Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are |  | Author: Joseph LeDoux
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 17018
Media: Paperback
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0142001783
Dewey Decimal Number: 612.82
EAN: 9780142001783
ASIN: 0142001783
Publication Date: January 28, 2003
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Amazon.com Review
A middle-aged neuroscientist walking down Bourbon Street spots a T-shirt that reads, "I don't know, so maybe I'm not." This stimulus zooms from eyes to brain, neuron by neuron, via tiny junctions called synapses. The results? An immediate chuckle and (sometime later) a groundbreaking book titled The Synaptic Self. To Joseph LeDoux, the simple question, "What makes us who we are?" represents the driving force behind his 20-plus years of research into the cognitive, emotional, and motivational functions of the brain. LeDoux believes the answer rests in the synapses, key players in the brain's intricately designed communication system. In other words, the pathways by which a person's "hardwired" responses (nature) mesh with his or her unique life experiences (nurture) determine that person's individuality. Here, LeDoux nimbly compresses centuries of philosophy, psychology, and biology into an amazingly clear picture of humanity's journey toward understanding the self. Equally readable is his comprehensive science lesson, where detailed circuit speak reads like an absorbing--yet often humorous--mystery novel. Skillfully presenting research studies and findings alongside their various implications, LeDoux makes a solid case for accepting a synaptic explanation of existence and provides to the reader generous helpings of knowledge, amusement, and awe along the way. --Liane Thomas
Product Description
In 1996 Joseph LeDoux's The Emotional Brain presented a revelatory examination of the biological bases of our emotions and memories. Now, the world-renowned expert on the brain has produced with a groundbreaking work that tells a more profound story: how the little spaces between the neurons-the brain's synapses--are the channels through which we think, act, imagine, feel, and remember. Synapses encode the essence of personality, enabling each of us to function as a distinctive, integrated individual from moment to moment. Exploring the functioning of memory, the synaptic basis of mental illness and drug addiction, and the mechanism of self-awareness, Synaptic Self is a provocative and mind-expanding work that is destined to become a classic.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
 How Our Brains Become November 21, 2009
Miriam Haynes
Received item as described, fast delivery, will purchase from vendor again
Thank you
M Haynes
 An Engaging Exploration of How Our Synapses Make Up Who We Are September 27, 2009
Ginger Dunn
As someone who shares a great curiosity for all things neuro-related, Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are, was an entertaining and engaging exploration into the many complexities that are at work inside a person's brain. While I am certainly an enthusiastic reader on the topic of neuroscience, I am by no means an authority on the discipline. However, Joseph LeDoux crafts an entertaining and relevant account that both novices and brain experts can enjoy. Following the success of his previous book, The Emotional Brain, the renowned neuroscientist convincingly articulates how in essence, we are our synapses.
The single best description I can think to describe this book is all encompassing. From the book's onset, LeDoux makes it clear that his aim is to leave no stone unturned so that regardless of any previously acquired knowledge, each reader will be able to fundamentally grasp each aspect of his proposed scientific formulation. The book really takes off in chapter two entitled, "The Most Unaccountable of Machinery," where LeDoux enlists each reader in a "crash course on what neurons are, how synapses connect them together, and why synaptic connections are the key to brain function." Arguably the driest section of the book, LeDoux is still able to engage the reader by supplementing the chapter with numerous figures and illustrations. Additionally, LeDoux uses the entire book to highlight and in some cases build on the groundwork laid out by other researchers. For example, in the chapter entitled "Small Change," LeDoux synthesizes the complete history of how the term synaptic plasticity came to be. With so many research references, it is no surprise that LeDoux's compilation of the notes, citations, and index sections comprise one-fourth of the book. While at times it could be a little daunting to keep all of the referenced scientists and studies straight, ultimately the inclusion of such background information only served to frame and solidify LeDoux's take away point: you are your synapses.
