De Vlaamse neuroloog Steven Laureys is een wereldautoriteit in de kennis van hoe ons brein werkt. Hij is kandidaat-Nobelprijswinnaar voor zijn baanbrekend onderzoek naar het bewustzijn. In dit boek beantwoordt hij vele wonderlijke vragen over de krachten en de grenzen van ons briljante brein. Wat IS dat, bewustzijn? Hoe werken onze hersenen en gaan we ooit gedachten kunnen lezen? Hoe kunnen we weten of comapatiënten nog bewust zijn en hoe kunnen we met hen communiceren? Wat is de bijna-dood-ervaring? Wat is hersendood, wat kunnen we met hypnose, welke delen van de hersenen dienen waarvoor? * Auteur is wereldautoriteit en kandidaat-Nobelprijswinnaar * Vele vragen over de werking van ons brein en ons bewustzijn beantwoord * Vlot en pittig geschreven, bevattelijk voor iedereen!
Neurologist Steven Laureys MD PhD FEAN is internationally recognized for his clinical and scientific studies of severe brain injury and neural plasticity. Prof Dr Laureys is founding director of the GIGA Consciousness Research Unit and founder of the Coma Science Group at the University of Liège, Belgium, head of the Brain Centre of the Liège University Hospital, Research Director at the Belgian Fund of Scientific Research and co-director of the Hangzhou International Consciousness Institute in China. He currently is invited professor at the CERVO Brain Research Centre at Laval University, Canada. With his team, he explores the human mind in health and disease using the latest brain imaging technologies and wearables assessing coma and related states, concussion, near-death experiences, anesthesia, dreaming and meditation. He has published over 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers and ten scientific books including ‘The Neurology of Consciousness’. Dr Laureys is a fellow of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine and recipient of numerous awards (e.g., from the European Academy of Neurology, Max Planck Institute, Association of the Scientific Study of Consciousness, and Society of Cognitive Neuroscience). He is co-founder of the International Mind Care Foundation and appreciated for his interventions in the media, as bestselling author and as a keynote speaker on the power of the mind.
I bought this book because the author was recently present in Belgian media. It is a wonder that such a brilliant researcher is still in our country and not enjoying the perks of Harvard or other ivy league university. My interest was to learn more about the brain itself, and although the book does bring new insights to me, it suffers from one major problem: the author is not the author. Dr Laureys was interviewed and a ghost writer wrote the book. That results in meandering on topics of Belgian politics, obtaining research money, implications of peer-review, use of homeopathy, etc. All interesting to know about dr. Laureys ideas and work environment, but I wanted to learn about the brain. So I learned about the very hard world of doing highend research, the long nights, the competitive nature to get into "Nature" or other high-end research publications. The stories that start every new chapter are captivating and lift a veil on what it means to be in emergency units ( p 97 the story of Patrick) or what is happening with locked-in patients. A good introduction for a absolute beginner to discover the world of brain research. I wish dr. Laureys lots of succes in his future research ventures.
Ik was een beetje teleurgesteld. De titel is a' even briljant als het brein maar dekt de lading mijn inziens niet. Het gaat wel over her den werking en bewustzijn, over niet-responsoef en minimaal bewust, en veel over wat het is wetenschapper te zijn. Maar ik ben er zeker van dat ons brein meer is dan dit en daar had ik me dus aan verwacht.
Natuurlijk is het niet slecht geschreven en de cases zijn superinteressant. En ik heb ook best veel geleerd. Maar.toch meer verwacht... Afgerond naar boven toch drie sterren dan maar.