The brain and emotion Book

In the book “States of Mind: New discoveries about how our brains make us who we are” eight prominent experts within various fields of psychology undergo a broad lively discussion using their public lectures about how emotions as well as stress can affect the human brain. As you read you become captivated as it provides more credible resources to back up each one of their theories by providing graphs, statistics, description with the diagrams depicted as well as expert opinions. However, the question they all ask is “ What can science tell us about ourselves?
What I enjoyed the most about the book is the fact that it is easy to read. Roberta Conlan’s ingenuity allows for each article, despite the fact that it is immensely informative, to have a very fluent, readable style. Although it is eminently readable the book does require a bit of background knowledge within psychology. Terms such as: amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, hippocampal system, auditory thalamus , neurotransmitters, etc. are just a brief list of terms used throughout the book which involve a bit of background knowledge to understand. However, it does give a brief and simple description for those who are unfamiliar with the terms, which enables the reader to have an understanding of what they are reading. This evokes the reader to continue reading due to the fact that the given information isn’t as intricate.
For those who take interest in: Psychology, mental illnesses, neuroplasticity, and our emotions, would find this book captivating. Within the book, eight pioneering researchers provide lively discussions , originally public lectures, on the most intriguing discoveries as well as a new way of understanding our emotions, moods, memories, and dreams. Such discussions also raise questions that are answered such as: Can we be born with susceptible manic-depressive illness or alcoholism through a particular array of genes?, Are we born with a brain chemistry to be bold?, Is creativity and mood disorders related? Etc. Thanks to these researchers we have a better understanding of how our brains react and adapt to the environment we surround ourself in. I believe anyone can read this book, despite it being immensely informative, as long as they take interest and understand what they are reading then the book shouldn’t be that big of a problem.
The authors for this book, as well as the information provided, allows me to speculate that the audience for this book is for a more modern, philosophical audiences in mind because they use a scholarly and straight-forward tone.
Another reason why I took interest in the book was because I wanted a better understanding of how our brain interacts with other parts of our body. When I was younger I always wondered why I couldn’t remember anything before the age of three. Now, after reading the book, I have an idea why. Within chapter 6, which speaks about the fear system and how it plays a crucial role in the formation of emotional memory, and how it influences our day-to-day reactions and decision making ability, I read about infantile amnesia, which is the inability to remember things that happened to us before the age of three. This may be due to the fact that our hippocampus is not fully formed or functional. However, the amygdala is fully functional which may cause those who suffered abuse at a young age to form strong emotional memories that they never have conscious access to. I find that being able to relate and apply what you’re reading into your daily life makes what you're reading a lot more easier to understand. For those who want to read an academic piece of literature that covers a broad amount of information related to psychology, mental illness and neuroplasticity, as well as our emotions, this book is great for starters.