The brain-shaped mind - Naomi Goldblum

Will brain scientists ever be able to read our minds? Why are some things harder to remember than others? Based on recent brain research and neural network modelling, The Brain-Shaped Mind addresses these, and other, questions, and provides a clear account of how the structure of the brain influences the workings of the mind. Neuroscientists are now learning about our minds by examining how the neurones in the brain are connected with one another and the surrounding environment. This book explores how neural networks enable us to recognise objects and learn new things, and what happens when things go wrong. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey into what is arguably one of the most complicated and remarkable aspects of our lives.

Born in New York, Naomi Goldblum was originally educated in mathematics at the Yeshiva University. She later moved to Israel where, at the Hebrew University, she extended her interests to the field of psychology. Her doctorate was entitled 'A psycholinguistic study of the metaphor'. Naomi Goldblum is now a lecturer in psychology at Bar-Ilan University, where she specialises in cognitive psychology, in particular psycholinguistics and the processes involved in creative endeavours.

'The book is indeed easy to understand. It is well structured, minimally technical in its terminology, informative, and argumentatively clear. Readers interested in a basic understanding of what is known today about the human brain would definitely find this book valuable; and teachers of the non-neuroscience-oriented cognitive sciences, particularly cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics, might find it a useful introduction to brain research for their students.' Jyh Wee Sew, CHIJ ST Theresa's Convent, Singapore