Rhythms of the Brain

by György Buzsáki

This book provides eloquent support for the idea that spontaneous neuron activity, far from being mere noise, is actually the source of our cognitive abilities. In a sequence of "cycles," György Buzsáki guides the reader from the physics of oscillations through neuronal assembly organization to complex cognitive processing and memory storage. His clear, fluid writing-accessible to any reader with some scientific knowledge-is supplemented by extensive footnotes and references that make it just as gratifying and instructive a read for the specialist. The coherent view of a single author who has been at the forefront of research in this exciting field, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in our rapidly evolving understanding of the brain.

Genres: Neuroscience, Science, Psychology, Brain, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Medicine

465 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to categorize... too dense to read casually (at least more than a chapter at a time), yet flowing too heavily on ideas to work as a scientific reference or argument. It seems to be the only book that directly addresses what brain oscillations are and what we know or can guess about their importance, but tackles this so thoroughly that it overwhelms readers not already familiar with what brain oscillations are, and what their likely importance is. Many of the ideas are in fact profound, making it tempting to nurse this book as a sacred cannon, but in the end, wisdom on this topic may be better collected by reading the scattering of reviews on the subtopics. As a complement to the literature, this is worth having, if only for the early chapters that provide a unique contextual perspective to the study of brain oscillations.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is NOT a book for laypeople. It is dense, only relevant if you're studying this stuff. It's not an easy introduction, I am a PhD student specializing in brain oscillations, and I found it challenging.

For the mini community of brain scientists, it's great, it's a really broad overview of the main ideas around how oscillations are generated, how they work, and what function they might have. For me, it was really helpful to touch base on all the different parts of oscillations I hadn't studied, and get a refresher on how different theories worked. More importantly, it provides a clear distinction between various theories and interpretations that might otherwise seem mutually exclusive and contradictory.

[Brian Parris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buzaki's understanding of the neural networks and the oscillations that bind them is incredibly comprehensive. He also has a talent unusual for an academic in such a technical and objective field; he expresses facts beautifully and with with vividly aesthetic analogies.

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a hard read. Thanks to reading a variety of other books on neuroscience, I was able to understand what the author was explaining, but I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who hasn't read any books on neuroscience. The author discusses oscillation theory and although he does his best to make the concept approachable, it still ends up being fairly esoteric in content because of the technical information he provides. It is a good book, and one I'd recommend. Just make sure you've grounded yourself in other books on neuroscience.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Classic text from an eminent Neuroscientist. But take note that this is a difficult book, even for people that study in the field, the writing is dense, and the ideas presented often cross many pages, the scientific concepts are not simple, not local to a region, nor explained through simple mechanics. The brain is difficult, rhythms are complicated, the study of these together is a very particular dimension to observe and analyse but it is rough terrain.
I read this as a magical book, early on before I even understood much about the mechanisms that are known to describe Neuron chemical and electrical changes. The feeling I got was that I was peering into a new world, one which complemented with many other studies I believe will be found to be fundamental.
Do not despair if you are overwhelmed by the content, but if you can extract even a bit, you will have a special idea about the brain.

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but hard to read.

[Stu Milde · Rating 5 out of 5]

legendary book. ive been re-reading this for years but don't ask me what its about

[Tero Parviainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating examination of the brain as a complex system of emergent oscillations and resonances, and how these phenomena might connect to mind and behaviour.

Presented in fairly dry prose, interleaving conceptual overviews and conjecture with case studies and data. There are many passages of neuroscience jargon here dense enough to make this layperson's eyes glaze over. While I failed to grasp all of the technical detail in such passages, the conclusions and open questions came through loud and clear.

I came to this book through a casual interest in auditory entrainment through mechanisms like binaural beats, with a goal to understand what the causal mechanisms behind such things might be. While the book doesn't discuss this topic directly, I feel I've come out with a newfound insight about "brain waves" as complex phenomena emerging out of the chemical interactions of neuronal assemblies, a respect for how much we don't understand about this, and a skepticism towards simplistic "Theta waves make you creative" accounts.

