Root of Thought, The: Unlocking Glia— the Brain Cell That Will Help Us Sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury, and Treat Brain Disease
- By Andrew Koob
- Published Jun 14, 2009 by FT Press. Part of the FT Press Science series.
- Copyright 2009
- Dimensions: 6 X 9
- Pages: 192
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-715171-3
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-715171-4
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Read an interview with Andrew Koob on ScientificAmerican.com
Product Author Bios
Until recently, neuroscientists thought glial cells did little more than hold your brain together. But in the past few years, they've discovered that glial cells are extraordinarily important. In fact, they may hold the key to understanding intelligence, treating psychiatric disorders and brain injuries and perhaps even curing fatal conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's Disease. In The Root of Thought, leading neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Koob reveals what we've learned about these remarkable cells, from their unexpected role in information storage to their function as adult stem cells that can keep your brain growing and adapting longer than scientists ever imagined possible. Ranging from fruit flies to Einstein, Koob reveals the surprising correlation between intelligence and the brain's percentage of glial cells - and why these cells' unique wavelike communications may be especially conducive to the fluid information processing human beings depend upon. You'll learn how crucial glial cells grow and develop... why almost all brain tumors are comprised of glial cells and the potential implications for treatment... even the apparent role of glial cells in your every thought and dream!
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72 of 76 people found the following review helpful
The science is interesting, the book is not, By Michael Weiler (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia--the Brain Cell That Will Help Us Sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury, and Treat Brain Disease (Hardcover)
The Root of Thought is Andrew Koob's book about the emerging research suggesting that the glial cells in our brain ("the other 90% of our brain") may serve more of a vital role in thought processing and other brain functions than was ever previously understood. Koob is a brain scientist, and it is clear from the very beginning of his work that it was written by a researcher and not someone more classically trained in literature. The book seems to have been written without an intended audience in mind because it is this reviewer's opinion that it is not nearly accessible enough to be enjoyed by the casual reader yet oversimplified for the neuroscience aficionado. As a reader, it was difficult to become engaged with the text because it seemed to assume a fair bit of neuroscience fluency that the average individual does not possess. As a college biomedical engineering major I found myself frustrated by a lack of detail at times and at other times inundated with references to brain...
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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
You can't tell a book by it's cover, By
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This review is from: The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia--the Brain Cell That Will Help Us Sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury, and Treat Brain Disease (Hardcover)
The cover of this book says "The Root of Thought", "Unlocking glia The brain cell that will help us sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury and Treat Brain Disease" unfortunately there is nothing in this book that validates any of those claims.It is unclear what audience the author had in mind. It is too complex for a layman and over simplified for anyone with any knowledge of neuroscience. It comes down to glia has calcium currents and we don't know what role it plays as it hasn't been studied.I was disappointed by this book and forced myself to finish it in case it got better. It didn't. I found this book almost painful to read with its mixed metaphors and bad humor " It is wise to listen to a guy who'll go as far as to cover his own eyes with tin foil." Regarding Volta. Or "Shocking the hell out of you will surely get you out of a funk." Regarding shock treatments for depression,. Or regarding statistical significance "a scientific term to mean that it was "pretty different... Read more
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Not the best, By
This review is from: The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia--the Brain Cell That Will Help Us Sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury, and Treat Brain Disease (Hardcover)
This is a rather speculative work. There are a good many "maybe"s, "might"s, and "perhaps"es. Perhaps not enough. (But see below.) There is also the occasional rhetorical excess: "we are our astrocytes." Some stylistic infelicities, the author's self-characterization as a brave and lonely voice and a vendetta against Ramon y Cajal detract only slightly from the overall interest. Attempts at the common touch through pop culture references and a fondness for similes don't always serve the writer well.BUT data supporting Koob's main point on the significance of neuroglia, specifically astrocytes, for mental functioning is coming in. For example, work cited by [...] in two recent articles: 1."Astrocytes help separate man from mouse" Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center: "Our study suggests that astrocytes are part of the higher cognitive functioning that defines who we are as humans." (3/23/09) 2."Star-shaped cells in the brain aid... Read more |
Online Sample Chapter
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Cities and Highways 1
Chapter 2: Dust Settles on the Battlefield 5
Chapter 3: I Sing the Body Electric 15
Chapter 4: Meet the Astrocyte 29
Chapter 5: Riding the Calcium Wave 41
Chapter 6: Hey Neuron, It’s Me, Glia 55
Chapter 7: Developing Relationships 65
Chapter 8: The Time Machine 77
Chapter 9: Sing a New Song 89
Chapter 10: Albert Einstein’s Abundant Astrocytes 99
Chapter 11: I Dream of Glia 111
Chapter 12: Gliadegenerative Disease 121
Chapter 13: Don’t Insult Me 133
Chapter 14: The Seething Breeding Glioma 145
Chapter 15: Cities and Highways Revisited 155
Acknowledgments 159
About the Author 161
Index 163
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