Following the abbreviated introduction to neuroscience, LeDoux finally begins to get down to business. In chapter ten, "Synaptic Sickness," LeDoux highlights the neurological pathologies of schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety in order to illustrate his view of how synaptic changes underlie mental illness. Citing the age-old nature versus nurture debate, LeDoux assumes an intermediary stance, asserting that both are mechanisms which alter the transmission and organization of the brain's synapses. For example, in the case of schizophrenia, LeDoux notes that in identical twins there is a fifty-percent chance that both will share the condition, leaving the remaining fifty-percent unaccounted for by genetics. While critics of the biological-based treatment approach (which cites chemical imbalances as the root of mental illness) use this statistic to advocate psychotherapy, LeDoux argues that neither effectively addresses the problem at its true source: the synapse, where all neural information is transmitted. Because alterations in chemical messengers undoubtedly have the capability to affect neural transmission at the synapse, it is easy to accept the notion that correcting this imbalance can restore proper neural functioning. On the other hand, experience can also impact the synapse in the form of plasticity, a consequence of learning, which explains why psychotherapy can be helpful in the treatment of mental disorders. LeDoux points out that due to the complexities of the brain, it is impossible to untangle which mechanisms are specifically causing the malfunction when both ultimately affect the same thing, the synapse. Furthermore, LeDoux notes, "regardless of whether the initial cause is social stress or a genetic time bomb, unless the changes in the brain that accompany the disorder can be reversed or circumvented, the problem is unlikely to dissipate."
In the final chapter, "Who Are You," LeDoux delivers his most convincing argument for why synapses are central to what makes a person who they are. Comparing the brain to a parallel processor computer, LeDoux asserts that " life requires many brain functions, functions require systems, and systems are made of synaptically connected neurons." Because we are alike in the fundamental components (neurons) and overall system (brain) which unifies us as human, in LeDoux's view, "the particular way those neurons are connected is distinct, and that uniqueness, in short, is what makes us who we are." To illustrate this idea, LeDoux outlines seven principles, which he believes are the mechanisms by which the synapse coordinates the self. In particular, principle five (Downwardly Mobile Thoughts Coordinate Parallel Plasticity) reasons that by embodying thoughts as synaptic transmissions, brain activity as a result of one thought can inspire activity in other brain systems involved in perception, motivation, etc, resulting in elaborate convergence zones. From LeDoux's formulation, "we can begin to see how the way we think about ourselves can have powerful influences of the way we are, and who we become...one's self-image is self-perpetuating." In this way, LeDoux points out that when our parallel processing becomes unhinged at the synapse, that is when neurological malfunctions can be seen. In his closing paragraph LeDoux points out the inherent "curse" of such a complex synaptic system that is responsible for making each of us individuals, while noting the contrasting beauty in a system that can accommodate an endless amount of new connections and possibilities.
Taken as a whole I found this book to be an intriguing and engaging read. Regardless of your school of thought, LeDoux showcases a well thought-out scientific formulation that would interest anyone who has ever wondered how our brains make us the person that we are.
Great intro into the world of the synapses April 11, 2009
B. Young (Clinton, UT USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is well written and easy to read. LeDoux goes into great detail on how the brain creates reality through the use of neurotransmitters and other chemicals and how certain brain structures interact to help form a congruent experience however the binding problem was still not answered. He does suggest oscillations and patterns of energy. The book is a great introduction into the world on neuroscience and how are brains make up who and what we are.
LeDoux's book began to dry out around chapter six and it became hard to follow and read. He made up for it with the last two chapters. The one on mental illness and how psychotropic and antipsychotic drugs work was informative and interesting. The last chapter focused on the brains flexibility and ability to form new synapses.
Highly recommended.
Magnificent in its Simplistic Approach to the Self October 21, 2008
S. R. Eshraghi
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
LeDoux provides a fascinating take on the big question facing researchers of the brain: "What makes us who we are?" He postulates that all functions of an individual can be explained by the synapses through which they are executed.
I was attracted to Synaptic Self because throughout my undergraduate studies I have focused on neuroscience, psychology, and the interaction between the two fields. I found the main idea to be a magnificent extension from the recent findings of neuroscience research, but once I finished the book, I was left with the feeling that the conclusion wasn't complete--more is to be said on the topic of the self. I also feel that LeDoux could have avoided the excessive name-dropping by giving more straightforward examples because, at times, the dense experimental evidence took away from the point he was trying to make.
