Human : The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique
Overview
What happened along the evolutionary trail that made humans so unique?
In his accessible style, Michael Gazzaniga pinpoints the change that made us thinking, sentient humans different from our predecessors. He explores what makes human brains special, the importance of language and art in defining the human condition, the nature of human consciousness, and even artificial intelligence. Drawing on decades of split-brain research, he shows how hemispheric specialization allows new cognitive abilities to emerge without loss of perceptual capacity. Comparative studies reveal that human intellect depends on specialized cortical wiring rather than raw brain volume. The book tracks these physical adaptations through expanded prefrontal white matter and the lateralized columns of language areas.
- Evolutionary Biology: Discover how early adaptations like bipedalism and cooking high-calorie meals dramatically transformed hominid anatomy, reducing digestive tracts while supplying the energy required to expand cerebral tissue.
- Social Psychology: Examine why primate group sizes scale directly with neocortex volume, establishing a natural human threshold of roughly 150 relationships and turning conversation into the evolutionary equivalent of social grooming.
- Theory of Mind: Investigate the specialized neural systems that allow humans to infer unseen beliefs, detect intentional cheaters in social contracts, and distinguish living agency from inanimate physical objects.
- Cognitive Neuroscience: Explore how the left hemisphere's interpreter module weaves disparate perceptions into unified narratives, while mirror-neuron networks automatically simulate the sensations and distress of others.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780060892890
- ISBN-10: 0060892897
- Publisher: Ecco Press
- Publish Date: June 2009
- Dimensions: 8 x 5.34 x 1.07 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.75 pounds
- Page Count: 464
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