Brain Imaging
What it Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About Consciousness
Robert G. Shulman
Reviews and Awards
"Robert Shulman is a great biophysicist who has made fundamental contributions to the elucidation of the genetic code, the use of nuclear magnetic resonance methods for determining protein structure, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy for detailing the kinetics of synaptic transmitters such as glutamate. This wonderfully illuminating book provides a new perspective on brain research in relation to consciousness." -- Maxwell R. Bennett , AO, Professor of Neuroscience and University Chair, USyd Adjunct Professor of Neuropsychiatry, USC Founding Director, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Sydney
"As the trickle of psychological studies using functional brain imaging has become a flood, this new book urging skepticism towards many of the claims of such studies is greatly welcome. In a powerful, trenchant, and profoundly well-informed critique of how brain imaging is often used in cognitive neuropsychology, and increasingly in educational and legal policy, Professor Shulman, a pioneer of functional MRI, reminds us that in looking for reliable explanations of human behavior by brain processes, we are intrinsically limited to the physical world." -- Robert Turner, Director, Department of Neurophysics, Max-Planck-Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
"Few have thought about brain metabolism as much as Shulman. He's a respected scientist whose NMR studies of metabolism led him naturally to neuroimaging. He performed groundbreaking work on brain metabolism and its correlates, helping to lay the foundation for PET and fMRI. In Brain Imaging, Shulman looks back at a long career and synthesizes that work with his personal reflections on philosophy of science... If you care about brains, or about how we should learn about them, Shulman raises a host of fascinating issues." -- Colin Klein, Australian National University/University of Illinois at Chicago, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"The book remains a richly rewarding read. ... Shulman invites the reader into his mind - and for such a reflective and accomplished thinker and scientist, this is a rare and valuable privilege. Regardless of whether one agrees with Shulman, his book is important in provoking cognitive neuroscientists to question common assumptions about the practices and products of brain imaging." --Trends in Cognitive Science
"Robert Shulman belongs to a rare breed. So it is not surprising that his new book, Brain Imaging: What it Can (and Cannot) Tell Us About Consciousness, is by turns fascinating, enlightening, provocative, and frustrating. Thankfully, it is also extremely well written, combining clarity, erudition, and authority across a range of topics in neuroimaging and the philosophy of science. The book remains a richly rewarding read. When discussing the fundamentals of MRI and its relation to neuronal signalling, Shulman's unusually deep knowledge shines through. Above all, Shulman invites the reader into his mind - and for such a reflective and accomplished thinker and scientist, this is a rare and valuable privilege." -Anil K. Seth, Trends in Cognitive Sciences
