In this Book
- The Encultured Brain: An Introduction to Neuroanthropology
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: The MIT Press
summary
The brain and the nervous system are our most cultural organs. Our nervous system is especially immature at birth, our brain disproportionately small in relation to its adult size and open to cultural sculpting at multiple levels. Recognizing this, the new field of neuroanthropology places the brain at the center of discussions about human nature and culture. Anthropology offers brain science more robust accounts of enculturation to explain observable difference in brain function; neuroscience offers anthropology evidence of neuroplasticity's role in social and cultural dynamics. This book provides a foundational text for neuroanthropology, offering basic concepts and case studies at the intersection of brain and culture. After an overview of the field and background information on recent research in biology, a series of case studies demonstrate neuroanthropology in practice. Contributors first focus on capabilities and skills -- including memory in medical practice, skill acquisition in martial arts, and the role of humor in coping with breast cancer treatment and recovery -- then report on problems and pathologies that range from post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans to smoking as a part of college social life. ContributorsMauro C. Balieiro, Kathryn Bouskill, Rachel S. Brezis, Benjamin Campbell, Greg Downey, José Ernesto dos Santos, William W. Dressler, Erin P. Finley, Agustín Fuentes, M. Cameron Hay, Daniel H. Lende, Katherine C. MacKinnon, Katja Pettinen, Peter G. Stromberg
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. i-iv
- Acknowledgments
- pp. vii-x
- I. On the Encultured Brain
- 4. Evolution and the Brain
- pp. 103-138
- II. Case Studies on Human Capacities, Skills, and Variation
- 5. Memory and Medicine
- pp. 141-168
- 8. Holistic Humor: Coping with Breast Cancer
- pp. 213-236
- III. Case Studies on Human Problems, Pathologies, and Variation
- 13. Addiction and Neuroanthropology
- pp. 339-362
- IV. Conclusion
- 15. The Encultured Brain—Toward the Future
- pp. 391-420
- Contributors
- pp. 421-422
Additional Information
ISBN
9780262305679
Related ISBN(s)
9780262017787
MARC Record
OCLC
810931639
Pages
448
Launched on MUSE
2016-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No