Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Beyond Boundaries - Review

I found Beyond Boundaries at my Public Library. A well written book about the fascinating subject of neuroscience. Since all of my own Science Fiction titles have "brain anomalies" as standard for most of my characters, I am drawn to neuroscience books. I especially appreciated the analogies used by Duke University neuroscientist/author Miguel Nicolelis: music and futbol (soccer)--two of my passions. I think that helped the book resonate well with me. Historical information about the neuroscience through several centuries was quite interesting, as well as the current different camps of approach to research.

The overall book explains and verifies the ability of the brain to interface with non-biological entities. The publisher's info on the book page states: "Imagine living in a world where people use their computers, drive their cars, and communicate with one another simply by thinking....His lab is now paving the way for a new treatment for Parkinson's, silk-thin exoskeletons to grant mobility to the paralyzed, and breathtaking leaps in space exploration, global communication, manufacturing, and more."

Beyond Boundaries was published in print in 2011, and is now available electronically. I'm wondering if the new edition will contain updates on some of the original books predictions. In the last chapters of the books, Nicolelis had speculated on where all the research was now headed. And already many of his hopes and projected uses for brain-machine interfaces have come to be. New organizations are springing up to advance this, too. Interesting concepts that have me anticipating breakthroughs in medical applications--and sooner than later.

Beyond Boundaries is a good introduction to this future potential for our brains.

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