The Living Brain

ISBN: 0393001539

Author: Walter, W. Grey

Condition: New

This is a pioneer work of great importance--the first attempt to record for the general public the tremendous advances of the last twenty years in our knowledge of the mechanics of the brain. These advances have been made possible through the invention of the electroencephalograph (EEG for short), the machine which magnifies the minute electrical impulses transmitted inside the brain. Everyone interested in probing the mysteries of human thought and personality will find his horizons widened by a study of this remarkable book.Dr. Walter begins with a history of the evolution of the brain, and describes to us something of the meaning of "that enchanted loom where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern." He then tells the story of the invention and perfection of the EEG machine and its clinical use for the diagnosis of brain afflictions. He analyzes, with vivid examples, the rhythmic patterns of personality revealed in different "brain prints," and discusses what light these new electronic processes can throw on memory, vision, fatigue, sleep, hypnotism, genius, lunacy, sex disturbances, crime, and other problems of everyday interest. He includes descriptions, with wiring diagrams, of the various electrical toys (including the speculatrix or mechanical turtle) which he has himself invented to demonstrate his theories.With an extraordinary gift for language, a minimum of speculation and a maximum of demonstrated fact, Dr. Walter has written a truly exciting book, a landmark int he advance of human knowledge.