Recommended books and videos about the brain

Many books and videos explain the brain. They are of varying quality. Here are some I especially recommend.

Recommended books

These are all scholarly books, but more accessible than average. Think Tank is the most accessible.

• Anderson, Michael L. 2014. After Phrenology: Neural Reuse and the Interactive Brain. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
  • A discussion of mapping brain function to brain structure
• Buzsaki, George. 2006. Rhythms of the Brain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • How neurons oscillate together, at various frequencies, to achieve various functions
• Craig, A. D. 2015. How Do You Feel? An Interoceptive Moment with Your Neurobiological Self. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
  • The neuroanatomy that supports interoception — the peripheral nerves that bring interoceptive prediction error to the brain, and the brain system that models the body (creates interoception)
• Linden, David J. 2018. Think Tank: Forty Neuroscientists Explore the Biological Roots of Human Experience. New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Interesting essays on a variety of neuroscience topics by different neuroscientists
• Sporns, Olaf. 2011. Networks of the Brain. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • An overview of the brain as a complex network
• Sterling, Peter and Simon Laughlin. 2015. Principles of Neural Design. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
  • All about general organization principles of the brain
• Striedter, Georg. 2005. Principles of Brain Evolution. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates.
  • A comprehensive overview of vertebrate brain evolution that is suitable for readers with little or no background
• Swanson, Larry. 2012. Brain Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • A discussion of the structural architecture that is shared by mammalian brains

Recommended videos

The UBC Neuroanatomy series from the University of British Columbia shows actual brains and describes the anatomy clearly.  The functional and evolutionary discussion is not completely up to date, but the series is still remarkable for its clarity while looking at actual human tissue.

1. Introduction to the Central Nervous System
2. Introduction to the Spinal Cord
3. Development of Spinal Nerves
4. Overview of the Brainstem
5. Hypothalamus and Limbic System
   • Note: Ignore this video's references to the "limbic system" and discussions of its supposed evolutionary origin. The value of this video is in learning the anatomical designations.
6. Subcortical Fiber Tracts
7. Visual Pathways
8. Basal Ganglia
9. The Cerebellum