Understanding how your brain works during the key stages of life is essential to maintaining your health. Dr Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist who knows everything worth knowing about women's brains, and shares it in this cutting-edge, essential book. This is not a book about the differences between male and female brains, nor a book using neuroscience to explain gender-specific behaviours, the 'battle of the sexes' or 'Mars-Venus' stereotypes. This is a book about what happens to the brains of women as they cycle through the phases of life, which are unique to females by virtue of their biology and in particular their hormones. In Demystifying The Female Brain, Dr McKay gives insights into brain development during infancy, childhood and the teenage years (including the onset of puberty) and looks at pregnancy, motherhood, and mental health. The book weaves together findings from the research lab, interviews with neuroscientists and other researchers working in the disciplines of neuroendocrinology, brain development, brain health and ageing, along with stories and case studies.

For women, understanding how the brain works during the key stages of life - in utero, childhood, puberty and adolescence, pregnancy and motherhood, menopause and old age - is essential to their health. Dr Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist who knows everything worth knowing about women's brains, and shares it in this fascinating, essential book. This is not a book about the differences between male and female brains, nor a book using neuroscience to explain gender-specific behaviours, the 'battle of the sexes' or 'Mars-Venus' stereotypes. This is a book about what happens inside the brains and bodies of women as they move through the phases of life, and the unique - and often misunderstood - effects of female biology and hormones. Dr McKay give insights into brain development during infancy, childhood and the teenage years (including the onset of puberty) and also takes a look at mental health as well as the ageing brain. The book weaves together findings from the research lab, case studies and interviews with neuroscientists and other researchers working in the disciplines of neuroendocrinology, brain development, brain health and ageing. This comprehensive guide explores the brain during significant life stages, including: In utero Childhood Puberty The Menstrual Cycle The Teenage Brain Depression and Anxiety Pregnancy and Motherhood Menopause The Ageing Brain

From the author of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller The Female Brain, here is the eagerly awaited follow-up book that demystifies the puzzling male brain. Dr. Louann Brizendine, the founder of the first clinic in the country to study gender differences in brain, behavior, and hormones, turns her attention to the male brain, showing how, through every phase of life, the "male reality" is fundamentally different from the female one. Exploring the latest breakthroughs in male psychology and neurology with her trademark accessibility and candor, she reveals that the male brain: -is a lean, mean, problem-solving machine. Faced with a personal problem, a man will use his analytical brain structures, not his emotional ones, to find a solution. -thrives under competition, instinctively plays rough and is obsessed with rank and hierarchy. -has an area for sexual pursuit that is 2.5 times larger than the female brain, consuming him with sexual fantasies about female body parts. -experiences such a massive increase in testosterone at puberty that he perceive others' faces to be more aggressive. The Male Brain finally overturns the stereotypes. Impeccably researched and at the cutting edge of scientific knowledge, this is a book that every man, and especially every woman bedeviled by a man, will need to own.

Sex discrimination is supposedly a distant memory. Yet popular books, magazines and even scientific articles defend inequalities by citing immutable biological differences between the male and female brain. Why are there so few women in science and engineering, so few men in the laundry room? Well, they say, it's our brains.

A leading science writer examines how the brain's capacity reaches its peak in middle age For many years, scientists thought that the human brain simply decayed over time and its dying cells led to memory slips, fuzzy logic, negative thinking, and even depression. But new research from neuroscien­tists and psychologists suggests that, in fact, the brain reorganizes, improves in important functions, and even helps us adopt a more optimistic outlook in middle age. Growth of white matter and brain connectors allow us to recognize patterns faster, make better judgments, and find unique solutions to problems. Scientists call these traits cognitive expertise and they reach their highest levels in middle age. In her impeccably researched book, science writer Barbara Strauch explores the latest findings that demonstrate, through the use of technology such as brain scans, that the middle-aged brain is more flexible and more capable than previously thought. For the first time, long-term studies show that our view of middle age has been misleading and incomplete. By detailing exactly the normal, healthy brain functions over time, Strauch also explains how its optimal processes can be maintained. Part scientific survey, part how-to guide, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain is a fascinating glimpse at our surprisingly talented middle-aged minds.

A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford. Barres recounts his early life—his interest in science, first manifested as a fascination with the mad scientist in Superman; his academic successes; and his gender confusion. Barres felt even as a very young child that he was assigned the wrong gender. After years of being acutely uncomfortable in his own skin, Barres transitioned from female to male. He reports he felt nothing but relief on becoming his true self. He was proud to be a role model for transgender scientists. As an undergraduate at MIT, Barres experienced discrimination, but it was after transitioning that he realized how differently male and female scientists are treated. He became an advocate for gender equality in science, and later in life responded pointedly to Larry Summers's speculation that women were innately unsuited to be scientists. Privileged white men, Barres writes, “miss the basic point that in the face of negative stereotyping, talented women will not be recognized.” At Stanford, Barres made important discoveries about glia, the most numerous cells in the brain, and he describes some of his work. “The most rewarding part of his job,” however, was mentoring young scientists. That, and his advocacy for women and transgender scientists, ensures his legacy.

The first comprehensive look at the groundbreaking field of energy medicine and how it can be used to diagnose and treat illness, from one of the world’s foremost practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Today, more of us than ever are discovering the curative powers of energy medicine. Scientific studies continue to confirm its validity, and medical doctors are regularly prescribing treatments such as acupuncture to their patients. But even for those of us who have benefitted from such treatments, the question remains: what exactly is energy medicine, and how does it work? Acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) scholar Jill Blakeway has been treating patients for more than twenty-five years. For Jill, the term “energy medicine” refers to the wide range of healing modalities used to diagnose and treat illness by manipulating the energy—the vital life force referred to as “qi” in TCM—that pulses through the cells of our bodies. But even this seasoned practitioner admits she doesn’t truly understand how some of her patients are healed under her care, and retains a healthy skepticism about her own abilities as well those of her peers. In Energy Medicine, Jill invites us on her global journey to better understand, apply, and explain this powerful healing force. Moving from her own clinic to the halls of academia, she talks to top healers, researchers, and practitioners—from the Stanford and Princeton professors researching the physics behind energy medicine and healing; to a Chinese Qi Gong master who manifests healing herbs directly from her palm; to a team of skeptical scientists who use “hands on” healing to repeatedly cure mammary cancer in mice. She also tells the story of how she discovered energy medicine and became one of the most sought-after healers in the world. Lively, entertaining, and informative, told in Jill’s funny, relatable, and wholly grounded voice, Energy Medicine bridges the gap between science and spirituality and offers a persuasive, evidence-based case that advances this ancient healing practice.