Rhawn Joseph - Böcker

This book is written for the clinician, students, and practitioners of neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry, and behavioral neurology. It has been my intent throughout to present a synthesis of ideas and research findings. I have reviewed thousands of articles and research reports and have drawn extensively from diverse sources in philosophy, psychol­ ogy, neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychiatry, physiology, and neuroanatomy in order to produce this text. Of course I have also drawn from my own experience as a clinician and research scientist in preparing this work and in this regard some of my own biases and interests are represented. I have long sought to understand the human mind and the phenomena we experience as conscious awareness. After many years of studying a variety of Western and Eastern psychologists and philosophers, including the Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophical systems, I began, while still an undergraduate student, to formulate my own theory of the mind. I felt, though, that what I had come upon were only pieces of half the puzzle. What I knew of the brain was minimal. Indeed, it came as quite a surprise when one day I came across the journal Brain as I was browsing through the periodicals section of the library. I was awed. An entire journal devoted to the brain was quite a revelation. Nevertheless, although intrigued by the possibilities, I resisted.

This breakthrough book presents, for the first time, the scientific underpinnings of the unconscious. Whereas clinical psychologists embrace the world of the mind and neuroscientists examine the physiology of the brain, neither approach alone can adequately explain the magnificent nuances of this remarkable organ or the realm of the unconscious. Here Dr. Joseph, an internationally recognized expert in the fields of both neuroscience and clinical psychology, weds these two seemingly disparate disciplines into one, generating one of the most astonishing books of our time. He offers compelling stories that show the extent to which humans are unaware of the intense power of our right brains and limbic systems. Although our left brain devises seemingly rational reasons for our choices and behavior, most of us have barely any conception of the stranger that lurks within our right brain. When we humans select a mate or act in a self-defeating manner at work or at home, what forces are truly at play? Why are so many people stunned that they repeatedly end up in destructive relationships? According to Dr.Joseph, the experiences of our childhood are etched onto the very circuitry of our brains and can profoundly influence our decisions on an unconscious level for the rest of our lives. He explicates how our inner Child, Parent, and Adult struggle to gain mastery of our choices. He further demonstrates how these inner forces trigger our defense mechanisms, keeping us in the dark about our true motivations. The revelations of this book will forever change the course of clinical psychology and neuropsychology. By merging clinical psychology and neuroscience, two antagonistic yet complementary disciplines, Dr. Joseph blazes a new path illuminating the most intriguing workings of the deepest recesses of our minds.

In the beginning there was not only life but the ability to communicate and eventually to cooperate among the most basic, primeval creatures. In The Naked Neuron Dr. Joseph - an internationally respected neuroscientist and author of the highly praised The Right Brain and the Unconscious: Discovering the Stranger Within - takes us on an intriguing journey through time as he traces the evolution of communication and language from the most primitive single-celled animals to our earliest ancestors to humans today. As he so clearly demonstrates, we are linked to all levels of animals in a common bond of sensing, feeling, and communication. Be it singing wolves, dancing bees, or writhing rock and roll dancers, all communicate a treasure chest of meaning in the absence of the spoken word. Approximately 700 million years ago, a unique type of cell came into being - the neuron. This "naked" neuron, or nerve cell, lacked a protective fatty sheath. Still, it marked a monumental and world altering development, since it would become the building block of the brain. The naked neuron generated a revolutionary change resulting in a greater complexity and subtlety of thought. Dr.Joseph vividly depicts how neurons conferred on early humans advanced powers of mental and sensory acuity, including the gift of remembering one's past and contemplating the future. Although humans possess much of the same ancient brain tissue as our fellow primates, Dr. Joseph reveals to us the singular features of the human brain that have enabled humans uniquely to develop complex, spoken language. He holds us spellbound, revealing that although the new and old brain tissue are couched within the same brain, each often has difficulty understanding the impulses and language of the other. This ground-breaking book draws on Dr. Joseph's brilliant and original research and theories, fusing the latest discoveries made in neuroscience, sociobiology, and anthropology. He illuminates how the languages of th