The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours

Name: The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours
SKU: 108141
Availability: InStock

4.3 | 134 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 08-16-2024

About this item

From University of Washington professor Chantel Prat comes The Neuroscience of You, a rollicking adventure into the human brain that reveals the surprising truth about neuroscience, shifting our focus from what’s average to an understanding of how every brain is different, exactly why our quirks are important, and what this means for each of us.

With style and wit, Chantel Prat takes us on a tour of the meaningful ways that our brains are dissimilar from one another. Using real-world examples, along with take-them-yourself tests and quizzes, she shows you how to identify the strengths and weakness of your own brain, while learning what might be going on in the brains of those who are unlike you. With sections like “Focus,” “Navigate,” and “Connect,” The Neuroscience of You helps us see how brains that are engineered differently ultimately take diverse paths when it comes time to prioritize information, use what they’ve learned from experience, relate to other people, and so much more.

While other scientists focus on how “the” brain works “on average,” Prat argues that our obsession with commonalities has slowed our progress toward understanding the very things that make each of us unique and interesting. Her field-leading research, employing cutting-edge technology, reveals the truth: Complicated as it may be, no two brains are alike. And individual differences in brain functioning are as pervasive as they are fundamental to defining what “normal” looks like. Adages such as, “I’m not wired that way” intuitively point to the fact that the brains we’re piloting, educating, and parenting are wonderfully distinct, explaining a whole host of phenomena, from how easily a person might learn a second language in adulthood to whether someone feels curious or threatened when faced with new information. This book invites the listener to understand themselves and others by zooming in so close that we all look gray and squishy.

* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF with images referred to in the text.

@BobbyGvegas

Delightful. A great mix of lay reader accessibility and scholarly erudition

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2022

Increasingly, I am seeing scholars write effectively to a literate generalist audience while maintaining scientific / scholarly rigor, a stylistic trend I heartily applaud. This is one of those books. I fully expect that we will be hearing much more from Dr. Prat going forward. My area of interest these days is so-called "deliberation science" (specifically oriented toward finding solutions for reducing our pressing political polarizations). Chantal's book is a valuable addition to my stash. Kudos.

Shiza

Fun and insightful ☺️

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2022

I had such a fun time reading this book! It was SO interesting to learn about my brain. Normally, I assume, it would be too complicated of a subject to understand, but this book breaks everything down in a fun, easy to understand manner. The author’s writing style is engaging and the footnotes along the way are hilarious ???? Would HIGHLY recommend for anyone wanting to understand themselves better, or just anyone looking for a great read! ☺️

Velvet Siprian

Great Info- Needs better instructions

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2023

Bought the book based on the Adam Grant podcast. I learned a lot from this book regarding the brain creating the mind. There are good activities..but each activity didn't have numbered or organized instructions so towards the end I would skip them.

Melissa Hill

Great Book!

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2023

The book provides readers with the tools to understand themselves and the people around them better. It examines the biological processes involved in behavior, the psychological motivations behind our actions, and the social influences that shape our thinking and behavior. It also delves into the different ways in which people think, feel, and act in different situations and how these affect their lives. By understanding the psychology behind the behavior, readers can gain insight into their own unique personalities and better understand the people around them.

This book is perfect for anyone looking to gain a better understanding of why they behave and think the way they do. It is an accessible resource for people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in exploring their own behavior and the behavior of others.

Troy Dvorak

Some good info

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2023

This book is okay. I like the writer's style and obvious knowledge. Sadly, there are two significant drawbacks. First, the stories are too long. At least 25 pages of this book could have ended up on the "cutting room floor" with more effective editing. Second, if you have knowledge about brain anatomy and physiology, this book errs on the side of the "average person," leaving important details out about specific brain regions and synaptic processes.

Kimberly

Exactly what I expected

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2023

I loved this book so much! I purchased it for a book report for school and it taught me a lot about the neuronscience of people. It’s not your typical read with a plot. Instead, it has a handful of examples and breaks down information and builds it up as you read. It’s not complicated to read

James Treyens

What a great and fun book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2022

What a great and fun book! I highly recommend it! This book has something for everyone, from those with no prior exposure to neuroscience to those of us who have spent years studying it but sometimes lose the forest for the trees.

Chantel Prat teaches us about neuroscience in an engaging, fun (and funny) way. She opens up the world of neuroscience in the way Carl Sagan opened up the cosmos. She uses stories to show how neuroscience has helped her understand why she is the way she is, as well as why each of us is the way we are, and she does this with great enthusiasm and humor. She even contrasts her brain with the brains of those to whom she is closest, her husband and daughter. I really appreciate this since one of my own motivations in studying neuroscience and psychology has been to understand why I seem so different from most people I know. Throughout the book she shows how neuroscience can help you understand why you are the way you are, and why you are unique and different from everyone else.

Prat’s own career has focused on understanding individual differences, and she uses her own research as well as that of many others to stress that everyone is unique. Her perspective is very different from those who might be interested in classifying people as “normal” or “abnormal” on various dimensions. She is interested in where each person lies on a variety of measures, for example, how they utilize each hemisphere of the brain or how their mix of neurotransmitters (the chemicals neurons use to communicate with each other) might be different from others, and how this helps or hinders a person in particular situations. She also provides many tests, exercises, and games (both in the book and on the associated website) that give you insight into how your own brain is organized and how it is different from others.

Another theme in the book is that because research cognitive psychologists have focused on trying to describe the “normal” or average brain in understanding brain function, often eliminating from their studies people categorized as not normal, and because their results are typically presented as summaries or averages, they sometimes completely miss what is going on in individual brains. In the worst case, they describe a mythical average brain which is in fact different from almost any actual person’s brain. Prat illustrates this in her own research on how the left and right hemispheres of the brain work together in language understanding, and how they work differently in different people.

As a researcher, Prat does not oversimplify how our brains work, and she accurately describes neuroscience as a work in progress, where we are always learning new things about the brain and revising what we thought we previously knew. This gives the book an integrity that is sometimes lacking in books written for people new to a field.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on what Prat calls brain designs, or how differences in the biology of different people’s brains influence the way they think, feel, and behave. The second part focuses on brain functions, primarily how people’s brains interact with their environments to enable them to act and adapt in their worlds.

Neuroscience of You is full of fun facts and stories, while also informing you about some of the latest research in neuroscience. Read it for fun and to learn, and then reread it. I guarantee that each time you read it you’ll pick up something new, and if you’re interested in learning more, Prat provides notes that point you to further research on the topics she covers.

This is Prat’s first book and we can only hope that there will be many more to come!

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