Neuroscientist Dr. Anna Chambers takes us inside a state-of-the-art brain research laboratory, showing us how scientists unpack the biological secrets that make headlines and save lives
In recent decades, neuroscience has revealed fascinating details about how the brain works in health and disease. But how do we know what we know?
In Circuit Breakers, Harvard neuroscientist Dr. Anna Chambers pulls back the curtain to show us what happens in the modern brain research laboratory. Here, we learn how cutting-edge tools can manipulate memories, make neurons glow in the dark, and record signals at every level, from the whole brain to a single synapse.
Perfect for readers of David Eagleman's Livewired and Robert Sapolsky's Behave, Circuit Breakers weaves down-to-earth explanations of futuristic tools, like human brain implants and laser-controlled neurons, with candid interviews and stories from the author's own often-grueling journey as a researcher.
In the rapidly expanding field of neuroscience, unprecedented discoveries may be all in a day's work. Through stories of the ‘science around the science'—all the daily problems a scientist must solve, like accessing a living brain encased in a skull, or figuring out how to coax unusual creatures like cuttlefish and bats into behaving naturally in a lab—Chambers invites us into spaces where few of us ever venture.
Throughout, Chambers tells the little-known stories of these discoveries with equal parts humor and wonder. Through sharing this fascinating—and sometimes downright strange—profession with the wider world, Circuit Breakers is deeply committed to inspiring young neuroscientists, improving scientific literacy, and dispelling the many myths about the brain, the ultimate "black box."
Praise
“Circuit Breakers invites readers into the laboratory to witness a golden age of brain science in action. With wit, clarity, and firsthand insight, Anna Chambers shows how neuroscientists study biology’s ultimate black box: an astonishingly sophisticated system still operating without an instruction manual. From glowing neurons and brain implants to sea slugs, bats, and the stubborn practicalities of studying a living brain inside a skull, this is a captivating guide to how modern science is getting inside our heads.”
—Antonio Zadra, PhD, co-author of When Brains Dream: Understanding the Science and Mystery of our Dre
“A deeply researched and compelling read, Circuit Breakers provides a window into the black box of the brain, translating the latest neuroscientific techniques into a story of success (and failure) and the hard graft of doing work that changes our world. Anna Chambers brings the lab to life with humor, poignancy, and pop culture--a beautifully written account of how real science really gets done.”
—Brandy Schillace, PhD, author of Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscient
“A deeply researched and compelling read, Circuit Breakers provides a window into the black box of the brain, translating the latest neuroscientific techniques into a story of success (and failure) and the hard graft of doing work that changes our world. Anna Chambers brings the lab to life with humor, poignancy, and pop culture--a beautifully written account of how real science really gets done.”
—Brandy Schillace, PhD, author of Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscient
