''Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind'' (also published as ''Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind'')
is a 1998
popular science
''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
book by
neuroscientist
A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...
V.S. Ramachandran and ''New York Times'' science writer
Sandra Blakeslee, discussing
neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...
and
neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...
as revealed by
case studies of
neurological disorder
A neurological disorder is any disorder of the nervous system. Structural, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakn ...
s.
The book, which began as a lecture presented to the
Society for Neuroscience, features a foreword by neuroscientist and author
Oliver Sacks.
Synopsis
Ramachandran discusses his work with patients exhibiting
phantom limbs, the
Capgras delusion,
pseudobulbar affect and
hemispatial neglect
Hemispatial neglect is a neuropsychological condition in which, after damage to one hemisphere of the brain (e.g. after a stroke), a deficit in attention and awareness towards the side of space opposite brain damage (contralesional space) is obser ...
following
stroke, and religious experiences associated with
epileptic seizure
An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or neural oscillation, synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much o ...
, among other disorders.
Ramachandran uses these cases to illustrate the construction of
body image
Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in a number of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psy ...
, and the functioning of
mood
Mood may refer to:
*Mood (psychology), a relatively long lasting emotional state
Music
*The Mood, a British pop band from 1981 to 1984
* Mood (band), hip hop artists
* ''Mood'' (Jacquees album), 2016
* ''Moods'' (Barbara Mandrell album), 1978
...
,
decision-making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either r ...
,
self-deception, and
artistic skill.
In the final chapter of the book, Ramachandran addresses the so-called
hard problem of consciousness, discussing
qualia
In philosophy of mind, qualia ( or ; singular form: quale) are defined as individual instances of subjective, conscious experience. The term ''qualia'' derives from the Latin neuter plural form (''qualia'') of the Latin adjective '' quālis'' () ...
and various facets of the
self
The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...
.
Reception
Neurology researcher Michael E. Goldberg, writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', described the book as "enthralling not only for its clear, eloquent descriptions of neurological phenomena, their relationship to physiological mechanisms and their integration with philosophy of mind, but also for its portrait of Ramachandran, the enthusiast in search of the secrets of the human mind." On Ramachandran's discursion on consciousness, Goldberg writes, "Here he fails, simply because neuroscience has no clue yet how to render the self concrete...but it is a noble failure."
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick (8 June 1916 – 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the helical stru ...
wrote of the book, "The style is lively and informative, and enlivened by unexpected touches of humor. Through it all shines Rama's good sense, his hard-headedness and his humanity."
''Kirkus Reviews'' wrote that "Ramachandran, who likens himself to a sleuth and has boundless curiosity, leads readers on a riveting trail of detection."
The book has been translated into Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Korean, Turkish, Italian, Dutch, and Greek.
References
{{Authority control
Popular science books
Neuroscience books
1998 non-fiction books
HarperCollins books