The brain: what everyone needs to know®

Introduction 1. What is a memory? How are memories made? Do I need to pay attention? Why do I forget some things but not others? How are memories recalled? Do memories last forever? What is amnesia? How does the brain create a memory? Why are patients with Alzheimer's disease so forgetful? How is the memory loss treated? What does a memory look like? How does nicotine influence brain function? 2. Why do I feel this way? What is fear? Why are close-talkers so frightening? What is depression? How is depression treated? Why do you sleep so poorly when you are depressed? Why is depression so common? What is the role of serotonin in depression? What is bipolar disorder? What is schizophrenia? Why do schizophrenics hear voices? Are dolphins schizophrenic? How is schizophrenia treated? 3. How do food and drugs influence my brain? Why do plants affect the human brain? How do we become addicted to specific foods and drugs? Can I blame it on my parents? Why am I addicted to caffeine? What should I eat to feel better? How do I stop eating so much food? Is there a good time of day to eat? What about carbohydrates? What about fats? How does obesity affect brain function and development? Why do I like to eat? Why do I crave fat and sugar? Are we born destined to become obese? How do my gut bugs keep my brain healthy? Can a good diet make you smarter? What about an apple a day? Will you lose weight by eating these fruits? Are spices good for my brain? How do flavonoids benefit us? Eat chocolate! Brain toxins in the diet 4. Why do I sleep and dream? What is sleep? Why is sleep so important? What other daily rhythms do I experience? What happens when I disrupt these rhythms? How are eating and sleeping related? How does your brain control its rhythms? Why do I sometimes wake up paralyzed? Why do some people act out their dreams? What happens when I am dreaming? Why do I sometimes dream that I am being buried alive? Are children's dreams different? What is a lucid dream? How long do dreams last? Does it matter what time I get up or go to bed? Does it matter who I sleep with? Why do I need that morning cup of coffee? Can I get too much sleep? What if I do not get enough sleep? What happens to sleep with aging?

5. How does the brain age? When does age-related senescence begin?

When am I going to die?

How can I live longer?

How does eating age me?

How does caloric restriction work?

Which brain region suffers the most with aging?

How can I reduce inflammation in my bran?

What is Parkinson's disease?

How does my nervous system change as I get older?

What happens to my vision?

What happens to my hearing?

What happens to my balance?

What happens to the taste of food?

Why do things feel differently?

What can you do to slow aging?

How much should you restrict your diet?

What is the consequence of being overweight as I get older?

What can you do about your aging brain?

Do miracle cures for brain aging exist?

Why do so many people fall under the spell of charlatans?

What about ginkgo?

What is pseudoscience?

What is the placebo effect?

6. How does my brain accomplish so much? Are near-death visits to heaven real?

How do nutrients and drugs get into my brain?

How is the cortex organized?

Why aren't human brains bigger?

How does the cortex develop?

How do male and female brains differ?

Are bigger brains always better?

What is neurogenesis?

How do we think so fast?

What is multiple sclerosis?

Does my brain work perfectly all of the time?

What are neurotransmitters and what do they do for me?

How is my brain organized?

What happens in the front half of my brain?

How does my brain produce speech?

What happens in the back half of my brain?

Why do I daydream?

Why does the brain devote so much time to daydreaming?

What is the function of the temporal lobe?

What is a seizure?

What is a hallucination?

What is synethesia?

What happens in the parietal lobe?

Where is cingulate gyrus and why should I care?

What is "the little brain" and what does it do?

How does my right brain talk to my left brain?

Final thought.