The Changing Brain: Alzheimer's Disease and Advances in Neuroscience

by Ira B. Black

Overview

In The Changing Brain, Ira Black tells the fascinating story of modern neuroscience. A rich, multifaceted tale spanning a century and taking place on multiple continents, it moves from Fascist Italy, with the discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF) by a young scientist working secretly in a makeshift laboratory in her bedroom, to current experiments in which transplanted, laboratory-grown cells lead to recovery and function in damaged brain regions. In the mid 1990s, a revolutionary new conception of the brain emerged—instead of the traditional view that the brain's role in perception, memory, learning, and emotions was based on a static, non-renewable network of brain cells and connections, research revealed that the human brain is an ever-changing, fantastically complex system that is continually being shaped and reshaped by a subtle interplay of genetic clues and life experiences.

To bridge the gap between abstract concepts and real-world experience, Dr. Black draws upon his expertise as a clinical neurologist to provide a dramatic account—the fictionalized story of a successful investment banker named Enoch Wallace and his battle with Alzheimer's disease—that vividly illuminates the narrative. From his first fleeting memory lapses to his final descent into dementia, each step in Wallace's decline becomes a window into another aspect of brain function and the latest groundbreaking research in neuroscience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195156973
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/28/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Ira B. Black, M.D., is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey. He is a past president of the Society for Neuroscience of North America and is currently Chairman of the Society's Public Information Committee. His pioneering research in neuroscience has earned him numerous awards and honors including the Jacob Javits Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Levi-Montalcini Award, and the McKnight Award.

Editorial Reviews

"An intriguing scientific thriller that, like all good thrillers, weaves multiple plots....The parallel telling of clinical and scientific tales at its best breathes life, personality and clinical relevance into the neuroscience."—Nature Neuroscience

"Black probes the horror of brain disease, scrutinizing the cellular dynamics that trigger it and surveying the therapies used to combat it. But the scientific analysis of synaptic failure does not obscure the human pathos: a poignant account of one man's descent into the Alzheimer's abyss serves as the narrative thread for the whole book and lends emotional resonance to Black's biochemistry."—Booklist

"Dr. Black is the ideal guide to lead us through the bewildering story behind the recent revolution in neuroscience. We are at the dawn of a new age of the brain and the central nervous system that is nothing short of miraculous. Dr. Black is an inspired physician, an inspired writer, and his book is an inspiration to us all." —Christopher Reeve

From the Publisher