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Mirroring Brains combines neuroscience, psychology and philosophy
to provide a comprehensive account of one of the most intriguing
discoveries of the last 30 years-the discovery of mirror neurons.
These neurons are characterized by firing both when someone
performs an action, and also when they observe the same action
being performed by others. Whereas it was widely regarded as
characteristic of only a small subset of neurons, recent
discoveries have shown that the mirror property is a fundamental
principle of the functioning of the whole brain. Exploring this
discovery, Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia explain how we are able to
immediately understand others' actions and emotions, providing a
deeper understanding of how we relate to each other and introducing
the idea of 'understanding from the inside'. Mirroring Brains
provides a new interpretation of the property and function of
mirror neurons, allowing readers an insight into a fundamental
principle of brain function. Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia provide a
rich survey of the main neuronal and psychological findings
concerning the mirror mechanism, plus an extensive discussion of
its potential role in social cognition. It is an essential read for
neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, sociologists, and
anyone who is interested in understanding how we relate to each
other.
Everyone knows what consciousness is: it is what vanishes when we
fall into dreamless sleep and reappears when we wake up or when we
dream. However, we become less and less confident when we are
called to answer fundamental questions about the relationships
between consciousness and the physical world. Why is the cerebral
cortex associated with consciousness, but not the liver, the heart,
the cerebellum or other neural structures? Why does consciousness
fade during deep sleep, while cortical neurons remain active? Can
unresponsive patients with an island of active cortex surrounded by
widespread damage be conscious? Is an artificial system that
outperforms people at driving, recognizing faces and objects, and
answering difficult questions conscious? Using the Integrated
Information Theory (IIT) as a guiding principle, Sizing up
Consciousness explores these questions, taking the reader along a
fascinating journey from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum,
from wakefulness to sleep, anesthesia, and coma, supercomputers,
octopuses, dolphins, and much more besides. By translating
theoretical principles into practical measurements, the book
outlines a preliminary attempt to identify a general rule to size
up the capacity for consciousness within the human skull and
beyond. Sizing up Consciousness is a short, accessible book,
spanning neuronal activity to existential considerations and is
essential reading for anyone interested in awareness and cognition.
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