Buy This

Neuroscience & Psychology

The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds

The story of a neural impulse and what it reveals about how our brains work

ebook (PDF via app)

50% off with code BLOOM50

Sale Price:
$9.48/拢8.00
Price:
$18.95/拢15.99
ISBN:
Published:
Mar 9, 2021
Copyright:
2021
Illus:
17 b/w illus.
  • Audio and ebooks (EPUB and PDF) purchased from this site must be accessed on the 91桃色 app. After purchasing, you will an receive email with instructions to access your purchase.
    About audio and ebooks
  • Request Exam Copy

We see the last cookie in the box and think, can I take that? We reach a hand out. In the 2.1 seconds that this impulse travels through our brain, billions of neurons communicate with one another, sending blips of voltage through our sensory and motor regions. Neuroscientists call these blips 鈥渟pikes.鈥� Spikes enable us to do everything: talk, eat, run, see, plan, and decide. In The Spike, Mark Humphries takes readers on the epic journey of a spike through a single, brief reaction. In vivid language, Humphries tells the story of what happens in our brain, what we know about spikes, and what we still have left to understand about them.

Drawing on decades of research in neuroscience, Humphries explores how spikes are born, how they are transmitted, and how they lead us to action. He dives into previously unanswered mysteries: Why are most neurons silent? What causes neurons to fire spikes spontaneously, without input from other neurons or the outside world? Why do most spikes fail to reach any destination? Humphries presents a new vision of the brain, one where fundamental computations are carried out by spontaneous spikes that predict what will happen in the world, helping us to perceive, decide, and react quickly enough for our survival.

Traversing neuroscience鈥檚 expansive terrain, The Spike follows a single electrical response to illuminate how our extraordinary brains work.

Awards and Recognition

  • Finalist for the PROSE Award in Biomedicine, Association of American Publishers