The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love

by Richard Restak

Consider a world in which

• Marketers use brain scans to determine consumer interest in a product

• Politicians use brain-image-based profiles to target voters

• A test could determine your suitability for a job or to whom you will be romantically attracted

Far from science fiction, this “neurosociety”—a society in which brain science influences every aspect of daily life—is already here.

Innovative researchers and cutting-edge technology, like brain imaging and brain scanning devices, have revolutionized our understanding of how we process information, communicate, trust, sympathize, and love. However, scientists and doctors are not the only ones interested in the naked brain; advertisers, politicians, economists, and others are using the latest findings on the human brain to reshape our lives, from the bedroom to the boardroom.

Despite the potential benefits, there’s obvious peril in the promise. Richard Restak explores the troubling moral and legal dilemmas that arise from corporate and political applications of this new brain research. Someday we may live in a world where our choices, our professional and personal prospects, even our morals and ethics will be controlled by those armed with an elite understanding of the principles of neuroscience.

Eye-opening and provocative, The Naked Brain is a startling look at the impact such unprecedented access to our most secret thoughts and tendencies will have on all of us.

In The Naked Brain , bestselling author Richard Restak explores how the latest technology and research have exposed the brain and how we think, feel, remember, and socialize in unprecedented and often surprising ways. Now that knowledge is being used by doctors, advertisers, politicians, and others to influence and revolutionize nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

Restak is our guide to this neurosociety, a brave new world in which brain science influences our present and will even more tangibly shape our future. Citing social trends, shifts in popular culture, the rise and fall of products in the public favor, even changes in the American vernacular, The Naked Brain is an illuminating and often troubling investigation of the impending opportunities and dangers being created by the neuroscience revolution, and a revelation for anyone who ever wondered why they prefer Coke over Pepsi or Kerry over Bush.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Neuroscience, Brain, Business, Medical

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2006

About the author

Richard M. Restak M.D. is an award-winning neuroscientist, neuropsychiatrist and writer. The best-selling author of nineteen acclaimed books about the brain, he has also penned dozens of articles for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. A fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Neuropsychiatric Association, he lives and practices in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Ericka Clou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy popular neuroscience books, and this was a pretty good one. It's pretty old now though (2006), so I've encountered most of this information in other neuroscience and behavioral economics books. I'd recommend it though because it does a good job of being interesting, succinct, and clear.

PS. Nearly no mention of any innate neurological differences between men and women. Not sure if this is indicative that there are none.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read much at all on the inner workings of the brain, you will find little new in this book. If you haven't read much, you'll find it a well-written basic primer on the new research into how our brains work and what makes us who we are.

Since I've read pretty much every book on this subject I can get my hands on, I nearly stopped reading a few chapters in...but boy was I glad I continued! One of the 'new' (but unfortunately) brief sections in this book addressed a use of empathy that I hadn't before considered:

"...the famed psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut mentioned to me that he believed that many of the Nazi interrogators were very empathic. I objected that empathy would prevent a person from hurting another. 'Not if inflicting pain aroused pleasure in them,' he responded. 'Empathy involves getting into the mind and feelings of another person - once you have that information, you can put it to good or bad use.'"

I need to find out if anyone's done a book on this subject. I already know I'm going to use it to make the most fabulously horrible bad guy *ever* in a future novel....I've got the happy writer shivers now!

[Nowed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book on the potential impact our understanding of neuroscience has and will have on our society in the coming years. What is really important to note was that this book was released back in 2006, and in may ways seems quite prescient. There are chapters devoted to understanding how our brains and behaviours affect the advertisements we follow, how our understanding of the brain has changed how we view intelligence and hard work.

But most amazingly, the author goes on to speak about how our perceptions affect the way we watch the news and choose to believe in information, and how the truth in media matters much less than how our brains respond to it emotionally. Sounds familiar, right?

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but dry. I'm into the physiology of the brain, but this was a little redundant. Just ok.

[Wayland Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a light read, but interesting and couched in terms you don't need to be a scientist to understand. The subtitle really explains the book nicely. It's a study of how neuroscience is influencing aspects of society. There is a lot of theory,but some decently researched studies to go along with it. It makes you think about not quite how we think, but how we make some decisions.

[Celia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh - this was OK. Some interesting stuff about the brain, but qualified with so much "well, of course, this is very vague, we're not even really sure what this means" that I wondered why I was bothering to read it. Engaging writing style though.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't a bad book in anyway. It just read more like a textbook, so I found it hard to read at times. However, if you are really interested in neurology it has some very interesting studies. This book also gave me a few insights into how my brain functions, which is always helpful!

