The Future of the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's Neuroscience.

STEVEN ROSE 

When they want to define what it means to be human, scientists focus on the brain. In this book, Rose summarizes in technical detail the long history of neuroscience leading to great advances made in the past decade. He begins with an overview of how the brain evolved to give people their seemingly unique capacity to reason. He then examines how the brain develops and matures in a person's lifetime and how researchers have sought to explain human behavior and intelligence by the functioning of various brain areas. In such diseases as depression, Parkinson's, and schizophrenia, researchers now use pharmaceuticals to manipulate brain function. However, Rose sees the potential for trouble as scientists seek to modify an increasing array of behaviors through drugs. He asks whether this trend could change how we define humanness. He warns against the view that the brain can be fully understood by the workings of its neurons, signals, and genes. He argues that future neuroscientists must recognize the influence of history, free will, and the environment on human consciousness. Oxford, 2005, 344 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $28.00.