Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain—And How They Guide You
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- Create Date：2021-09-09 09:51:58
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Rebecca Schwarzlose
- ISBN：1328949966
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Summary
A path-breaking journey into the brain， showing how perception， thought， and action are products of “maps” etched into your gray matter—and how technology can use them to read your mind。
Your brain is a collection of maps。 That is no metaphor: scrawled across your brain’s surfaces are actual maps of the sights， sounds， and actions that hold the key to your survival。 Scientists first began uncovering these maps over a century ago， but we are only now beginning to unlock their secrets—and comprehend their profound impact on our lives。 Brain maps distort and shape our experience of the world， support complex thought， and make technology-enabled mind reading a modern-day reality， which raises important questions about what is real， what is fair， and what is private。 They shine a light on our past and our possible futures。 In the process， they invite us to view ourselves from a startling new perspective。
In Brainscapes， Rebecca Schwarzlose combines unforgettable real-life stories， cutting-edge research， and vivid illustrations to reveal brain maps’ surprising lessons about our place in the world—and about the world’s place within us。
Your brain is a collection of maps。 That is no metaphor: scrawled across your brain’s surfaces are actual maps of the sights， sounds， and actions that hold the key to your survival。 Scientists first began uncovering these maps over a century ago， but we are only now beginning to unlock their secrets—and comprehend their profound impact on our lives。 Brain maps distort and shape our experience of the world， support complex thought， and make technology-enabled mind reading a modern-day reality， which raises important questions about what is real， what is fair， and what is private。 They shine a light on our past and our possible futures。 In the process， they invite us to view ourselves from a startling new perspective。
In Brainscapes， Rebecca Schwarzlose combines unforgettable real-life stories， cutting-edge research， and vivid illustrations to reveal brain maps’ surprising lessons about our place in the world—and about the world’s place within us。
Reviews
Sarah
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A look at the maps our brains use to process information from our senses， this book was written by a neuroscientist with a true knack for making science accessible to those of us whose backgrounds in the subject matter are， shall we say， lacking。 It took me a chapter of slow reading to grasp the underlying concepts， but after that I was hooked。 I loved the whimsical illustrations and the many stories that explained how we know what we know about the brain。 Most were due to someone turning to phy A look at the maps our brains use to process information from our senses， this book was written by a neuroscientist with a true knack for making science accessible to those of us whose backgrounds in the subject matter are， shall we say， lacking。 It took me a chapter of slow reading to grasp the underlying concepts， but after that I was hooked。 I loved the whimsical illustrations and the many stories that explained how we know what we know about the brain。 Most were due to someone turning to physicians after suffering serious harm （being blinded， becoming a vegetable， etc）; how fitting that today some of the greatest innovations in this area help people suffering from similar maladies。 A fascinating narrative that addresses not only how our brains work， but why that matters。 。。。more
Kim Gausepohl
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An intro psychology text with a catchy title。
Irene
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While I already knew a bit about brain mapping， I still learned a fair amount of new information， particularly about MRI imaging， technological advances regarding implants and the possible ramifications of their use when in the hands of private companies， and very early brain development and how it shapes future learning。 Absolutely fascinating。
Meilech
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I received a free copy through the Goodreads giveaway。This is a fascinating look into how our brain works and how it interprets our senses be it physically like vision， touch， hearing etc。 as well as none physical like time。Well worth the read if that's a topic of interest。 I received a free copy through the Goodreads giveaway。This is a fascinating look into how our brain works and how it interprets our senses be it physically like vision， touch， hearing etc。 as well as none physical like time。Well worth the read if that's a topic of interest。 。。。more
Why-why
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Disappointingly basic。Warning: do not read this book if you are sensitive about animals used in science experiments。
Sara Goldenberg
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it's written for the lay person but isn't easy to understand at all。 The subject matter is difficult。 it's written for the lay person but isn't easy to understand at all。 The subject matter is difficult。 。。。more
