Finding Places: The Search For The Brain's GPS - Hardcover

Unni Eikeseth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9811216916 ISBN 13: 9789811216916

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company, 2020

Synopsis

Finding Places tells the story of the ground-breaking discovery of the cells that constitute the brain's positioning system — its GPS. The book takes you into the lab of neuroscientists May-Britt and Edvard Moser and lets you experience the work of the many researchers who revealed how certain incredible cells help rats and humans find their way. It details the discovery of the mind-boggling "grid cells", which generate a hexagonal coordinate system and enable precise positioning and pathfinding. While giving a unique insight into the research process, the author also conveys what these insights mean for you and me. Have you ever wondered how your brain knows where you are, why your memories are tied to places, or why Alzheimer's disease causes people to lose their sense of place? These questions and many more are answered in this book.

The author's goal is not only to document a fascinating scientific achievement that has revolutionized our understanding of the brain, but also to offer insight into the nature of science, and the imagination and creativity that lie behind topnotch research.

About this title

About the Author

Unni Eikeseth has a passion for science stories and has written several popular science books for children and adults. She worked for many years as a TV host and science journalist at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Since 2015, she has been a Science Education Researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Edition details

• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9811216916
• ISBN 13: 9789811216916
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 136