In The New Brain, Richard Restak
explains the recent achievements of neuroscience and the future possibilities
of the brain science. According to Restak, two scientific attitudes mark the
Era of the New Brain. First, neuroscience is now more centered in understanding
the brains of average man and women instead of concentrating its attention
mainly in diseases and dysfunctions, which means that neuroscience can now
provide us useful guidelines for everyday life. Second, the progress of
neuroscience has shown scientists that the brain has an amazing plasticity that
never ceases. The chapters of The New Brain focus on different issues
that illustrate these scientific attitudes. 

Restak begins by putting forward the brain
plasticity found in research. Not only scientists are now aware that the brain
never loses the power to transform itself (thought this power loses its
intensity as one gets older), they also realize that such transformations can
occur in very short intervals. Restak looks at specific examples such as
learning a new skill, and explains how acquiring a new skill changes one€™s
brain.

The second chapter looks into the
mysteries of the existence of people with extraordinary abilities. Comparing
and contrasting brain activities of the expert and the amateur, Restak tells us
that grand masters preferential activation of the frontal a parietal cortices
suggests that they rely on long-term memory, and that the difference between
the expert and the amateur is that the first does not have to think much
relying on the recognition of patterns. Restak argues that genius cannot be an
entirely genetic trait and that the key ingredient for excellence in expertise
is a willingness to stretch the limits of one€™s performance and increase
control of performance. In fact, Restak says the expert counteracts the
tendency to prematurely automate the experience in the subject matter. Another
interesting characteristic of expert is that cautious and careful behavior in
performing is used only when preparing; in performing chance should be taken.

In the third chapter, Restak
looks into the effect of modern life on the structure of the brain. Showing how
the plasticity of the brain is influenced by all sorts of technology around us,
Restak reflects upon the way we face constant challenges to our ability to
focus our attention and how we have become more frenetic, more distracted, more
fragmented, more hyperactive. Explaining what type of multi-activity the brain
can successfully master, the readers of this book can take the advice on what
types of activities to do simultaneously and which type to avoid.

Chapters Four and Five look into
the crucial role of emotion in the structure of the brain. Restak exposes the
most recent discoveries concerning the emotional processing within the brain,
pointing out the crucial importance of the discovery of the role of the
amygdala in emotional brain activity, for it appears as being one of the most
important structures mediating our emotions. Explaining how negative emotional experience
influence the functioning of the brain, Restak calls our attention to some
educational worries concerning violence and television viewing. Given that the
brain is not solely mediator of negative emotions, and is also the mediator of
positive emotions, Restak shows how humor and music enjoyment have been a topic
of neuroscience.

This chapter ends with a wishful promise that maybe someday
neurology will be so developed that we will be able to draw important
correlations such as to show in great details the brain processes that occur
when we listen or play a musical instrument.

Chapter Six shows how advances in
technology are allowing neuroscience to map out the nerve cell networks
responsible for our emotions. This imaging of thought and emotions has
practical implications for how we reach everyday decisions showing us that the
emotional and rational parts of the brain are more closely intertwined than was
thought. Hopefully, advance in neuroscience will allow us to clarify the role
of emotions in some ethical and moral dilemmas. Restak proposes that in the
near future neuroscientists will be able to provide pictures of brain activity
indicating whether someone is telling the truth; whether apparent attitudes and
statements are in line with deeply, even unconsciously, held beliefs; and
whether emotions are playing a dominant role in the making of a specific
decision.

In Chapter Seven, Restak looks
into the topic of psychopharmacology, calling our attention to the problematic
questions surrounding the use of drugs for the human mind. As Restak points
out, psychopharmacology may affect us by allowing people to endure situations
that they should be changing by suppressing perfectly adequate emotional
reactions.

Chapter Eight shows how
neuroscience has realized the amazing plasticity of the human brain by seeing
how the brain heals after damage. One of the striking examples of such
plasticity is sensory substitution. The discoveries done within sensory
substitution may one day, according to Restak, allow surgeons in the operating
room to obtain touch, pressure, and force information by using a tongue-based
system coupled with minimally invasive surgical devices.

In the last chapter of the book
Restak takes a futuristic look at the fate of neuroscience and its impact in
society.  He writes that in coming years we will be able to study mental
operations in €œreal time.€ The construction of the Dynamic Brain Atlas, will
allow neuroscience to further explore and identify the limits and
potentialities of the brain malleability. Also, research on animal brain will
allow neuroscience to better understand the human brain and among other things,
explore in animals the outer limits of brain-machine interaction. Restak foresees
that within the next few years we will look for increasing discoveries about
genetic contributions to specific cognitive abilities, such as intelligence,
attention, memory, language, and physical performance. Restak finishes the book
by raising philosophical questions regarding the development of neuroscience,
the value of application of neuroscience discoveries, and wonder what type of
impact will such research have in our concepts of personal identity and human
uniqueness, freedom and personal responsibility.

The New Brain by Restak
tells the story of how technology and biology converge to influence the
evolution of the human brain. Showing some of the most interesting discoveries
of neuroscience, Restak continually raises questions throughout the book about
the future of neuroscience and its application. This book is an important
contribution to keep the non-expert informed of scientific development and
discoveries that may change the world we live in.

© 2004 Dina Mendonça

Dina Mendonça is
a Postdoctoral Fellow of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,
Portugal, at the Instituto de Filosofia da Linguagem in the Universidade
Nova de Lisboa. Working in a research program on "Pragmatic
Analysis of Emotion." This research, of Deweyan inspiration, aims at
elaborating a critical interpretation of the philosophy of emotions clarifying:
on the one hand, (1) the different methodological approaches to emotions; on
the other hand, (2) the topics that surround reflection upon emotion. Among
other things, the project aims at the production of a commented bibliography
and a research database on philosophy of emotion.

Categories: Psychology, General