"Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia illnesses are among the most frightening diagnoses in the US, affecting nearly six million adult Americans. This accessible guide starts with providing readers with an overview of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia: what it is, who gets it, how to recognize it, major causes (genetics, environment, etc.). As bestselling author of The Memory Bible and The Memory Prescription, as well as Director of the UCLA Longevity...

A survey of current research into the human mind reveals how top international laboratories have innovated unique technologies for recording profound mental capabilities and enabling controversial opportunities in the field of cognition enhancement.

In this work the author tells the stories of people who are able to navigate the world and communicate with others despite losing what many of us consider indispensable senses and abilities: the power of speech, the capacity to recognize faces, the sense of three dimensional space, the ability to read, the sense of sight. For all of these people, the challenge is to adapt to a radically new way of being in the world. There is Lilian, a concert pianist...

When it comes to what we believe, humans see what they want to see. In other words, we have what Julia Galef calls a "soldier" mindset. From tribalism and wishful thinking, to rationalizing in our personal lives and everything in between, we are driven to defend the ideas we most want to believe-and shoot down those we don't. But if we want to get things right more often, argues Galef, we should train ourselves to have a "scout" mindset. Unlike the...

Richard Cytowic's dinner host apologized, "There aren't enough points on the chicken!" He felt flavor also as a physical shape in his hands, and the chicken had come out "too round." This offbeat comment in 1980 launched Cytowic's exploration into the oddity called synesthesia. He is one of the few world authorities on the subject. Sharing a root with anesthesia ("no sensation"), synesthesia means "joined sensation," whereby a voice, for example,...

We all have a rage circuit we can't fully control once it is engaged. The headlines are filled with examples of rational people with no history of violence or mental illness suddenly snapping in a domestic dispute, barroom brawl, or road-rage attack. We all wish to believe that we are in control of our actions, but the truth is that the right trigger in the right circumstances can unleash a fit of rage in almost anyone. Neurophysiologist R. Douglas...

A psychology professor specializing in the cognitive and neurological bases of language and reading discusses why children and adults have been incorrectly taught how to read and offers suggestions on how to vastly improve this vital life skill. Over half of our children read at a basic level and few become highly proficient. Many American children and adults are not functionally literate, with serious consequences. Poor readers are more likely to...