Jeanine
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The complexity of our brains is fascinating and Schwarzlose adeptly explains highly technical， scientific concepts/theories in plain English。 Nevertheless， it’s challenging to comprehend the mountain of information conveyed。
Keane Neal-Riquier
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This book brought a fresh and in-depth look into the understanding of our brains。
Mary Payne
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I love this book！ Dr。 Rebecca Schwarzlose does a great job of explaining how she and other neuroscientists are on the cutting edge of mapping the inner landscapes of our human family， helping us to understand and manage the experiences that have shaped our lives。 The brain contains many maps。 each one connected to its personal sensory system， taking input from all parts of the body to allow the person’s perception to rapidly update and respond accordingly。 Schwarzlose makes the point that， while I love this book！ Dr。 Rebecca Schwarzlose does a great job of explaining how she and other neuroscientists are on the cutting edge of mapping the inner landscapes of our human family， helping us to understand and manage the experiences that have shaped our lives。 The brain contains many maps。 each one connected to its personal sensory system， taking input from all parts of the body to allow the person’s perception to rapidly update and respond accordingly。 Schwarzlose makes the point that， while an adult’s brain can be changed to a small degree， it is not as pliable as that of an infant。 She says that vision problems， hospitalizations， and abuse can re-map a child’s brain for life。 Brainscapes reads like a novel， because the author tells many stories about the history of brain mapping and how it is beginning to impact the lives of people for the better。 One of the most surprising experiments was mapping the brain of a woman in a vegetative state。 Because she couldn’t move or speak， they didn’t know if she was conscious。 However， after hooking her up to an MRI machine， they asked her to think about being inside her house， and the region that mapped locations lit up in her brain。 And when they asked her to think about playing tennis， the section of the brain that processes movement exploded on screen。 The comatose patient was conscious！ Five stars。 Kudos to Dr。。 Schwarzlose for a wonderful book。 I’m already looking forward to her next one。 I can’t wait to see where the research goes from here。 。。。more
Katy
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I received my copy free through Goodreads Giveaways。
Clivemichael
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Densely described overview of the subject。
Armen Shirvanian
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My interview with Dr。 Rebecca Schwarzlose about Brainscapes on The Armen Show Podcast:http://www。armenshirvanian。com/podcas。。。 My interview with Dr。 Rebecca Schwarzlose about Brainscapes on The Armen Show Podcast:http://www。armenshirvanian。com/podcas。。。 。。。more
GONZA
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This book was interesting， but also a little bit boring because maybe the topic didn't lend itself much to popularization and the author is not really Oliver Sacks。 That said， there are some things that are pretty well known， that I was familiar with from my psychology of perception and neuropsychology exams and then there are some new things that deserve careful consideration。For many but not for all。 Questo libro é stato interessante， ma anche un pochino noioso perché forse l'argomento non si This book was interesting， but also a little bit boring because maybe the topic didn't lend itself much to popularization and the author is not really Oliver Sacks。 That said， there are some things that are pretty well known， that I was familiar with from my psychology of perception and neuropsychology exams and then there are some new things that deserve careful consideration。For many but not for all。 Questo libro é stato interessante， ma anche un pochino noioso perché forse l'argomento non si prestava molto alla divulgazione e l'autrice non é proprio Oliver Sacks。 Detto questo ci sono cose piuttosto note， che mi erano conosciute dai tempi dei miei esami di psicologia delle percezione e neuropsicologia e poi ci sono alcune novitá che meritano un'attenta considerazione。Per molti ma non per tutti。 I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review。 。。。more
Andrea Wenger
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This book is slow to start。 The author spends a lot of time （15% of the book） trying to convince the reader that the brain contains maps， and explaining what maps are， and how that relates to brains。 I'm pretty sure that readers are already on board with the concept of brain maps if they pick up a book where the first sentence of the description is "Your brain is a collection of maps。"After that， the book gets better。 It's pretty dense， with lots of fascinating and detailed information。 I wouldn This book is slow to start。 The author spends a lot of time （15% of the book） trying to convince the reader that the brain contains maps， and explaining what maps are， and how that relates to brains。 I'm pretty sure that readers are already on board with the concept of brain maps if they pick up a book where the first sentence of the description is "Your brain is a collection of maps。"After that， the book gets better。 It's pretty dense， with lots of fascinating and detailed information。 I wouldn't call it easy to read—if anything， the author's tendency to overexplain made it harder to read。 Yet overall， the prose is pretty clear， and the subject matter interesting。Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more
