Description
Book SynopsisWith the sensitivity of a dedicated doctor and the curiosity of an accomplished scholar, Trimble offers an insightful analysis of how the study of people with paradigmatical neuropsychiatric conditions can be the cornerstone to unraveling some of the mysteries of the cerebral representations of our highest cultural experiences.
Trade ReviewThis book exists... to explain matters of the heart using our knowledge of the mind... A host of professional students, clinicians, educators, and other well-read individuals will find this worthy of a close and careful read. -- Mark H. Fleisher JAMA Perfect for either college-level collections strong in science, health, or social science and for public lending collections alike... An intriguing, lively survey. Midwest Book Review A highly thought-provoking excursion through neuroscience, philosophy, and culture. Scientific American Mind This scholarly, yet provocative, book from an insightful, observant neurologist... is rich with thought-provoking ideas. -- Chris McManus British Journal of Psychiatry It is hard to imagine reading this book carefully without being enriched by the experience. -- Bruce L Miller Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry This text considers crucial and significant questions about the relationship between creativity, belief and the brain. One does not need to agree with the arguments and conclusions to find much of value in this book. I suspect that it will receive a warm critical reception within scientific and medical contexts, and I have no doubt that many receptive readers will also be found amongst an informed general audience. -- Jay Johnston Journal of Religious History Trimble's book has elegantly accomplished its ambitious scope in highlighting the cerebral mechanisms that contribute to the most vital aspects of human experience, thus building solid intellectual bridges between different-and often noncommunicating-research fields. -- Andrea E. Cavanna Cognitive Neuropsychiatry A final chapter integrates the book's core themes, using poetic examples as illustrations-resulting in an evocative meditation on art and biology. Choice
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Where Did It All Begin?
2. The Neuroanatomy of Emotion
3. Language and the Human Brain
4. The Other Way of Using Language
5. The Breakdown of Language
6. Music and the Brain
7. Neurotheology I: Epilepsy
8. Neurotheology II: Other Neurological Conditions
9. God, Music, and the Poetry of the Brain
Epilogue
Appendix I: Brief Biographies of Some Poets with Bipolar Disorder
Appendix II: Some Notable Religious Poets
Notes
References
Index
