Do newborns think? Do they know that "three" is greater than "two"? Do they prefer "right" to "wrong"? What about emotions--can newborns recognize happiness or anger? If the answer to these questions is yes, then how are our inborn thoughts and feelings encoded in our bodies? Could they persist after we die? Going all the way back to ancient Greece, human nature and the mind-body problem have been the topics of fierce scholarly debates. But laypeople also have strong opinions about such ma...

Humans instinctively form words by weaving patterns of meaningless speech elements. Moreover, we do so in specific, regular ways. We contrast dogs and gods, favour blogs to lbogs. We begin forming sound-patterns at birth and, like songbirds, we do so spontaneously, even in the absence of an adult model. We even impose these phonological patterns on invented cultural technologies such as reading and writing. But why are humans compelled to generate phonological patterns? And why do differen...

An illustrated cultural history of drug use from its roots in animal intoxication to its future in designer neurochemicals• Featuring artwork from the upcoming High Society exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London, one of the world’s greatest medical history collections• Explores the roles drugs play in different cultures as medicines, religious sacraments, status symbols, and coveted trade goods• Reveals how drugs drove the global trade and cultural exchange...

New York Times BestsellerDiscover the critical link between your brain and the food you eat and change the way your brain ages, in this cutting-edge, practical guide to eliminating brain fog, improving your metabolic health, optimizing brain function, and achieving peak mental performance from media personality and leading voice in health Max Lugavere.After his mother was diagnosed with a mysterious form of dementia, Max Lugavere p...

Unrecognized sleep disorders can shorten lives, promote hypertension, augment risk for diabetes, exacerbate metabolic syndrome, increase overall medical care costs, impair cognition, cause motor vehicle crashes, reduce workplace productivity, and greatly diminish quality of life. Sleep problems are among the most common complaints that patients bring to their clinicians, but little medical training is devoted to the field and so sleep disorders tend to remain undiagnosed for many years. Th...

Handbook of Cannabis and Related Pathologies: Biology, Pharmacology, Diagnosis, and Treatment is the first book to take an interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of cannabis use and misuse. Recent worldwide trends toward decriminalizing marijuana for medical use have increased legal use of the drug and recreational use remains high, making cannabis one of the most commonly used drugs.Cannabis has a wide range of adverse neurological effects, and use and abuse can lead to physical,...

A problem-based introduction to phonetics, with over three hundred exercises integrated into the text to help the student discover and practice the subject interactively. It assumes no previous knowledge of the subject and highlights and explains new terms and concepts when they are first introduced. Graded review questions and exercises at the end of every unit help the student monitor their own progress and further practice new skills, and there is frequent cross-referencing for the stud...

When we speak, we configure the vocal tract which shapes the visible motions of the face and the patterning of the audible speech acoustics. Similarly, we use these visible and audible behaviors to perceive speech. This book showcases a broad range of research investigating how these two types of signals are used in spoken communication, how they interact, and how they can be used to enhance the realistic synthesis and recognition of audible and visible speech. The volume begins by address...

This book presents the current concepts of semaphorin biology. In the early 1990s, semaphorins were originally identified as axon guidance cues that function during neuronal development. However, cumulative findings have clarified that they have diverse functions in many physiological processes, including cardiogenesis, angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, retinal homeostasis, and immune regulation. Additionally, they have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various human d...

Anxiety disorders have long been a research subject for scientists in different areas of inquiry, and the particular role of serotonin – the neurotransmitter which has probably most captured the imagination of laymen and academics alike – is as elusive as the clinical aspects of serotonergic medications. Why are drugs acting at certain serotonin receptors efficacious against generalized anxiety disorder, but not panic disorder? Why is the inverse true for monoamine oxidase inhibitors? Thes...

Greatly revised, the Second Edition presents an extended survey of this rapidly growing field. The book reviews the effects of industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals on human behavior, cognitive function, and emotional status. Features include two new chapters addressing key forensic issues and recent views on multiple chemical sensitivity, sick building syndrome, and psychosomatic disorders; current data on NIOSH and OSHA exposure levels for industrial toxins; and enhanced coverage of te...

Oxidative stress is the result of an imbalance in pro-oxidant/antioxidant homeostasis that leads to the generation of toxic reactive oxygen species. Brain cells are continuously exposed to reactive oxygen species generated by oxidative metabolism, and in certain pathological conditions defense mechanisms against oxygen radicals may be weakened and/or overwhelmed. DNA is a potential target for oxidative damage, and genomic damage can contribute to neuropathogenesis. It is important therefor...