[Angus MacHaggis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a short book, I found myself plodding through it. The future looks bleaker now.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating to me. It talks about how to apply what we have learned from neuroscience and brain scans to daily life. The author explains how the brain determines where to focus attention during tasks, how memories are formed and retained, and how emotions we feel can change the content of memories. Now I know why my brother and I can’t remember a conversation we shared in very different ways without anyone lying. I’m glad to know we aren’t just crazy. :-)
As someone who is interested in productivity, I was especially interested in the sections of the book about how our brain knows where and when to focus in a situation. I have become convinced that true multitasking does not work but that we can sometimes batch tasks together if one task takes very little attention or decision making. I also now feel a lot better about experiencing going into a room to get something and not remembering what it was I went in there for. That seems to happen if our attention is divided, like when we are talking on the phone, listening to an audiobook, or thinking about a sticky problem from work while going to get something from another room. We can help ourselves a great deal just by stating out loud what it is we intend to get from the other room before starting out. That way, our brain knows to give that task a little more attention or focus power. We hear our intent as well as thinking about it, so our brain gets it from two inputs.

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The summaries of recent studies on brain activity (as of 2006) were engaging and accessibly written.

The larger takeaway about an "emerging neurosociety" (according to the subtitle) is not fully executed. The last paragraph warns: "We can employ this emerging new knowledge about social neuroscience to advance human freedom within the neurosociety, or we can allow irresponsible people to use this knowledge in ways that are not always to our advantage." The book does not, however, assure us that we can distinguish our own freedom and slavery under the authority of other people nor even under the authority of our own brains. After all, examinations of the brain throw into question the idea of free will. While "learning as much as we can" about the brain is allegedly supposed to place us "in a position to resist manipulation," I'm not sure that simply reading the user's manual to the brain can make us responsible and capable brain owners.

[Miss M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative and good book to read. Eventhough the author is highly educated yet his writing is very casual so anyone and everyone would be able to understand it the book provides a pretty good review on how our brain work but it also provides a good insight into how we, human beings, could be manipulated into doing our choosing things especially with the ever expanding use of technology. The book gives you some interesting points to ponder on and possibly think of what kind of control would you want in the future. Enjoyed reading the book and encourage you to read it as well.

[Oliver Norman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely interesting book, especially chapters 8 and 9 on how marketing techniques are being designed based on how they can manipulate the brain. Where this book falls down is that it is very dry most of the way though. It’s a relatively hard read that needs your undivided attention. Although I suppose that is to be expected given the subject matter of the book.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hard to link the various ideas and concepts in the book. Nevertheless the author has deep knowledge about the subject - from getting it right about lie detection (this book is written in 2006). There are good and sound ideas throughout the book

Will be interesting if the author discusses dreams as well. And the implications if any from this field of study.

[Laurence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good enough read if you want an introduction to neuroscience. Not too long, some good topics and stories, experiments etc.

[Erin M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dry, boring. The description sounded interesting, but there was very little storytelling relating the science to real world applications.

[J.D. Steens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Restak reviews many studies and pulls them together into a loose theme about how neuroscience influences "every aspect of daily life." In this, his 17th book, there's a lot of facts and information, without much in the way of an overarching theory.

A few points can be highlighted. In referencing one study, Restak quotes the study's author who states that "'Unconsciously perceived information leads to automatic reactions that cannot be controlled by a perceiver. In contrast, when information is consciously perceived, awareness of the perceived information allows individuals to use this information to guide their actions....'" We probably all know this to some degree but, stated this explicitly, it suggests the role of the consciousness in forming "pictures" of the world that then can be manipulated around, as possibilities, to guide choice and action.

The opportunities for that type of control are limited as Restak says that conscious attention plays only about a 5% role in what we do. Nevertheless, he states that we need to allow our prefrontal lobes to exert cognitive control over emotionally arousing situations triggered by the amygdala. As this in many ways is the primary challenge for humankind, that advice doesn't seem particularly helpful. He goes on to say that the unconscious is tied to our amygdala (he points out that there are two parts to the amygdala,on left and right side of the brain) that has a strong emotional memory component (as opposed to the hippocampus that "bloodlessly" encodes information and facts dealing with who, what, and when) that ties reason and emotion together.

Interestingly, while most of us see empathy as a good quality, Restak points out its role in sadism. Strictly speaking, he states that empathy allows one to participate in another's experience. It is that capacity that gives the sadist pleasure in another's suffering.

