Neuroscience Essentials: Chudler's "Neuropedia" Reviewed
"Neuropedia" offers a concise, analog guide to brain basics, illustrated for visual learning.
The brain’s redundancy enables some people to live without a corpus callosum, often without symptoms.
Split-brain cases raise deep questions about consciousness and personal identity.
We're intimate with our brains. We could almost touch them, except for the skull and dura that protect them. We sense them at work, helping us think, feel, move, digest, breathe. But how exactly they're doing any of this is mysterious to most of us. Some of us may see fMRI or PET images of our brains, but those are pictures, not fats and proneins, not glial cells or neurons.
Enter neuroscientist Eric H. Chudler's Neuropedia, a mini-encyclopedia on all things brain. In 150 pages, illustrated by Kelly Chudler, this small book elucidates brain structures, functions, and conditions—along with entries on neuroscience luminaries—in clear, accessible prose. As Chudler writes, "I have tried to include entries that will stimulate your curiosity, help you become familiar with neurosciene, and motivate you to learn more about the brain." The aim is to introduce lay readers to crucial concepts with both accuracy and a healthy dash of fun.
Of course, it's no comprehensive account. As Chudler writes, "My intention is to open a window to the process of........
