Main description:

This text balances experimental and clinical perspectives with a survey of a variety of mental functions. In a conversational style, the authors provide clear, accessible explanations of difficult concepts, making use of analogies and case studies to illustrate them. A consistent structure throughout each chapter defines a mental function and the role of each part or parts of the brain in that function, followed by a discussion of what neuropsychological syndromes say about the cognitive and neural organization of the mental function.

Contents:

PART I: FUNDAMENTALS. 1. Intro to the Nervous System. 2. How Neurons Communicate. 3. Methods. 4. Lateralization of Function. PART II: NEURAL BASES OF MENTAL FUNCTIONS. 5. Motor Control. 6. Early Perceptual Processing. 7. Object Recognition. 8. Spatial Processing. 9. Language. 10. Memory. 11. Attention. 12. Executive Function. 13. Emotion & Social Processing. PART III: BROAD-BASED PHENOMENA. 14. Psychopathology. 15. Plasticity and Development. 16. Generalized Cognitive Disorders.