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THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN: by Richard Restak, M.D. Foreword by David Grubin Joseph Henry Press/The Dana Press Price: $35.00/hardcover Publication Date: October 2001 Over 100 color photographs and illustrations ISBN: 0-309-07435-5 First printing: 30,000 copies RICHARD RESTAK, TAKES READERS ON A GUIDED TOUR OF THE BRAIN IN HIS LATEST BOOK THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN Is Companion Book To Five-Part PBS-TV Series In his forthcoming book, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN, bestselling author and renowned neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Richard Restak, explores the intricacy of the brain, showing how it grows and develops all the way from infancy through old age. A companion work to the upcoming PBS-TV series by the same name, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN presents a fascinating synthesis of the latest scientific research through interviews, case studies, illustrations, and photographs. Each of the book's five chapters focuses on the brain at a specific stage in life - infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Restak reveals that at each of these, the brain has an amazing capacity to adapt to its environment. "If we were to employ a single word to characterize the human brain at all phases of development, it would be plasticity: the organ's capacity to change," he writes. Plasticity is most evident during infancy, but it does not stop there. At any stage, the brain retains its ability to modify itself in response to life's experiences. From the baby's brain as it absorbs and evaluates millions of stimuli, to the adolescent brain as it struggles to weigh options and make decisions, to the aging brain as it continues to grow new nerve-cell connections, Restak takes readers on a guided tour of the most incredible part of the human anatomy. Written in clear, accessible language, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN not only shows how the organ functions, but also examines what can go wrong, revealing how scientists are working to create effective treatments to overcome these maladies. Richard Restak, a Clinical Professor of Neurology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, is the bestselling author of eleven books on the brain. These include two previous PBS-TV series companion books, one of which, THE BRAIN, spent ten weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. The PBS-TV series, The Secret Life of the Brain, is being produced by Emmy Award-winner David Grubin who has written the foreword to Restak's book. The television series is expected to air in early 2002. The Joseph Henry Press is an imprint of the National Academy Press, publisher for the National Academies - National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council. The Dana Press is the publisher for the New York-based Charles A. Dana Foundation and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives. |
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