Adrian Owen – författare

From a world-renowned neuroscientist comes a revelatory exploration of the neural processes in our brains that shape our day-to-day existence: how they work, what happens when they falter and how we can maintain them throughout our lives.'Owen is not just one of our top scientists, but a great storyteller.' DANIEL LEVITIN'From jewelry heists to the nature of free will, Owen's exploration of our cognitive powers is both a gripping story and a masterful summary of his pioneering research into the inner workings of our minds and brains.'ANIL SETH, bestselling author of Being You***Why is it that some people breeze through life with the mental clarity of a chess grandmaster, while others struggle to organize their thoughts or even remember where they left their keys?Our brains are miraculous things. Through a set of processes called executive functions, they drive everything over the course of our lives, allowing us to create and retrieve memories, understand our own and others' emotions, plan our short- and long-term goals, and much more.Drawing on gripping case studies and cutting-edge research, acclaimed neuroscientist Adrian Owen maps out the architecture of our brains and these executive functions. From encounters with memory champions, athletes who have suffered multiple concussions and patients with conditions such as ADHD, autism, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, he reveals the importance of these functions not only for the potential of our brains but to our very ways of being.Think Before You Think presents a remarkable picture of both the brain's brilliance and its fragility, providing practical advice on maintaining our executive functions at every stage of our lives. In doing so, it brings readers to a closer understanding of what it is that makes each of us human.***'Owen is a wonderful guide and takes readers on a fascinating journey into the human mind . . . Think Before You Think provides a practical blueprint for a brighter future.' PROFESSOR RICHARD WISEMAN, author of 59 Seconds

In 2006 Dr Adrian Owen and his team made medical history. They discovered a new realm of consciousness, somewhere between life and death, which they called the Grey Zone. The people who inhabit it are frequently labelled as irretrievably lost, with no awareness or sense of self. The shocking truth is that they are often still there, an intact mind trapped inside a broken body and brain, hearing everything around them, experiencing emotions, thoughts, pleasure and pain. But now, through Dr Owen's pioneering techniques, we can talk to them - and they can talk back.

From the ever-rising rate of ADHD diagnoses to the life-changing challenges of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to the everyday brain fog many of us muddle through, so-called deficits of executive function are everywhere. Whether you’re tearing the house apart trying to find the keys you’ve been holding all along, struggling to stay on task at work, or watching a loved one lose their social filter, the consequences when executive function falters can be frustrating, puzzling—sometimes even devastating. We’re told it governs everything from planning and decision-making to self-control and social behavior. But what exactly is executive function, and what can we do to sharpen it? In Think Before You Think, internationally renowned neuroscientist Adrian Owen cuts through the confusion, showing how the underlying systems that orchestrate executive function interact, why they sometimes fail us, and what that tells us about the everyday business of being human.Drawing on decades of groundbreaking research, Owen reveals the six core components of executive function that shape how we think and act: working memory, planning, inhibition, attention, theory of mind, and emotional regulation. Crucially, he also busts many common brain myths. Sharpening your mind isn’t about brain-training apps or quick fixes; in many cases, a good night’s sleep will do more than any puzzle or game. But the latest discoveries in neuroscience offer a simpler—and more powerful—solution: understanding your own executive functions and learning to take conscious control of how you use them.As practical as it is profound, Think Before You Think offers a new way of understanding your brain—its strengths, its limitations, and its remarkable potential. You’ll never say “I wasn’t thinking” in quite the same way again.

In this “riveting read, meshing memoir with scientific explication” (Nature), a world-renowned neuroscientist reveals how he learned to communicate with patients in vegetative or “gray zone” states and, more importantly, he explains what those interactions tell us about the working of our own brains.“Vivid, emotional, and thought-provoking” (Publishers Weekly), Into the Gray Zone takes readers to the edge of a dazzling, humbling frontier in our understanding of the brain: the so-called “gray zone” between full consciousness and brain death. People in this middle place have sustained traumatic brain injuries or are the victims of stroke or degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Many are oblivious to the outside world, and their doctors believe they are incapable of thought. But a sizeable number—as many as twenty percent—are experiencing something different: intact minds adrift deep within damaged brains and bodies. An expert in the field, Adrian Owen led a team that, in 2006, discovered this lost population and made medical history. Scientists, physicians, and philosophers have only just begun to grapple with the implications. Following Owen’s journey of exciting medical discovery, Into the Gray Zone asks some tough and terrifying questions, such as: What is life like for these patients? What can their families and friends do to help them? What are the ethical implications for religious organizations, politicians, the Right to Die movement, and even insurers? And perhaps most intriguing of all: in defining what a life worth living is, are we too concerned with the physical and not giving enough emphasis to the power of thought? What, truly, defines a satisfying life? “Strangely uplifting…the testimonies of people who have returned from the gray zone evoke the mysteries of consciousness and identity with tremendous power” (The New Yorker). This book is about the difference between a brain and a mind, a body and a person. Into the Gray Zone is “a fascinating memoir…reads like a thriller” (Mail on Sunday).

In this “riveting read, meshing memoir with scientific explication” (Nature), a world-renowned neuroscientist reveals how he learned to communicate with patients in vegetative or “gray zone” states and, more importantly, he explains what those interactions tell us about the working of our own brains.“Vivid, emotional, and thought-provoking” (Publishers Weekly), Into the Gray Zone takes readers to the edge of a dazzling, humbling frontier in our understanding of the brain: the so-called “gray zone” between full consciousness and brain death. People in this middle place have sustained traumatic brain injuries or are the victims of stroke or degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Many are oblivious to the outside world, and their doctors believe they are incapable of thought. But a sizeable number—as many as twenty percent—are experiencing something different: intact minds adrift deep within damaged brains and bodies. An expert in the field, Adrian Owen led a team that, in 2006, discovered this lost population and made medical history. Scientists, physicians, and philosophers have only just begun to grapple with the implications. Following Owen’s journey of exciting medical discovery, Into the Gray Zone asks some tough and terrifying questions, such as: What is life like for these patients? What can their families and friends do to help them? What are the ethical implications for religious organizations, politicians, the Right to Die movement, and even insurers? And perhaps most intriguing of all: in defining what a life worth living is, are we too concerned with the physical and not giving enough emphasis to the power of thought? What, truly, defines a satisfying life? “Strangely uplifting…the testimonies of people who have returned from the gray zone evoke the mysteries of consciousness and identity with tremendous power” (The New Yorker). This book is about the difference between a brain and a mind, a body and a person. Into the Gray Zone is “a fascinating memoir…reads like a thriller” (Mail on Sunday).

In 2006 Dr Adrian Owen and his team made medical history. They discovered a new realm of consciousness, a twilight zone somewhere between life and death. They called this the Grey Zone.The people who inhabit the Grey Zone are frequently labelled as being irretrievably lost, with no awareness and no sense of self. The shocking truth is that they are often still there, an intact mind trapped deep inside a broken body and brain, hearing everything around them, experiencing emotions, thoughts, pleasure and pain, just like the rest of us. Not quite living, and not quite gone, they have existed silently in these shadowlands. But now, through Dr Owen's pioneering techniques, we can talk to them - and they can talk back. These shifting boundaries of consciousness have shaken the architecture of our sense of self. We have known for a long time that a body does not define a person - but what if a brain does not define a mind? What does it mean if a mind can exist unharmed within a deeply damaged brain?Through cutting edge research and case studies that are poignant, tragic and uplifting, Dr Owen maps this inner universe of the self, showing us what it means to be alive and human.