There has been an explosive increase in scientists' ability to explain the structure and functioning of the human brain. This title elucidates knowledge of the human brain, taking an interdisciplinary approach and explaining in layman's terms the complex theories and scientific breakthroughs.

Preface to the Princeton Science Library EditionPreface1The "Organ of the Soul" - from Ancient Egypt to the Belle Epoque3Man Thinks with His Brain3Body and Soul7Phrenology13The Neuron21Electric Current and "Medicinal Substances"29The "Good Sense" of History362The Component Parts of the Brain38The Macroscopic View of the Brain39The Expansion of the Neocortex43Microcircuits46Wiring52Modules or Crystals58From Mouse to Man653Animal Spirits67Cerebral Electricity68The Nerve Signal73Oscillators77From One Neuron to Another83The Keys to Molecule Locks90"Psychic Atoms" Reexamined954Into Action97To Sing and to Flee98To Drink and to Suffer103To Enjoy and to Be Angry107To Reach Orgasm112To Analyze115To Speak and to Do120From Stimulus to Response1245Mental Objects126The Materiality of Mental Images127From Percept to Concept and Thought130Toward a Biological Theory of Mental Objects134Assembling the Neurons140Problems of Consciousness145Attention151The Calculation of Emotion158Seeing Mental Objects161The Substance of the Spirit1686The Power of the Genes170Anatomical Mutations171Heredity and Behavior175The Simplicity of the Genome and the Complexity of the Brain180The Automaton Cell186The Embryo System191The Genesis of the Cortex195The Predestination of the Brain2027Epigenesis205Differences between Identical Twins206The Behavior of the Growth Cone212Regression and Redundancy216The Dreams of the Embryo220Building the Synapse223The Theory of Epigenesis by Selective Stabilization of Synapses227The Experimental Testing of Epigenesis229Hemispheric Specialization - a Genetic or Epigenetic Process?235The Cultural Imprint241"To Learn Is to Eliminate"2468Anthropogenesis250Monkey Chromosomes251Fossil Puzzles255The Winks of the Young Chimpanzee259Genes for Communication and Selective Stabilization264The Genetics of Australopithecus268The "Phenomenon of Man" Reconsidered2719The Brain - Representation of the World273Glossary285Notes293Bibliography301Index333

"Jean-Pierre Changeux ... explores the fascinating question of how the human brain, similar in so many ways to the brains of less developed species, is able to accomplish so much more... [He] presents his ... view with verve, conviction, and an admirable lucidity."--Richard Restak, Washington Post Book World "An outstanding attempt to convey to the general public an interdisciplinary understanding of the human nervous system."--Nature