The Three-Pound Universe

Current scientific orthodoxy asserts that the human brain is like a computer, but the authors and many of the 175 brain scientists they interviewed are not so sure. This intriguing survey features distinguished researchers who throw their scientific weight behind the idea that the mind is more than the brain. Omni science writers Hooper and Teresi let the chips fall as they may. They charge that human-potential gurus who tout the cerebral right hemisphere as the ""creative'' half of the brain are oversimplifying split-brain theory. Their interview with Harvard sleep researchers suggests that a drastic revision of Freud's dream theory is in order. A kaleidoscopic array of investigations deals with the role of chemical messengers in mental illness, how electrical stimulation can shut off the brain's fear/rage switch, multiple personalities, chimpanzee vocabulary, amnesia and more. The book's second half explores the outer frontiers of current brain research, including studies of hallucination, near-death experiences and the theory of brain as hologram. An exciting, open-minded, state-ofthe-art brain scanone of the best books of its kind. First serial to Omni and New Age; Natural Science Book Club alternate. (February 13)