lark benobi
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Science writing for a lay audience is a challenge because unless you're Stephen Hawking you're tasked with making complicated concepts understandable enough and entertaining enough that your readers don't feel lost or bored and give up。 For me， though， Brainscapes errs too far on the side of the enthusiastic and the anecdotal。 I felt reminded far too often， as I read， that what I was learning about the brain was something I should be very excited about。 I would have preferred to have been led to Science writing for a lay audience is a challenge because unless you're Stephen Hawking you're tasked with making complicated concepts understandable enough and entertaining enough that your readers don't feel lost or bored and give up。 For me， though， Brainscapes errs too far on the side of the enthusiastic and the anecdotal。 I felt reminded far too often， as I read， that what I was learning about the brain was something I should be very excited about。 I would have preferred to have been led to discover my own wonder。 This is a Mary Roach kind of science book， and will likely appeal to her readers， but I'm more of a Konrad Lorenz kind of science reader。 。。。more
Lee
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This was an interesting book， presenting how the brain "maps" processes （ex: sight， smell） and backedup by the research projects that helped to reveal this information。 This book is well written for anyone with a general interest in how our senses work。 This was an interesting book， presenting how the brain "maps" processes （ex: sight， smell） and backedup by the research projects that helped to reveal this information。 This book is well written for anyone with a general interest in how our senses work。 。。。more
Ahri
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Brainscapes - love the title。 :） This book was a great read for me personally， but I am a psychology buff。 I would say that this book would be better read by those that have a little more knowledge/insight into Psychology 101 first before diving into this book so that concepts and ideas are a little more familiar。 This is definitely not a book for those that are seeking a lighthearted， nonfiction book to peak their interest - this is more along the lines of a scientific book with descriptions on Brainscapes - love the title。 :） This book was a great read for me personally， but I am a psychology buff。 I would say that this book would be better read by those that have a little more knowledge/insight into Psychology 101 first before diving into this book so that concepts and ideas are a little more familiar。 This is definitely not a book for those that are seeking a lighthearted， nonfiction book to peak their interest - this is more along the lines of a scientific book with descriptions on animal experimentation， which can be triggering/intense for some readers if you weren't aware beforehand what was coming。 A solid 4 star book。 Thank you Netgalley， author， and publisher for providing an ARC of this book！ 。。。more
Anne
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An informative book， especially for those that are new to the topic。 The author takes us through how the brain uses maps to interpret information from our senses， and other concepts such as time and number。I was a little disappointed as due to the blurb provided about social media and brain manipulation， I was expecting a different book。 There are just a few pages on this towards the very end of the book。 The books main focus is on the senses and how they operate。I would also say that if you hav An informative book， especially for those that are new to the topic。 The author takes us through how the brain uses maps to interpret information from our senses， and other concepts such as time and number。I was a little disappointed as due to the blurb provided about social media and brain manipulation， I was expecting a different book。 There are just a few pages on this towards the very end of the book。 The books main focus is on the senses and how they operate。I would also say that if you have studied psychology at school or beyond then a lot of the studies will be familiar to you as she takes the reader through the classic studies of first discoveries。 There are also lots of animal experiments which some readers might not want to read。Thank you to Netgalley， the publisher and author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jim Razinha
