Half a Brain is Enough
Half a Brain is Enough
$70.00
USDHalf A Brain Is Enough is the moving and extraordinary story of Nico, a little boy who at the age of three was given a right hemispherectomy to control intractable epilepsy. Antonio Battro, a distinguished neuroscientist and educationalist, charts what he calls Nico's 'neuroeducation' with humour and compassion in an intriguing book which is part case history, part meditation on the nature of consciousness and the brain, and part manifesto. Throughout the book Battro combines the highest standards of scientific scholarship with a warmth and humanity that guide the reader through the intricacies of brain surgery, neuronal architecture and the application of the latest information technology in education, in a way that is accessible and engaging as well as making a significant contribution to the current scientific literature. Half A Brain Is Enough will be compulsory reading for anyone who is interested in the ways we think and learn.
- Fascinating and moving account of one boy's recovery and education following major brain surgery
- Explores topics such as evolution of the brain, the way the brain works, consciousness, the use of computers in education
- Complex science yet written in an engaging and accessible way will appeal to academics and professionals, as well as the general reader
Reviews & endorsements
"This is a short book for a long personal story about the brain, the mind and education....One day a five-year-old boy came to our laboratory to be introduced to the new digital environment of computers and networks. This book is about Nico, an exceptional child who, two years before our meeting, had been subjected to a right hemispherectomy because of severe and intractable epilepsy. There are about one hundred people in the world with this condition, but every one is unique. This particular boy became my friend and my pupil, started school successfully and is now enjoying the expanding new world of knowledge. I am privileged to work with him. He has changed my views on the brain, education and mental development. I thank him daily for the unique opportunity he gives us to learn more about ourselves. In particular to learn that there is never a half reasoning with half a brain."
"The book is not highly technical, and is suited to the general reader, and at the same time contains detailed notes, with pointers to relevant literature, for those interested in following up on the scientific and medical issues raised in greater depth." Metapsychology Online Review
"At age three, Nico had most of the right side of his brain removed or disconnected to control life-threatening epileptic seisures. After follwoing Nico's development for years, Antonio Battro, M.D. . . concludes that Half a Brain is Enough. Apart from some problems with motor skills, Nico seems quite normal. How can this be? Battro theorizes that Nico's brain restructured itself into a "new" brain--a speculation as fascinating as Nico himself." Psychology Today
"Battro's computer-based approach to rehabilitation should interest both clinicians and biopsychologists." Publisher's Weekly
"Half a Brain is Enough is a charming tale of a young boy who at age 3 underwent a right hemispherectomy for intractable epilepsy. This short book is in part a chronicle of Nico's medical history and psychosocial history and in part a treatise on the brain, mind, and education. . . . it can also serve as a useful reference for those interested in the history of hemispherectomy and the theory of brain remodeling. The author's enthusiasm and fascination for these topics is abundantly obvious from the first to the last pages." Journal of Neurosurgery
Product details
January 2001Hardback
9780521783071
136 pages
237 × 160 × 18 mm
0.355kg
6 b/w illus. 10 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Glossary
- 1. The heart is in the brain
- 2. Sculpting a new brain
- 3. Compensatory analysis
- 4. First schooling
- 5. The cortical shift
- 6. The double brain
- 7. Brain, education and development
- Notes
- References
- Index.
