The Neural Foundation of Experience is about neurons in the brain, and how some neurons make it possible for us to think about taking a walk in the park, and other neurons enable us to enjoy a walk in the park. Most of us are familiar with the “thinking” neurons, because they are like the “information-in and information-out” devices on the circuit board of a computer. But, unlike the computer, our brains also contain many other neurons which enable us to enjoy (savor) food, the sounds of music, and gazing at the face of a special person. These savoring neurons vibrate electrically instead of processing information. A drawing of the vibrating neuron is shown on the front cover of this book. Although this book discusses issues at the leading edge of neuroscience, the book is aimed at readers who have not taken introductory courses in biology, neuroscience, or psychology. Technical language is avoided wherever possible and I have included many illustrations to aid the understanding of ideas that may be unfamiliar to the reader.

About the Author

For many years David LaBerge, Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Sciences, taught introductory classes in psychology at the University of Minnesota that ranged in size from 15 to 2200 students. The moments he enjoyed the most were when the faces of students suddenly lit up with the understanding of a new idea about how their minds work. The moment of understanding comes to each person in their own special way, and to be an effective teacher LaBerge learned how to present a new idea in many different ways in order to reach students. He found that the best way to do this was to use a variety of visual illustrations, as demonstrated in this book.