A general reader may find many parts of this book challenging to understand due to the intricacies of the subject matter. Contrarily, I believe LeDoux has attempted to make this book as accessible as it can be by using the following techniques: (1) he uses simple line drawings to illustrate complex ideas; (2) he gives numerous examples from past and present research to support the major points made; and (3) he structures the book and writes with a style much like an informative textbook to get his ideas across to the general consumer.
Joseph LeDoux's experimental work examines the underpinnings of emotion and memory in the brain, focusing efforts on the amygdala and the hippocampus. His lab uses classical fear conditioning in order to study how traumatic memories are formed, stored, and retrieved. Since LeDoux's previous book, The Emotional Brain, obviously deals with emotion, Synaptic Self focuses on what is left: memory.
The overall purpose of the book is stated the following way: "[I]n order to understand the self, we need to explain how brain systems underlying thinking, emotion, and motivation (the mental trilogy) develop under the influence of nature and nurture, and how these systems make it possible for us to attend to, perceive, learn about, and store and retrieve experiences" (p. 32). LeDoux breaks this goal down into several smaller portions that build upon each other: (1) basic "machinery" of the brain; (2) development of the brain and synapses; (3) two kinds of memory--explicit and implicit--and how they are formed (LTP); (5) integration of the mental trilogy--cognition, emotion, and motivation; (6) result of a disconnect in the mental trilogy; and, to put it all together, (7) seven principles of how synapses create the self
Basic "Machinery" of the Brain (Ch. 3)
In order to set the stage for his main topic, LeDoux gives a brief and informative introduction to the mechanisms of the brain. He begins with a history of neuroscience that leads into a discussion of the structure of neurons, the conduction of action potentials, and, finally, transmission at synapses. He ends the chapter with this statement: "While synapses themselves don't account for everything the brain does, they do participate crucially in every act or thought that we have, and in every emotion we express and experience. Synapses are ultimately the key to the brain's many functions, and thus to the self" (p. 64). I believe that this statement sums up the entire book.
Development of the Brain (Ch. 4)
LeDoux examines the development of synapses through two very different theories: selectionist nativism and instructional constructionism. The former theory states that synapses are pruned, in a sense, by experiences. The latter theory postulates that new synapses are built. He concludes that the brain develops through both of these mechanisms.
Two Types of Memory (Ch. 5 and 6)
Through an in depth analysis of implicit (nondeclarative) and explicit (declarative) memories and how they are created, LeDoux comes to this conclusion: "The essence of who you are is stored as synaptic interactions in and between the various systems of your brain. As we learn more about the synaptic mechanisms of memory, we learn more about the neural basis of the self" (p. 173).
The Mental Trilogy (Ch. 7, 8, and 9)
These chapters stretched on for me as they examined cognitive, emotional, and motivational functions of the brain, respectively. His main point from these chapters is that mental life involves complex interactions between many systems and circuits in the brain.
Perversion of the Mental Trilogy (Ch. 10)
Here, LeDoux takes the chance to examine a few diseases of the brain and how the treatments for them are engineered to act at the synaptic level. The diseases he examines are schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders. He concludes that these diseases are caused by a disjunction between or within a component of the mental trilogy. I felt that this chapter was out of place
Seven Principles (Ch. 11)
In the final chapter, LeDoux proposes seven principles to explain "how synaptic plasticity in multiple neural systems is coordinated in the process of assembling, and maintaining, the self" (p. 307). Basically, he states that the simultaneous divergence and convergence of information from several systems in the brain creates our memories, and those memories make us who we are. His attempt in this chapter is bold and almost complete, but it left me wanting to read a more in depth explanation.
Overall, I would recommend Synaptic Self to all readers interested in a valid, fascinating, and scientific explanation of individuality. Looking back, I think that it is appropriate for the book to leave you with a sense of incompleteness because it is impossible with the current methods of science to discover absolutely everything about the brain.
The Guide to Nearly Everything About YOU! March 9, 2008
Alon Oscar Deutsch (Tampa, Florida)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a miniature bible of the brain. It is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing and persuasive books I have had the pleasure of reading (multiple times), and one from which I will always benefit.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
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