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I received a digital review copy of this from the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through NetGalley。 I set aside another brain book that I finally devoted the time to read （Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow） when this became available。Our brains make literal maps of everything: visual， auditory， tactile， gustatory， olfactory， movement， and many special maps that combine senses and intentions to help us relate to the world。 Scientists have also found evidence of crossover neurons in ma I received a digital review copy of this from the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through NetGalley。 I set aside another brain book that I finally devoted the time to read （Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow） when this became available。Our brains make literal maps of everything: visual， auditory， tactile， gustatory， olfactory， movement， and many special maps that combine senses and intentions to help us relate to the world。 Scientists have also found evidence of crossover neurons in maps， complicating things further - neural responses representing movement in the tactile map and what appear to be touch responses in the movement map。 The maps sort out and economize the thinking and non-thinking。 You can thank brain maps for the speed and clarity of your senses， not to mention the fact that you have the headspace to harbor five senses instead of one or two。 I'd read Michio Kaku's 2014 The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand， Enhance， and Empower the Mind when it came out and he referred to some of the technologies at the time to "read" minds and mimic telekinesis （meaning， controlling consciously with minds）。 Technology continues to improve with respect to our access and understanding of these maps to the point that scientists have been able to help some suffering from paraplegia to restore rudimentary control over some limbs， even provide extremely limited visual cues to the blind。This is an easy and yet not so easy read。 Schwarzlose writes conversationally but the material may be unfamiliar to most， even readers of the subject。 Be warned， though; there are cavalier descriptions of animal experimentations （and not just your average laboratory rats。 "In other words， yes， it is possible to open up the brain and see the map in V1， but only with a great deal of effort。" is a tamed summary。） This should not be a surprise as how did scientists gain knowledge before the recent advances？ Still， she closes with a good observation， which may seem obvious but too often isn't: "Any book worth reading should change how the reader experiences the world， even if only by a little。On findings of concentrations in the touch maps:In other words， we feel more than we need to with our faces because our distant ancestors walked on four feet， like the pig， and survived better with faces packed with tough receptors。 In this way， our perception of touch is shaped not just by our human bodies and human needs， but by the bodies and needs of the creatures from which we evolved。More vestigial evidence of of that darned evolution。On music training and its effect on movement， tactile and auditory maps:But that does not mean that the brain maps of child musicians are superior to those of their non-musical peers。 Piano lessons do not buy your child a better brain。 Instead those lessons（or rather the hours of practice that they promote） buy you a brain that is better suited to piano playing and other tasks that require dexterity of the hands。Take that， Baby Mozart hawkers！On the evolution of attention。。。 attention makes us better at perceiving particular targets， but worse at perceiving almost everything else。 Think of the basketball bounce counting experiment and the surprise visitor （my example， not hers。） Attention is a necessarily finite resource。There is no reason why a mind couldn't perceive and process all of that [a "firehose of panoramic sensory experience"] information simultaneously。 And yet it is patently clear that our minds [as opposed to a hypothetical alien with the ability] cannot。 Why is that？ To answer that question， recall the tough tradeoffs inherent in brain evolution。 Your brain mustn't be too big or heavy， or demand too much fuel。 Brain maps are one of nature's solutions to this problem - a way to reap the most from a finite brain。 On the understanding of the mapsKnowledge about a representation is a powerful thing。 That;s because once you know how something is represented， you can eavesdrop on or manipulate what is being represented。This raises questions as to how and ethics。 Schwarzlose observes that some forms of "mind reading" are already possible or will be in the near future。 Also， most of those technologies if even possible， are impractical。 She does discuss the heath， privacy， and autonomous impacts to people。The development of brain maps is crucial during our developmental stages （even in the womb） and Schwarzlose makes the case against hands-off parenting/child rearing:All we can do is try to give children the enrichment and interaction that will help them develop diverse maps， because these neural foundations will give them the greatest ease and versatility for building cognitive ladders throughout life。 A note for the publisher on the digital formatting: the entire book had dropped letters in words， with spaces in place of them。 It was odd， occurring on my ADE reader app on my iPad， in NetGalley's reader app also on my iPad， and on my Kindle。 And it was pervasive throughout the text。 。。。more
Erin Clemence
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