Restak's various references to emotions are not satisfying. He notes that it's difficult to suppress "instinctual urges and emotions" without clarifying what is an urge and what is an emotion. He repeats what others have referred to as the primary emotions that are present at birth (happiness, fear, anger, disgust and sadness). Yet, he omits the need for love and the need to belong that he highlights later by writing that "Since we are social creatures, a need to belong is as basic to our survival as our need for food and oxygen. Indeed, attachment and nurturing associations with other people play important roles in our lives from the moment of birth." He also discusses emotions as reactions to the world without explaining how that matches up with our being propelled into the world by our need for "happiness," for "love" and for the "need to belong." Are these needs emotions? Even the more reactive emotions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness) have an inside component. We fear because we want to protect ourselves; we are angered because we don't have what we want; we are disgusted because we don't want what we have; and we are sad because we lost what we had. As emotions "color" the naked brain, more precision in the use of this key component would be helpful.

Finally, in reference to the experiment where he isolated monkeys from their natural mothers and denied them further contacts with their mothers or human substitutes, Restak says we have Harry Harlow "to thank for this insight" about "the basically social nature of the brain." Is that someone to thank or condemn? Similarly, Restak notes research where the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is destroyed in infant monkeys making them incapable of emitting distress calls in the absence of the mother. When the ACC is cut in the mother monkey, she will no longer respond to her infant's distress calls." Does science have to be heartless? Restak doesn't say.

[Lage von Dissen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I've written in my most recent blog post, titled "Neuroscience Arms Race & Our Changing World View" (lagevondissen.wordpress.com), we are definitely entering a paradigm shift in terms of our world view and how we look at concepts such as "thinking", "learning", "personality", and "decision-making". This book touches on the paradigm shift we are experiencing, where neuroscience is allowing us incredible access to information and knowledge regarding brain processes and structure -- so much access in fact, that even areas of inquiry which lie outside of the medical community are starting to be able to take advantage. For the last several decades, marketing researchers as well as politicians have taken advantage of psychological techniques that manipulate the "decision-maker" (i.e. the buyer or voter) into making decisions that benefit the entity of interest (i.e. the corporation or the political party). Neuroscience is leading us to an age where this degree of manipulation will be taken to the nth degree. While many medical researchers are using the information found within neuroscience to try and dramatically improve the human quality of life, treat various mental illnesses, or improve human capabilities (such as intelligence, learning, etc.), there are also many interested parties that want to use the same information or brain-probing capabilities in order to squeeze more money out of the consumer, or more votes out of the populace (to use just a few examples). This book delves into the subject with ease and Restak does a decent job pointing out some of the societal ramifications (both "good" and "bad") that are precipitating from the advancements made within these fields. We are indeed entering (or have already entered) a "Neurosociety".

[TK Keanini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sits on my shelf marked reference books because it is one of the few books that take in to account both the social and the neurological aspects of our brains.

You'll find sections in this book that will do well in explaining phenominon mentioned by Ray Kurzweil in his books and if you want to go way back, how about Ashby's 'Design for Brain'.

If you are in a position where you will need to be an agent of change in your organization (family, church, work, school), you will want to read this book because the more you know, the more effective you will be in changing the way others think.

[Eileen Daly-Boas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty easy intro to what happens in the brain during different activities. Not so much about marketing, more about fMRI, PET scans, etc. My interest is in strokes and post stroke rehab, and understanding how the brain processes information.Not the best book for that, but it doesn't claim to be. A quick read with sone interesting parts. The chapter on ethics could have been omitted-radiolab did an episode on that which was clearer and more interesting.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll read anything that Restak puts out. His books are light reads on a heavy subject. The title sells hard, and he sort of eludes to a central point, but it seems like a series of columns or articles compiled together to form a book. Not too shabby though.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of really great case studies about neurobiology and practical applications for society regarding advacements in medicine (implications of superdrugs on behavior, existence of FMRI technology to 'read' the brain and predict consumer and social behavior). I liked it a lot!

[Darrel Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book dives deep into one of the last frontiers, knowledge of the brain. It is being explored like never before through the use of modern imaging. The book also warns us about commercial advertisers use of this knowledge to effect our purchasing habits. Good read.

[Jacopo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro molto interessante che parte dalle nozioni base delle neuro-scienze per poi sviluppare il discorso sui meccanismi cerebrali che sottendono i nostri comportamenti nella società e come questi stessi meccanismi possono essere (e sono) sfruttati con fini manipolativi. Consigliato.

[TK Keanini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the most recent findings with neuroscience and other related fields. It is becoming important that we understand how we know what we know and how we think what we think.

[Brian Cleary · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a strong overview of what we are learning from cognitive science in the last 10 years. I am looking forward to reading other books.

[Nura Yusof · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book, fascinating and yet a tough read because of the technical and biological jargon.

It's scary what our brain is really telling us.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book especially because I get geeked out on neuroscience and philosophy and this book put the two together!

[Gianfranco Ruffini]

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[Mi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rough but practical