The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind PDF Author: Martina Zimmermann
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350121827
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by The Wellcome Trust. The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind charts changing cultural understandings of dementia and alzheimer's disease in scientific and cultural texts across the 20th Century. Reading a range of texts from the US, UK, Europe and Japan, the book examines how the language of dementia – regarding the loss of identity, loss of agency, loss of self and life – is rooted in scientific discourse and expressed in popular and literary texts. Following changing scientific understandings of dementia, the book also demonstrates how cultural expressions of the experience and dementia have fed back into the way medical institutions have treated dementia patients. The book includes a glossary of scientific terms for non-specialist readers.

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind PDF Author: Martina Zimmermann
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350121827
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by The Wellcome Trust. The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind charts changing cultural understandings of dementia and alzheimer's disease in scientific and cultural texts across the 20th Century. Reading a range of texts from the US, UK, Europe and Japan, the book examines how the language of dementia – regarding the loss of identity, loss of agency, loss of self and life – is rooted in scientific discourse and expressed in popular and literary texts. Following changing scientific understandings of dementia, the book also demonstrates how cultural expressions of the experience and dementia have fed back into the way medical institutions have treated dementia patients. The book includes a glossary of scientific terms for non-specialist readers.

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind PDF Author: Martina Zimmermann (Researcher in health humanities)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781350121812
Category : Dementia in literature
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind charts changing cultural understandings of dementia and alzheimer's disease in scientific and cultural texts across the 20th Century. Reading a range of texts from the US, UK, Europe and Japan, the book examines how the language of dementia - regarding the loss of identity, loss of agency, loss of self and life - is rooted in scientific discourse and expressed in popular and literary texts. Following changing scientific understandings of dementia, the book also demonstrates how cultural expressions of the experience and dementia have fed back into the way medical institutions have treated dementia patients"--

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind PDF Author: Martina Zimmermann
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Part IV illustrates how scientific research focuses on disease prediction and prevention, while concurrent patient advocacy has led to redrafting of a biopsychosocial approach. Fiction and life-writing demonstrate a growing socio-cultural and healthcare appreciation of the patient's identity, challenging the concepts of loss and degeneration that continue to dominate socioeconomic thinking.

Losing My Mind

Losing My Mind PDF Author: Thomas DeBaggio
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743216725
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
When Tom DeBaggio turned fifty-seven in 1999, he thought he was about to embark on the relaxing golden years of retirement -- time to spend with his family, his friends, the herb garden he had spent decades cultivating and from which he made a living. Then, one winter day, he mentioned to his doctor during a routine exam that he had been stumbling into forgetfulness, making his work difficult. After that fateful visit, and a subsequent battery of tests over several months, DeBaggio joined the legion of twelve million others afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. But under such a curse, DeBaggio was also given one of the greatest gifts: the ability to chart the ups and downs of his own failing mind. Losing My Mind is an extraordinary first-person account of early onset Alzheimer's -- the form of the disease that ravages younger, more alert minds. DeBaggio started writing on the first day of his diagnosis and has continued despite his slipping grasp on one of life's greatest treasures, memory. In an inspiring and detailed account, DeBaggio paints a vivid picture of the splendor of memory and the pain that comes from its loss. Whether describing the happy days of a youth spent in a much more innocent time or evaluating how his disease has affected those around him, DeBaggio poignantly depicts one of the most important parts of our lives -- remembrance -- and how we often take it for granted. But to DeBaggio, memory is more than just an account of a time long past, it is one's ability to function, to think, and ultimately, to survive. As his life becomes reduced to moments of clarity, the true power of thought and his ability to connect to the world shine through, and in DeBaggio's case, it is as much in the lack of functioning as it is in the ability to function that one finds love, hope and the relaxing golden years of peace. At once an autobiography, a medical history and a testament to the beauty of memory, Losing My Mind is more than just a story of Alzheimer's, it is the captivating tale of one man's battle to stay connected with the world and his own life.

On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's

On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's PDF Author: Greg O'Brien
Publisher: Good Night books
ISBN: 0991340191
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
This is a book about living with Alzheimer’s, not dying with it. It is a book about hope, faith, and humor—a prescription far more powerful than the conventional medication available today to fight this disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the US—and the only one of these diseases on the rise. More than 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia; about 35 million people worldwide. Greg O’Brien, an award-winning investigative reporter, has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and is one of those faceless numbers. Acting on long-term memory and skill coupled with well-developed journalistic grit, O’Brien decided to tackle the disease and his imminent decline by writing frankly about the journey. O’Brien is a master storyteller. His story is naked, wrenching, and soul searching for a generation and their loved ones about to cross the threshold of this death in slow motion. On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s is a trail-blazing roadmap for a generation—both a “how to” for fighting a disease, and a “how not” to give up!

