Your Brain on Food: How Chemicals Control Your Thoughts and Feelings

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Oxford University Press, Jul 30, 2010 - Psychology - 200 pages
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Why is eating chocolate so pleasurable? Can the function of just one small group of chemicals really determine whether you are happy or sad? Does marijuana help to improve your memory in old age? Is it really best to drink coffee if you want to wake up and be alert? Why is a drug like PCP potentially lethal? Why does drinking alcohol make you drowsy? Do cigarettes help to relieve anxiety? What should you consume if you are having trouble staying in your chair and focusing enough to get your work done? Why do treatments for the common cold make us drowsy? Can eating less food preserve your brain? What are the possible side effects of pills that claim to make your smarter? Why is it so hard to stop smoking? Why did witches once believe that they could fly? In this book, Gary Wenk demonstrates how, as a result of their effects on certain neurotransmitters concerned with behavior, everything we put into our bodies has very direct consequences for how we think, feel, and act. The chapters introduce each of the main neurotransmitters involved with behavior, discuss its role in the brain, present some background on how it is generally turned on and off, and explain ways to influence it through what we consume.
 

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Your Brain on Food: How Chemicals Control Your Thoughts and Feelings

User Review  - Book Verdict

In his second edition, Wenk (psychology & neuroscience; molecular virology, immunology & medical genetics, Ohio State Univ. and Medical Ctr.) deepens his exploration of the impact of food and drugs on ... Read full review

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - heike6 - LibraryThing

The title and the cover are completely misleading. Pretty much the only thing about foods (with the exception of coffee and chocolate) the author said was that the amounts of certain chemicals are not ... Read full review

Contents

FOOD DRUGS AND YOU
1
CHAPTER 2 MEMORIES MAGIC A MAJOR ADDICTION
23
CHAPTER 3 EUPHORIA DEPRESSION MADNESS
51
CHAPTER 4 YOUR BRAINS ANCHOR TO REALITY
81
CHAPTER 5 MARIJUANA IN THE BRAIN
97
CHAPTER 6 SIMPLE MOLECULES THAT TURN YOU ON AND OFF
107
CHAPTER 7 SLEEPING VERSUS WAKING
123
CHAPTER 8 REMNANTS OF AN ANCIENT PAST
131
CHAPTER 9 Brain Enhancement and Other Magical Beliefs
145
A LITTLE QUIZ
167
Suggested Readings
169
Index
171
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About the author (2010)

Gary L. Wenk is a Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University and Medical Center.

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