Electric Brain: How the New Science of Brainwaves Reads Minds, Tells Us How We Learn, and Helps Us Change for the Better

Written by R. Douglas Fields

Narrated by Adam Verner

What is as unique as your fingerprints and more revealing than your diary? Hint: Your body is emitting them right now and has been every single day of your life.

Brainwaves.

Analyzing brainwaves, the imperceptible waves of electricity surging across your scalp, has been possible for nearly a century. But only now are neuroscientists becoming aware of the wealth of information brainwaves hold about a person’s life, thoughts, and future health.

From the moment a reclusive German doctor discovered waves of electricity radiating from the heads of his patients in the 1920s, brainwaves have sparked astonishment and intrigue, yet the significance of the discovery and its momentous implications have been poorly understood. Now, it is clear that these silent broadcasts can actually reveal a stunning wealth of information about any one of us.

In Electric Brain, world-renowned neuroscientist and author R. Douglas Fields takes us on an enthralling journey into the world of brainwaves, detailing how new brain science could fundamentally change society, separating fact from hyperbole along the way.

In this eye-opening and in-depth look at the most recent findings in brain science, Fields explores groundbreaking research that shows brainwaves can:

• Reveal the type of brain you have—its strengths and weaknesses and your aptitude for learning different types of information
• Allow scientists to watch your brain learn, glean your intelligence, and even tell how adventurous you are
• Expose hidden dysfunctions—including signifiers of mental illness and neurological disorders
• Render your thoughts and transmit them to machines and back from machines into your brain
• Meld minds by telepathically transmitting information from one brain to another
• Enable individuals to rewire their own brains and improve cognitive performance

Written by one of the neuroscientists on the cutting edge of brainwave research, Electric Brain tells a fascinating and obscure story of discovery, explains the latest science, and looks to the future—and the exciting possibilities in store for medicine, technology, and our understanding of ourselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Feb 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781799751601

R. Douglas Fields

R. Douglas Fields, Ph. D. is the Chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  He received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. degree at San Jose State University, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of California, San Diego, working jointly in the Medical School and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.  Fields has conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University, Yale University, and the NIH. He became Head of the Neurocytology and Physiology Unit, NICHD in 1994, and Chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section, NICHD in 2001. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Neuron Glia Biology, and member of the editorial board of several other journals in the field of neuroscience. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Reviews for Electric Brain

[darcia_10 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

How many times can you force yourself to pick up a book before you give up on finishing it?I didn’t count with this book, but it must have been my eighth or ninth try, when I realized I’d rather clean my bathroom, that I decided this book and I just don’t belong together.Neuroscience and neuropsychology fascinate me. I read a lot on the topics, so it’s not like I’m new to this area of nonfiction. I had no problem understanding it; my problem was the experience felt like my college days, when I was forced to read dense textbooks written by academics with too much gusto for their topic and not enough narrative engagement for the reader.If you can get past the first 70 or so pages, which are tedious and repetitive in content, it does get more interesting, though only marginally more readable. The writing is overly wordy and often meanders off topic. I felt like we circled issues far too long before getting to the point.A word of caution: We’re given quite a bit (way too much for me) graphic detail on early animal experimentation. I had to skim, because I don’t need those visuals, ever.I do think this book is good for students studying neuroscience and/or for anyone working or teaching in the field. As an educational “pleasure” read, however, this isn’t a book I’d recommend.*I received a review copy from the publisher.*