On obscure diseases of the brain, and disorders of the mind

On obscure diseases of the brain, and disorders of the mind PDF Author: Forbes Benignus Winslow
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Brain
Languages : en
Pages : 618

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Book Description


Mind Thief

Mind Thief PDF Author: Han Yu
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231552769
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
Alzheimer’s disease, a haunting and harrowing ailment, is one of the world’s most common causes of death. Alzheimer’s lingers for years, with patients’ outward appearance unaffected while their cognitive functions fade away. Patients lose the ability to work and live independently, to remember and recognize. There is still no proven way to treat Alzheimer’s because its causes remain unknown. Mind Thief is a comprehensive and engaging history of Alzheimer’s that demystifies efforts to understand the disease. Beginning with the discovery of “presenile dementia” in the early twentieth century, Han Yu examines over a century of research and controversy. She presents the leading hypotheses for what causes Alzheimer’s; discusses each hypothesis’s tangled origins, merits, and gaps; and details their successes and failures. Yu synthesizes a vast amount of medical literature, historical studies, and media interviews, telling the gripping stories of researchers’ struggles while situating science in its historical, social, and cultural contexts. Her chronicling of the trajectory of Alzheimer’s research deftly balances rich scientific detail with attention to the wider implications. In narrating the attempts to find a treatment, Yu also offers a critical account of research and drug development and a consideration of the philosophy of aging. Wide-ranging and accessible, Mind Thief is an important book for all readers interested in the challenge of Alzheimer’s.

The Disordered Mind

The Disordered Mind PDF Author: Eric R. Kandel
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374716102
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
A Nobel Prize–winning neuroscientist’s probing investigation of what brain disorders can tell us about human nature Eric R. Kandel, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his foundational research into memory storage in the brain, is one of the pioneers of modern brain science. His work continues to shape our understanding of how learning and memory work and to break down age-old barriers between the sciences and the arts. In his seminal new book, The Disordered Mind, Kandel draws on a lifetime of pathbreaking research and the work of many other leading neuroscientists to take us on an unusual tour of the brain. He confronts one of the most difficult questions we face: How does our mind, our individual sense of self, emerge from the physical matter of the brain? The brain’s 86 billion neurons communicate with one another through very precise connections. But sometimes those connections are disrupted. The brain processes that give rise to our mind can become disordered, resulting in diseases such as autism, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. While these disruptions bring great suffering, they can also reveal the mysteries of how the brain produces our most fundamental experiences and capabilities—the very nature of what it means to be human. Studies of autism illuminate the neurological foundations of our social instincts; research into depression offers important insights on emotions and the integrity of the self; and paradigm-shifting work on addiction has led to a new understanding of the relationship between pleasure and willpower. By studying disruptions to typical brain functioning and exploring their potential treatments, we will deepen our understanding of thought, feeling, behavior, memory, and creativity. Only then can we grapple with the big question of how billions of neurons generate consciousness itself.

Maximum Brainpower

Maximum Brainpower PDF Author: Shlomo Breznitz
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345526155
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
“A wonderfully helpful book . . . After reading it, you will understand what you must do for your brain, and why you must do it.”—Norman Doidge, M.D., New York Timesbestselling author of The Brain That Changes Itself Did you know that experts are often less mentally agile than jacks-of-all-trades? That crossword puzzles and sudoku are of minimal help in building brainpower? That multitasking poses unique dangers to the brain? Cognitive psychologist Shlomo Breznitz knows—and what’s more, he knows what to do about it. In Maximum Brainpower, Breznitz and technologist Collins Hemingway provide both an in-depth look at how the brain works and proven methods to increase its capabilities. Armed with the results of cutting-edge research, they champion the stimulus of continual change over the deadening effects of comfortable routine, show how to separate good mental stress from bad, and demonstrate how hope and socialization can help defend against forgetfulness, memory loss, even dementia. Filled with colorful real-life stories and fascinating psychological experiments, this revelatory work will help adults of any age keep their minds sharp, healthy, and cognitively fit throughout life. It’s a no-brainer! Praise for Maximum Brainpower “Everyone knows the importance of physical fitness; less appreciated is the necessity of cognitive fitness. How do you maintain an exercised, stimulated, flexible brain? Start by reading this book.”—David Eagleman, New York Times bestselling author of Incognito “Profound, rich, and enriching . . . Because of its forceful suggestions, its analyses, and its wide knowledge, this book is well worth reading. And rereading.”—Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and author “Many of us are petrified of Alzheimer’s disease, strokes, and other maladies that impair the functioning of the brain. Breznitz and Hemingway can deliver no ‘magic bullet’ to prevent dementia. But their book does get you thinking about what you can do to develop and maintain your gray matter, build on the plasticity of the brain, and increase the likelihood that you’ll live not just a longer but a fuller life.”—The Huffington Post “Most books about healthy brain maintenance just give you the ‘how’; this one tells you why. And it helps you do it.”—Rita Carter, author of Mapping the Mind

The Complete Guide to Memory

The Complete Guide to Memory PDF Author: Richard Restak
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510770283
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
A comprehensive guide to understanding how memory works, how memory forms, the mind-body connection, and more! In the busy, information-filled world in which we live, it’s often easy to forget things and hard to keep track of how details get stored in our brain. The Complete Guide to Memory serves to provide a one-stop resource that covers the essentials on memory. World-renowned memory expert, Dr. Richard Restak, addresses the following topics in detail: How memories form The different kinds of memory Changes in brain structure The mind-body connection The relationship between memory and emotional regulation And much more! With tips and tricks to manage memory well for people of all ages and personal examples of the techniques used, this book leaves no stone unturned.