A Beginner's Guide to the Brain: Major Discoveries that Will Change Your Life

With clarity and ease, Johnson makes complex material about the brain accessible and easy to understand. She describes how the brain works and shows why we should care. She explains that we are able to change the brain s physical structure in ways that produce happier lives and stronger communities. This is because the brain is flexible. Our experiences cause the flexible brain to wire and rewire. The experiences we choose can form connections in the brain that raise IQ, strengthen learning and memory, improve decision-making, and balance emotion and reason. Johnson shows that the brain arrives at birth with a moral sense. How we define right and wrong, however, depends on personal experience. Experience can wire the brain to respect others, feel compassion, and seek fairness. It can design a brain that enjoys relationships. Brief and jargon-free, A Beginner s Guide to the Brain will inspire readers to take charge of their own brains and to provide positive experiences for those who share their lives.