A molecule away from madness : tales of the hijacked brain / Sara Manning Peskin.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: viii, 214 pages ; 22 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781324002376
- 1324002379
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 612.82 P474 | Available | 33111010810675 | ||||
|
Adult Book
|
Northport Library | NonFiction | 612.82 P474 | Available | 33111009878378 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: the very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are gripping accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake.
A college student cannot remember if she has eaten breakfast. By dinner, she is strapped to a hospital bed, convinced she is battling zombies. A man planning to propose marriage instead becomes violently enraged, gripped by body spasms so severe that he nearly bites off his own tongue. One after another, poor farmers in South Carolina drop dead from a mysterious epidemic of dementia.
With an intoxicating blend of history and intrigue, Sara Manning Peskin invites readers to play medical detective, tracing each diagnosis from the patient to an ailing nervous system. Along the way, Peskin entertains with tales of the sometimes outlandish, often criticized, and forever devoted scientists who discovered it all.
Peskin never loses sight of the human impact of these conditions. Alzheimer's Disease is more than the gradual loss of a loved one; it can be a family's multigenerational curse. The proteins that abound in every cell of our bodies are not simply strings of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon; they are the building blocks of our personalities and relationships. A Molecule Away from Madness is an unputdownable journey into the deepest mysteries of our brains.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-206) and index.
Introduction -- Part one: DNA mutants -- In suspension -- La bobera de la familia -- Has anyone seen my father? -- Part two: rebellious proteins -- A zombie apocalypse -- The muscle man -- Deadly laughter -- Part three: brain invaders and evaders -- Like Lucifer -- An honest liar -- Filth parties -- Epilogue.
"A neurologist regales readers with extraordinary stories of the brain under siege. Our brains are the most complex machines known to humankind, but they have an Achilles heel: The very molecules that allow us to exist can also sabotage our minds. Here are true accounts of unruly molecules and the diseases that form in their wake, from total loss of inhibitions to florid psychosis to compulsive lying. Cognitive neurologist Sara Manning Peskin demystifies the most curious neurological phenomena through the perspective of patients, researchers, and science. She introduces us to a woman stuck in The Walking Dead, a family wracked with Alzheimer's disease, and an entire region gripped by a baffling epidemic. By tracing the molecular causes for neurologic diseases, Peskin highlights cutting-edge developments in cognitive research, making the case that these are the stories that will one day teach us how to cure dementia and other diseases of the brain. A Molecule Away from Madness offers a captivating, singular view of the human brain"-- Provided by publisher.