[ASusana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este es un libro más bien técnico sobre como funciona nuestro cerebro y lo más importante las oscilaciones que produce. Nuestros cerebros vibran y, aun cuando no sabemos como, emiten estas vibraciones que otros cerebros registran. Cuando dos cerebros se encuentran, pueden sincronizarse y vibrar en la misma longitud de onda. No es tan extraño que cuando esto sucede la otra persona nos agrada o nos cae bien. Esta sincronización sucede con distintas actividades, como mientras platicamos o cuando tenemos sexo, nuestros cerebros se sintonizan y vibran al mismo ritmo.
Algunas emociones desagradables también emiten vibraciones como el miedo, la depresión o la ansiedad, lo que explica por qué algunas personas no nos son agradables, ya que este tipo de vibraciones también se emiten y nos pueden producir estos estados de ánimo.
Este libro no es de divulgación, es científico, con el lenguaje a tono y probablemente muy aburrido para el público en general, pero si el tema te interesa cada capítulo es un tema por separado y una investigación en curso, no hace falta chutárselo todo.

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audience for this book is a bit unclear. Some of the book is relatively basic for neuroscience graduate students, but at the same time it assumes too much knowledge to be read smoothly by an undergrad.

Buzsaki does gather a lot of knowledge about brain rhythms that is not well-grouped anywhere else. However, I find his writing can be quite dense to read and it can sometimes have a confusing philosophical bend. In terms of ideas, it felt like he was grasping at some bigger idea to unify his thoughts, but doesn't quite reach it here. Part of it is admittedly because the neuroscience field itself doesn't have a completely worked out framework for how to study the brain, but another part is just that Buzsaki straddles philosophy and neuroscience confusingly.

So, I'm rating this highly for the ideas contained, but subtracting 1 star for the dense writing and sometimes confusing philosophy which makes it hard to finish the book.

[Mona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally have a response for when people ask me what my fave nonfiction book is! This is the first book about the brain I have read that truly brings together insights from various fields outside of Neuroscience and the different subfields of Neuroscience. Reading this book is not a straight shot and can be challenging many times, but the struggles leave you with a better understanding of the brain and a euphorically liberating feeling that usually comes with greater understanding. The insights this book holds and the way the information is synthesized and brought together has the potential to greatly change the typically simplistic narrative of how our brains work and our mental models of how the brain operates!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and thought-provoking in the first half, and worth the price of the book. The second half was more focused on the hippocampus, which is fairly outside my research area, so I stopped reading. Still, good book and recommended.

[Maddie Bacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neuroscience bible! Big into electrophysiology. Very thought provoking but a barrier to entry in preaching to the layman when the text is fs catered to people in the field. Really comprehensive perspective nonetheless

[Sean Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A broad overview of neurobiological oscillatory phenomena. It could have used a bit more theoretical motivation, but still gave plenty of thought-provoking experimental and anatomical findings.

[Victor Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too dense and hard for a first reading on neuroscience, yet so insightful and rigorously scientific. I would recommend it in its entirely for a person with a scientific background (which I have) and particularly in neurophysiology (which I didn't have). It gives a comprehensive review of the progress in brain oscillations and I absolutely enjoyed the insights, allegories and side remarks. From now on, I will think of the brain as a Buzsáki's beautifully and universally synchronised orchestra.

[Tuba Özcan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It explains complex issues in neuroscience in very natural and easy-to-follow way. I like the way how the author connects the nature and the brain by focusing on the rhythms.I agree that current science loses too much time while dealing with the terms instead of producing new paradigms. For me, it is a must-read for those who are into neuroscience. However, towards the end, it loses the enthusiasm a bit and becomes field-specific

[green_night · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for aspiring neurologists and neuroscience lovers. Definitely not a light read as it took sometimes required looking up topics and rereading sections, but well worth the effort and the time! Took you on a journey through the symphony of the neural connections, allowing the reader to delve deep into the great mysteries of the brain.