ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY HUMANIST GALAXY OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS MICHAEL GAZZANIGA May 17, 2022 TALES FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN: A Life in Neuroscience. by Michael S. Gazzaniga, with the foreword by Steven Pinker. Ecco, 2015 (i-xvi, 428 pages) BOOK OUTLINE Note = Numbers in parentheses refer to pages FOREWORD BY STEVEN PINKER (xi-xiv) “The delightful memoir you are holding recounts the history of cognitive neuroscience through the eyes of one of its founders and most distinguished practitioners Those who know Mike will hear his voice in every sentence. Those who don't will learn about the ideas, discoveries, characters, and political implications — both academic and national— of this exciting frontier of knowledge. Both kinds of reader will be amazed by the demonstrations, ingeniously shown in real-time videos, of the key discoveries — and isn’t it just like Mike to defy the stereotype of technology — averse oldsters and try out a new medium of publication for the 21st century... Mike has certainly brought out the best in me, teaching me, challenging me, counseling me, entertaining me, and perhaps most important, showing me that you can be a scientist and a mensch, too. And so it was a privilege when the American Psychological Association asked me to write the citation for his Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 2008:” “For ingenious studies of split-brain patients which illuminated the functions of the cerebral hemispheres. His discovery that the right hemisphere can act without the awareness of the left, which then confabulates a story about what the whole person did, is a classic of psychology, rich with implications for consciousness, free will, and the self he created the field of cognitive neuroscience, and his accessible writings inserted it into the national conversation. His wit and joie de vivre showed generations of students anal colleagues the human face of science.” PREFACE (xv-xvi) “Science results from a profoundly social process. The common portrayal — that science emerges from a solitary isolated genius, always laboring alone, not owing anything to anyone — is simply wrong. lt is also wrong to give the budding scientist, or those who fund research, or the general public a false impression of how science happens. In this account l want to present a different picture: science carried out in friendship, Where discoveries are deeply embedded in the social relations of people from all walks of life. lt is a wonderful way of life, spending one’s years with smart people, puzzling over the mysteries and surprises of nature. My life has been sprinkled with incredible characters, some famous; many great scientists; and some captivating split-brain patients. They all played a part in the evolution of my understanding of the overriding question: How on earth does the brain enable mind?” (page xvi) PART 1 — DISCOVERING THE BRAIN (1-109) 1) DIVING INTO SCIENCE (3-33) 2) DISCOVERING A MIND DIVIDED (35-75) 3) SEARCHING FOR THE BRAIN'S MORSE CODE (77-109) PART 2 — HEMISPHERES TOGETHER AND APART (111-248) 4) UNMASKING MORE MODULES (113-155) 5) BRAIN IMAGING CONFIRMS SPLIT-BRAIN SURGERIES (157-201) 6) STILL SPLIT (203-248) Quote = “I learned very early the difference between knowing the name for something and knowing something.” by Richard P. Feynman, Caltech Professor and Astrophysicist (203) PART 3 — EVOLUTION AND INTEGRATION (249-327) 7) THE RIGHT BRAIN HAS SOMETHING TO SAY (251-286) 8) STATELY LIVING AND A CALL TO SERVICE (287-327) PART 4 — BRAIN LAYERS (329-357) 9) PLAYERS AND DYNAMICS --- Seeking New Perspectives (331-357) EPILOGUE (359-361) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (363-364) APPENDIX 1 (365-371) APPENDIX 2 (373-384) NOTES (385-398) FIGURE CREDITS (399) VIDEO FIGURES (399-401) INDEX (403-428) AUTHOR NOTE, SUMMARY, AND BOOK DESCRIPTION AUTHOR NOTES = Michael S. Gazzaniga, one of the premiere doctors of neuroscience heads the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is a leading researcher in cognitive neuroscience and was educated at Dartmouth College and California Institute of Technology. His early research examined the subject of epileptics who had undergone surgery to control seizures, called "split-brain" patients. He has also studied Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients and has written about his important findings in the textbook, Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind. And he was on the faculty of the Center for Neuroscience at U.C. Davis. While many of his writings are technical, he also educates and stimulates readers with discussions about the fascinating and mysterious workings of the brain. Books such as The Consciousness Instinct; Who's in Charge?; Human; The Social Brain and The Mind's Past have brought forth new information and theories regarding how the brain functions, interacts, and responds with the body and the environment. – Bowker Author Biography SUMMARY = Michael S. Gazzaniga is one of the most