Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1.Mind and Matter
Chapter 2. Biophysics: An Empirical Science
Chapter 3. A Philosophical Background
Chapter 4. Neuroscience: A Multidisciplinary Multi-level Field
Chapter 5. The State of Cognitive Neuroscience: An Over-optimistic
Theory
Chapter 6. Brain Energy and Neurotransmission
Chapter 7. Global Brain Energy Supports the State of
Consciousness
Chapter 8. Incremental Brain Energies and the Acts of
Consciousness
Chapter 9. A Life in Humanities and Science
Index
Robert G. Shulman is a biophysicist who has pioneered the use of
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and other spectroscopic techniques
in physics, biochemistry, and brain imaging. His original studies
created active fields of investigation in all these disciplines. He
is the Sterling Professor (Emeritus) of Molecular Biophysics and
Biochemistry at Yale University where he formed the Magnetic
Resonance Center, taught Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Literature,
and was
Director of the Division of Biological Sciences. He is a member of
the National Academy of Sciences and of the Institute of Medicine.
"Robert Shulman is a great biophysicist who has made fundamental
contributions to the elucidation of the genetic code, the use of
nuclear magnetic resonance methods for determining protein
structure, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy for detailing the
kinetics of synaptic transmitters such as glutamate. This
wonderfully illuminating book provides a new perspective on brain
research in relation to consciousness."
-- Maxwell R. Bennett , AO, Professor of Neuroscience and
University Chair, USyd Adjunct Professor of Neuropsychiatry, USC
Founding Director, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Sydney
"As the trickle of psychological studies using functional brain
imaging has become a flood, this new book urging skepticism towards
many of the claims of such studies is greatly welcome. In a
powerful, trenchant, and profoundly well-informed critique of how
brain imaging is often used in cognitive neuropsychology, and
increasingly in educational and legal policy, Professor Shulman, a
pioneer of functional MRI, reminds us that in looking for
reliable
explanations of human behavior by brain processes, we are
intrinsically limited to the physical world."
-- Robert Turner, Director, Department of Neurophysics,
Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
"Few have thought about brain metabolism as much as Shulman. He's a
respected scientist whose NMR studies of metabolism led him
naturally to neuroimaging. He performed groundbreaking work on
brain metabolism and its correlates, helping to lay the foundation
for PET and fMRI. In Brain Imaging, Shulman looks back at a long
career and synthesizes that work with his personal reflections on
philosophy of science... If you care about brains, or about how we
should
learn about them, Shulman raises a host of fascinating issues." --
Colin Klein, Australian National University/University of Illinois
at Chicago, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"The book remains a richly rewarding read. ... Shulman invites the
reader into his mind - and for such a reflective and accomplished
thinker and scientist, this is a rare and valuable privilege.
Regardless of whether one agrees with Shulman, his book is
important in provoking cognitive neuroscientists to question common
assumptions about the practices and products of brain imaging."
--Trends in Cognitive Science
"Robert Shulman belongs to a rare breed. So it is not surprising
that his new book, Brain Imaging: What it Can (and Cannot) Tell Us
About Consciousness, is by turns fascinating, enlightening,
provocative, and frustrating. Thankfully, it is also extremely well
written, combining clarity, erudition, and authority across a range
of topics in neuroimaging and the philosophy of science. The book
remains a richly rewarding read. When discussing the
fundamentals of MRI and its relation to neuronal signalling,
Shulman's unusually deep knowledge shines through. Above all,
Shulman invites the reader into his mind - and for such a
reflective and accomplished thinker
and scientist, this is a rare and valuable privilege." -Anil K.
Seth, Trends in Cognitive Sciences
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