination; your brain exercises should encompass a range of skills, not just solving puzzles. It's important to exercise your brain in combination with all five of your senses, and also with a range of mental abilities.

So how do you get a book out of that? One way is to package it with a lot of collateral material like "engagement questions," motivational quotes, cartoons and pictures and personal stories. Some people will find these make the book fun to read, and the advice easier to accept and remember. Others will find it to be unnecessary fluff.

A less defensible way is to fill the book with semi-accurate scientific details that don't add to understanding. The author has read some popular books on brain science (some good, some not so good) and summarized them with lots of jargon but not the precision necessary to explain the science. You don't need lists of brain chemicals, accounts of neuron physiology or brain charts to understand how and why to exercise your brain. And if you want the neuroscience, you should get a good account from a scientist, such as [[ASIN:1118086864 Neuroscience For Dummies]], or a serious popular science writer, such as [[ASIN:1465416021 The Human Brain Book]]. This author is neither trained in science nor skilled at communicating complex technical information, as a result you get cocktail party brain science that isn't either practical help for improving your brain or accurate knowledge in general.

What I found most irritating about the book is things like a "warning to the reader" (complete with bright yellow icon), suggesting that anyone who doesn't like this book fears change, is unhappy to be alive, doesn't want life to improve with age, and refuses to accept wisdom from business, nature, science or religion. I didn't like the book, but I don't think any of those things are true of me. More generally, this book has that unpleasant (to me, anyway) self-help attitude of communicating a revealed truth rather than tentatively exploring a topic in which our ignorance considerably outweighs our knowledge, and relishing the thought of suffering unbelievers. The author may have switched her preaching from financial sales and religion to brain science, but the proselytizing attitude remains.

I'm well aware that the things I found annoying in this book are common in the self-help field, and obviously many people must like them, because these books sell. So you may find the book motivating and fascinating where I find it pompous and irritating. Since the core advice is good, if you like the package, by all means buy this book. But if you share my tastes, you'll have a hard time getting much benefit from this book.

What I didn't know about the brain could fill the sky. Even after reading Phyllis Strupp's book, I still know very little, but a bit more than I did yesterday. It is fascinating. If you're interested in what goes on between your ears, then this is a must read. Be prepared to be shocked how little we use our brain power and low little we retain if we don't exercise the mind. Just like exercising the body, your brain needs to be kept fit too if it is to grow and not wither. The science included in the book is easy'ish to grasp and provides useful background information. Go on, give your brain a work out.

This book is a informative guide for neuroscience for all that are intended as caretakers of anyone in mental decline. It is also helpful for personal knowledge for all ageing populations.