important neuroscientists of the twentieth century. He gives us an exciting behind-the-scenes look at his seminal work on both hemispheres, the right and the left brain. The Foreword was written by Steven Pinker. BOOK DESCRIPTION = In the mid-20 century, Michael S. Gazzaniga, "the father of cognitive neuroscience," was part of a team of pioneering neuroscientists who developed the now foundational “split-brain” brain theory: the notion that the right and left hemispheres of the brain can act independently from one another and have different strengths. In the book Gazzaniga tells the impassioned story of his life in science and his decades-long journey to understand how the separate spheres of our brains communicate and miscommunicate with their separate agendas. By turns humorous and moving, The book interweaves Gazzaniga's scientific achievements with his reflections on the challenges and thrills of working as a scientist. In his engaging and accessible style, he paints a vivid portrait not only of his discovery of split-brain theory, but also of his comrades in arms — the many patients, friends, and family who have accompanied him on this wild ride of intellectual discovery. EDITORIAL BOOK REVIEWS LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = Gazzaniga (psychology, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara; Who's in Charge?), who heads the new SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind and is a leading researcher in cognitive neuroscience, has written numerous books for scientists and laypersons and hundreds of peer-reviewed articles on how the brain works and lateralization of brain functions. This engaging, accessible biography describes not only his research, but his family life as well. It illustrates that work in the laboratory does not occur in a vacuum and that advances in science are sometimes inspired by people working in other fields as well as students and mentors. Gazzaniga speaks with candor about the many scientists he has worked with and how they inspired his research. He also acknowledges the exceptional contributions of the split-brain patients he has been close to for most of his career. It is fascinating to read about the stories going on behind the split-brain experiments that don't make it into the scientific literature. VERDICT Good for readers who enjoy scientific biographies and anyone interested in neuroscience.-Margaret Henderson, Midlothian, VA. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW = Gazzaniga (Who's in Charge?), who helped develop the left-right theory of the brain, tells a winding tale of a life lived in science and the joys of bringing science to the public. Gazzaniga's work on the "split brain" case studies spanned decades, universities, and medical schools, but as he makes clear, there's much more to a life than the pursuit of science as a career. Outside his research, Gazzaniga kept busy by organizing public debates featuring William F. Buckley Jr. and others, which led Buckley to invite him on Firing Line and to write pieces for National Review, including a spoof of the Pentagon Papers. But the substance of his work with patients is also covered in exhaustive detail that conveys how science is made: "slowly, with lots of people contributing." Less successfully, episodes from Gazzaniga's personal life-marriages, burials, new houses, job searches-are also included. Perhaps these show the contours of an academic life, but they read drily. Gazzaniga's book is of great interest to those embarking on careers in pure research, and to anyone intrigued by the story of one of the greatest discoveries in cognition. Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc. BOOK LIST REVIEW = *Starred Review* Gazzaniga may not be a household name, but he is considered one of the most important neuroscientists of our time. In this fascinating memoir, this pioneer in cognitive research offers a behind-the-scenes examination of the work he and his fellow scientists did to uncover the mysteries of the right and left brain specifically, split-brain research aimed at discovering whether each hemisphere of the brain could learn independently of the other. Gazzaniga is a charmer. Consequently, this is not a dry scientific tome. On the contrary, the personable Gazzaniga his warmth and good humor virtually jump off the page recalls his life as a scientist at Caltech, Dartmouth, Cornell, and other institutions, and the ups and downs that came with it. Some biographical details are surprising. For example, Gazzaniga admits that math doesn't come easy to him and that he usually steers clear of highly technical discussions of almost everything. He is also a bit of a name-dropper. With a foreword by Steven Pinker, Gazzaniga's memoir should delight fans of the television series, The Big Bang Theory, but it will also have tremendous appeal for non-nerds, too. – Sawyers REMEMBER ALWAYS: You are your adaptable memory! Click or Tap Star to Return to the Humanist Hub RETURN TO THE HUMANIST HUB OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas®