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The Cognitive Neurosciences
Each edition of this classic reference has proved to be a benchmark in the developing field of cognitive neuroscience. The third edition of The Cognitive Neurosciences continues to chart new directions in the study of the biologic underpinnings of complex cognition -- the relationship between the structural and physiological mechanisms of the nervous system and the psychological reality of the mind. Every chapter is new and each section has new participants. Features of the third edition include research that maps biological changes directly to cognitive changes; a new and integrated view of sensory systems and perceptual processes; the presentation of new developments in plasticity; recent research on the cognitive neuroscience of false memory, which reveals the constructive nature of memory retrieval; and new topics in the neuroscientific study of emotion, including the "social brain." The new final section, "Perspectives and New Directions," discusses a wide variety of topics that point toward the future of this vibrant and exciting field.
1385 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2004
20 people are currently reading
729 people want to read
About the author
Michael S. Gazzaniga
77 books429 followersMichael S. Gazzaniga, one of the premiere doctors of neuroscience, was born on December 12, 1939 in Los Angeles. Educated at Dartmouth College and California Institute of Technology, he is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he heads the new SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind.
His early research examined the subject of epileptics who had undergone surgery to control seizures. He has also studied Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients and reveals important findings in books such as Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind.
While many of his writings are technical, he also educates and stimulates readers with discussions about the fascinating and mysterious workings of the brain. Books such as The Social Brain and The Mind's Past bring forth new information and theories regarding how the brain functions, interacts, and responds with the body and the environment.
His early research examined the subject of epileptics who had undergone surgery to control seizures. He has also studied Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients and reveals important findings in books such as Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind.
While many of his writings are technical, he also educates and stimulates readers with discussions about the fascinating and mysterious workings of the brain. Books such as The Social Brain and The Mind's Past bring forth new information and theories regarding how the brain functions, interacts, and responds with the body and the environment.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 29, 2011
To say I "read" this book is somewhat untrue—or at least incomplete: I've scanned its more than 1,440 pages and read a fair amount of the chapters here included, but I know I've only scratched the surface of its depth and scope. This volume, covering various aspects of human cognition from a neurological approach (vs a more psychological one), was edited and produced by one editor—the adept Dr. Gazzaniga—but contains chapters/essays by various leading scientists in specific fields of expertise germane to cognitive neuroscience.
The approach, topical substance and yes, quality of writing varies from paper to paper in this volume, as is the nature of the beast with most anthologies. Clearly, Dr. Gazzaniga picked out papers he felt contained the best information on their topics and not always those which best explained that information. Still, overall, the quality of work here is exceptional and there is no single-volume book on the market that comes anywhere close to the comprehensive scope of this one. Most papers concern neuron function and growth until you reach those regarding the brain and more cohesive neurological performance. This book is intended for graduate students, post-docs, and working researchers with a post-grad education in neurobiology or at least the life sciences, so it is certainly not meant to be an introduction to the topics it contains but a nuanced overview for the professional. Even for the biomedical researcher who is not a neuroscientist or neurologist, there may be some papers that present information which will require one to consult other texts for a true understanding of all that's at hand, but for the reader with the appropriate scientific background this volume is fully masterful. It is one I will return to time and again, and I hope to see updated through numerous editions as research continues and our knowledge of the brian only grows.
The approach, topical substance and yes, quality of writing varies from paper to paper in this volume, as is the nature of the beast with most anthologies. Clearly, Dr. Gazzaniga picked out papers he felt contained the best information on their topics and not always those which best explained that information. Still, overall, the quality of work here is exceptional and there is no single-volume book on the market that comes anywhere close to the comprehensive scope of this one. Most papers concern neuron function and growth until you reach those regarding the brain and more cohesive neurological performance. This book is intended for graduate students, post-docs, and working researchers with a post-grad education in neurobiology or at least the life sciences, so it is certainly not meant to be an introduction to the topics it contains but a nuanced overview for the professional. Even for the biomedical researcher who is not a neuroscientist or neurologist, there may be some papers that present information which will require one to consult other texts for a true understanding of all that's at hand, but for the reader with the appropriate scientific background this volume is fully masterful. It is one I will return to time and again, and I hope to see updated through numerous editions as research continues and our knowledge of the brian only grows.
March 30, 2025
As medicine has its bible in Gray's Anatomy, so psychology has its counterpart in Principles of Neural Science.
January 14, 2010
Michael Gazzaniga has edited a magisterial volume, "The Cognitive Neurosciences III," on the relationship between the human brain and cognition. This monumental 1300 page volume covers a large territory.
The table of contents lays out the ambitious agenda in its listing of sections in this book: evolution and development, plasticity, sensory systems, motor systems, attention, memory, language, higher cognitive functions, emotion and social neuroscience, consciousness, and directions for future research.
The various chapter authors lay out what we know about the brain and how it affects our thinking. This is the third edition of this enterprise, and each new edition provides us with the knowledge of what advances in the neurosciences are telling us.
For me, some of the most important elements of this book are what we are learning about what makes us uniquely human, whether the neurological bases of mathematical thinking, the science of consciousness, the neurological bases of language, the brain's construction of memory processes, or the nature of attention.
This is not a book for the faint of heart in terms of the sciences. It is written for brain scientists and allied academics. Many potential readers will be put off by its rigorous, scientific style and its stunning price tag. But for those readers who want to know what current research tells us about the brain and how is affects human thinking, this is a book that cannot be ignored.
The table of contents lays out the ambitious agenda in its listing of sections in this book: evolution and development, plasticity, sensory systems, motor systems, attention, memory, language, higher cognitive functions, emotion and social neuroscience, consciousness, and directions for future research.
The various chapter authors lay out what we know about the brain and how it affects our thinking. This is the third edition of this enterprise, and each new edition provides us with the knowledge of what advances in the neurosciences are telling us.
For me, some of the most important elements of this book are what we are learning about what makes us uniquely human, whether the neurological bases of mathematical thinking, the science of consciousness, the neurological bases of language, the brain's construction of memory processes, or the nature of attention.
This is not a book for the faint of heart in terms of the sciences. It is written for brain scientists and allied academics. Many potential readers will be put off by its rigorous, scientific style and its stunning price tag. But for those readers who want to know what current research tells us about the brain and how is affects human thinking, this is a book that cannot be ignored.
September 7, 2014
There are 4 volumes, and I've just finished #3. What to say? A stunner of information. LeDoux takes on the chapter of articles/papers devoted to emotion. There's LTD/LTP, the gateway to learning and cognition (maybe). Syntax area found. Abstracts are clear.
Want to read
January 26, 2009(see esp. Sapolsky and Blakemore chapters)
August 9, 2010
Huge tome of white papers.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews