A selection of titles that someone has enjoyed and so may be of interest.

Behaviour, Autism, Dementia, Food vs Edible Product, Consciousness

Behaviour

Burn: The Misunderstood Science of Metabolism Herman Pontzer, Penguin. "... the standard line —that exercise helps us burn more calories— is wrong." "Exercise doesn’t change the number of calories you burn each day, but it does change how you spend them—and that makes all the difference."

The Depths: The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic Jonathan Rottenberg, Basic Books. Nearly every depressed person is assured by doctors, well-meaning friends and family, the media, and ubiquitous advertisements that the underlying problem is a chemical imbalance. Such a simple defect should be fixable, yet despite all of the resources that have been devoted to finding a pharmacological solution, depression remains stubbornly widespread. Why are we losing this fight?

In this humane and illuminating challenge to defect models of depression, psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg argues that depression is a particularly severe outgrowth of our natural capacity for emotion. In other words, it is a low mood gone haywire. Drawing on recent developments in the science of mood-and his own harrowing depressive experience as a young adult-Rottenberg explains depression in evolutionary terms, showing how its dark pull arises from adaptations that evolved to help our ancestors ensure their survival.

Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert. Combines psychology, neuroscience, economics and philosophy with irrepressible wit to describe how the human brain imagines its future – and how well (or badly) it predicts what it will enjoy.

Lori and Reba Schappel may be twins, but they are very different people. Reba is a somewhat shy teetotaler who has recorded an award-winning album of country music. Lori, who is outgoing, wisecracking, and rather fond of strawberry daiquiris, works in a hospital and wants someday to marry and have children. They occasionally argue, as sisters do, but most of the time they get on well, complimenting each other, teasing each other, and finishing each other’s sentences. In fact, there are just two unusual things about Lori and Reba. The first is that they share a blood supply, part of a skull, and some brain tissue, having been joined at the forehead since birth. One side of Lori’s forehead is attached to one side of Reba’s, and they have spent every moment of their lives locked together, face-to-face. The second unusual thing about Lori and Reba is that they are happy—not merely resigned or contented, but joyful, playful, and optimistic.1 Their unusual life presents many challenges, of course, but as they often note, whose doesn’t? When asked about the possibility of undergoing surgical separation, Reba speaks for both of them: “Our point of view is no, straight out no. Why would you want to do that? For all the money in China, why? You’d be ruining two lives in the process.” 2 So here’s the question: If this were your life rather than theirs, how would you feel? If you said, “Joyful, playful, and optimistic,” then you are not playing the game and I am going to give you another chance. Try to be honest instead of correct. The honest answer is “Despondent, desperate, and depressed.” Indeed, it seems clear that no right-minded person could really be happy under such circumstances, which is why the conventional medical wisdom has it that conjoined twins should be separated at birth, even at the risk of killing one or both.

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain The Secret Life of the Brain Barrett, Lisa Feldman, Pan. Your brain keeps you alive and well by running a metabolic “budget” for your body. These budgetary activities, and the sensations they create inside your body, suggest surprising connections between brain, mind, body, and world. A new theory of how the brain constructs emotions that could revolutionize psychology, health care,...

The Entangled Brain: How Perception, Cognition and Emotion are Woven Together Luiz Pessoa. Link to online copy of the book.

Determined: The Science of Life Without Free Will The Science of Life Without Free Will (Books) Sapolsky, Robert M. Sapolsky explores the science of human behavior, emphasizing the biological, genetic, and environmental factors that drive our actions. Sapolsky offers insights into the deterministic nature of our behavior and decision-making.

Behave: The bestselling exploration of why humans behave as they do The bestselling exploration of why humans behave as they do (Books) Sapolsky, Robert M, Vintage.

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (Revised and Updated) (Books) Sapolsky, Robert M., St. Martins Press.

What Is Health?: Allostasis and the Evolution of Human Design (The MIT Press) The MIT Press Allostasis and the Evolution of Human Design (Books) Sterling, Peter, MIT Press

Good Reasons for Bad Feelings: Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry Insights from the Frontier of Evolutionary Psychiatry (Books) Nesse, Randolph M., Penguin

Why We Get Sick: the New Science of Darwinian Medicine (Books) Nesse, Randolph M., Williams, George C.

Evolution and Healing: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine (Books) Nesse, Randolph, Williams, George C, Phoenix

Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain (Books) Eagleman, David

Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain (Books) Antonio Damasio, Vintage

The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma (Books) Bessel van der Kolk, Penguin

The Feeling Of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness (Books) Damasio, Antonio, Vintage

Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind (Books) Ramachandran, V.S., Blakeslee, Sandra, HarperCollins Publishers

The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature (Penguin Press Science) Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature Penguin Press Science (Books) Ridley, Matt

The Vital Question: Why is life the way it is? (Books) Lane, Nick, Profile Books Ltd

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: Picador Classic Picador Classic (Books) Sacks, Oliver, Self, Will

Oxygen: The molecule that made the world (Popular Science) (Books) Lane, Nick

Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life (Books) Lane, Nick

Food vs Edible Product

The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor (Books) Schatzker, Mark, Simon & Schuster

Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food ... and Why Can't We Stop? Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn't Food ... and Why Can't We Stop? (Books) Tulleken, Chris van

Drugs - Without the Hot Air: Minimising the Harms of Legal and Illegal Drugs (Books) Nutt, David

Dementia

Watching the Leaves Dance: More Stories of People Living with Dementia More Stories of People Living with Dementia (Books) Stokes, Graham

And Still the Music Plays: Stories of People with Dementia (Books) Stokes, Graham

Autism

The Reason I Jump: one boy's voice from the silence of autism One boy's voice from the silence of autism (Books) Higashida, Naoki, Mitchell, David, Yoshida, Keiko

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight: A young man's voice from the silence of autism A young man's voice from the silence of autism (Books) Higashida, Naoki, Mitchell, David, Yoshida, Keiko, Hodder & Stoughton General Division

Thinking in Pictures (Books) Grandin, Temple, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism A Personal Look at Autism (Books) Temple Grandin (author), Future Horizons

Different... Not Less (Kindle Books) Grandin, Temple

The Autistic Brain (Books) Grandin, Temple, Panek, Richard, Rider

Emergence: Labelled Autistic: Labeled Autistic Labeled Autistic (Books) Grandin, Temple, Scariano, Margaret M.

Consciousness

From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds The Evolution of Minds (Books) Dennett, Daniel C., Penguin Books UK
What is human consciousness and how is it possible?