Susan Greenfield

A Sunday Times and Financial Times Book of the YearWhat happens in our brains when we wake up, savour a meal or a glass of wine, walk the dog, stare at a screen, daydream or sleep? World-renowned neuroscientist Susan Greenfield draws on her own pioneering research to illuminate the mystery of consciousness, and how our brains make us who we are. 'Offers tantalising clues to the universe inside our heads' Rob Kingston, Sunday Times, Science Books of the Year'One of the few brain researchers making a serious effort to investigate the rich continuum of conscious thoughts and feelings that underlie every moment of our waking lives' Clive Cookson, Financial Times'An illuminating, engrossing journey' Nature'Her writing is clear, sharp, devoid of difficult jargon and chatty. The brain's complexity comes across vividly' Anil Ananthaswamy, New Scientist

In Mind Change, Susan Greenfield discusses the all-pervading technologies that now surround us, and from which we derive instant information, connected identity, diminished privacy and exceptionally vivid here-and-now experiences.

Susan Greenfield, one of the world's pre-eminent scientists, takes the reader on a guided tour of the final frontier in human understanding: the brain.

In the near future, humanity has experienced a great schism. The larger part is ruled by instinct and pleasure: they are ageless, beautiful yet wholly dependent on technology designed by previous generations to sustain them. Having no social structure or self-consciousness to speak of, to the minority they are simply known as the Others. But into this unmarked, timeless community walks Fred, the first visitor from a far-off land. His people are the N-Ps, governed by logic, revolted by the mindless, unfettered sollipsism of the Others. In all respects a model N-P, as Fred conducts his studies, he finds himself caught in an awkward relationship with his test subjects. Fred begins to feel for the childlike members of the Dwelling he observes. Embracing their gaudy, hyperreal life of screens and implants, Fred begins to be changed himself, even as he begins to affect the minds of these Others in ways that may not be to their benefit.

Identity is a term much used yet hard to define. Perhaps for this reason, the concept has long been a favourite with philosphers, and for the very same reason has been avoided by brain scientists, - until now. In this neurobiological exploration of identity, Greenfield briefly reviews the social perspective from finger prints, to faces, to signatures of the many ways we try to identity ourselves, - in vain. The psychiatric perspective however does offer some valuable clues that then leads to an excursion into the physical brain: the neuroscience perspective. But identity cannot just be an objective phenomenon: hence any pertinent brain phenomena have to be seen also, as they are in the follwing chapter, from an individual perspective. Armed with the insights gained from these diverse approaches, Greenfield attempts to conceive of actual scenarios in the physical brain that would correspond to familiar examples of identity. However, given the physical brain adapts exquisitely to the environemnt, and the 21st Century environment is changing in unprecedented ways, are we facing correspondingly unprecedented changes to our identity?

If you've ever wondered what effect video games have on your children's minds or worried about how much private information the government and big companies know about you, ID is essential reading. Professor Susan Greenfield argues persuasively that our individuality is under the microscope as never before; now more then ever we urgently need to look at what we want for ourselves as individuals and for our future society. ID is an exploration of what it means to be human in a world of rapid change, a passionately argued wake-up call and an inspiring challenge to embrace creativity and forge our own identities.

This work contains a Foreword by Baroness Susan Greenfield, Director, Royal Institution of Great Britain, Fullerian Professor of Physiology, Senior Research Fellow Lincoln College and Honorary Fellow, St. Hilda's College, University of Oxford. This practical, concise and up-to-date guide is ideal as a quick reference. It is easy to read, refer to and comprehend - the perfect text to have on hand in the laboratory. "Laboratory Skills for Science and Medicine" contains useful equations, overviews of various techniques, and tips to help research run smoothly. Undergraduate and postgraduate students of science, medicine and biomedical science will find this manual invaluable, as will PhD candidates and researchers returning to laboratory work. 'Becoming a good biomedical researcher, like everything else in life, doesn't just happen overnight. Exploring your knowledge and skills base, and the gaps therein allows you to develop your approach to research in a systematic and productive manner. By taking advantage of the experience bundled into this volume, you are giving yourself the advantage of both an increased factual knowledge and useful practical applications which will help you on the road to achieving your goals, whether that is a good first degree, your first publication, that first grant or a Noble prize! If you want to give yourself a flying start in your lab career, then this book is for you.' - Maxine Lintern, in the Introduction.

The book is an exploration of how this century is going to change not just the way we think, but also what we actually think with - our own individual minds. How will new technologies transform the way we see the world? At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we may be standing on the brink of a mind make-over far more cataclysmic than anything that has happened before. As we appreciate the dynamism and sensitivity of our brain circuitry, so the prospect of directly tampering with the essence of our individuality becomes a possibility.

What is happening in the brain when we drink too much alcohol, get high on ecstasy or experience road rage? Emotion, says internationally acclaimed neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, is the building block of consciousness. As our minds develop we create a personalized inner world based on our experiences. But during periods of intense emotion, such as anger, fear or euphoria, we can literally lose our mind, returning to the mental state we experienced as infants. Challenging many preconceived notions, Susan Greenfield's groundbreaking book seeks to answer one of science's most enduring mysteries: how our unique sense of self is created.