Synaptic Self
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007 @ 20:40
How Our Brains Become Who We Are
by Joseph LeDoux (2002)
Lucidly written and generously illustrated with simple diagrams, Synaptic Self analyses the way the psychological, social, moral, aesthetic or spiritual self is realised through the interconnectivity between neurons. LeDoux thoroughly and comprehensively summarises and explains neuroscientific terms and discoveries up to the year the book was published (2002), taking the readers through fascinating tour of the working machinery of the brain and nervous system: the relation between memory and hippocampus (retro/anterograde amnesia), Hebbian learning, cellular mechanism of working memory, the highly developed PFC in human, the popular oxytocin and vasopressin, motive circuitry, dopamine behavioural invigoration, and nervous illness.
Expectedly much of the materials were reworked from The Emotional Brain, LeDoux’ previous book (amygdala and fear conditioning), but there is more than enough materials in this rapidly-developing field to warrant much enjoyable learning and reading. There are instances where readers would feel that LeDoux is threading cautiously, especially when dealing with fallible subjects such as emotions and consciousness, but LeDoux at least underlines his own definitions. He does not dwell on nature-nurture arguments; although not overruling critics of biological psychiatry, he emphasises that as well as drugs, life’s experiences, i.e. therapies, involve changes in synaptic connections.
Citations from journals are clearly marked and summarised; anyone interested in efficient accounts of neuroscience development would very well enjoy this book.
May 28th, 2007 22:37
[…] of memory and emotions, something like Damasio’s colleague’s work, Joseph LeDoux’ Synaptic Self (maybe with some accounts of Spinoza). I was wrong — the book instead focuses on some basic […]