The Brain and the Diseases of the Soul

The secrets of the brain are laid bare in this wonderful essay 

Knowledge of the brain has advanced considerably in recent decades, yet we are still light years away from being able to explain all its peculiarities. But at least we know that those characteristics that distinguish an individual, such as consciousness, memories or emotions, come from the functioning of this marvelous and complex organ.

In this stimulating text, the prestigious neuroscientist Juan Lerma and the biologist José Luis Rozas pose one of the great challenges facing science today: to understand how the brain works, as well as to understand its diseases and how these can be considered afflictions of the soul. Some of these ailments, such as schizophrenia, depression or Alzheimer’s disease, destroy the very essence of the person, which is perhaps why they pose such an enormous social and healthcare cost. Based on neuroscience, a relatively young discipline, the authors offer answers to these and other problems and unravel the complexity of the brain and its mechanisms.