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Phantoms in the Brain

By: Sandra Blakeslee, V. S. Ramachandran
Narrated by: Neil Shah
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Publisher's Summary

Neuroscientist V. S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments - using such low-tech tools such as cotton swabs, glasses of water, and dime-store mirrors.

In Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, and how we make decisions, deceive ourselves, and dream.

Some of his most notable cases: A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud's theory of denial. A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be "wired" for religious experience? A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time.

Dr. Ramachandran's inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine's last great frontier-the human mind-yielding new and provocative insights into the "big questions" about consciousness and the self.

©1998 V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee (P)2013 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Enthralling . . . eloquent." ( The New York Times Book Review)

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One of the most interesting books I’ve come across

The authors takes you on a mind bending journey of analytical thinking, extending the boundaries of human experience.

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very enlightening

I am dissapointed to learn that this narrator is not from "pinky and the brain"

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informative, contemplative and funny

Ramachandran makes light work of heavy subjects and takes you on a journey of his fascinating thought process. This book really opened my eyes to the complex inner symphony of my brain and has created a deep fascination with the subject. I'll go on to read a lot more about the topics explored in this book and will read everything Ramachandran writes.

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fascinating

I enjoyed listening to this book. Relevant to my work as an Occupational Therapist and as an above knee amputee.

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