Livewired: Uncovering the Living, Ever-Shifting Tapestry of the Brain

The brain is typically portrayed as an organ with a map of regions dedicated to specific tasks. But, says acclaimed neuroscientist and bestselling author David Eagleman, that textbook model is wrong. The brain is a dynamic system; the connections between its cells are constantly blossoming, dying and reconfiguring. Drawing on up-to-the-minute research, Eagleman takes us on a fascinating journey into brain plasticity to discover how a child can function with one half of his brain removed and how a blind mountain climber can use an electrode grid on his tongue to ‘see’. He proves how the brain optimizes its circuitry based on the tasks relevant to goals and survival and how this knowledge opens the door to dazzling new technologies. The magic of our brains lies in the way they unceasingly re-weave themselves to form an electric, living fabric. Eagleman gets to the heart of who we are and how the brain plasticity revolution is lighting up the path of the future by analysing how our most vital organ works in a way that has never been done before.

Reviews of Livewired: Uncovering the Living, Ever-Shifting Tapestry of the Brain

* David Eagleman is a brilliant neuroscientist, a bestselling author and a man of enormous discernment The Sunday Times * The hottest thing in neuroscience The Times * The rock star of neuroscience Telegraph * A well-written popular science book, with a clear narrative, friendly explanations that respect both the lay-reader's intelligence and their ignorance, and a plethora of weird facts that make you nudge the person next to you and say 'Listen to this! Independent on Sunday on Incognito * Eagleman provides an excellent overview of the workings of our most vital organ Sunday Times on Incognito * You will not read a more dazzling book this year — STEPHEN FRY on Sum