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Topic Better Living “Pure intellectual stimulation that can be popped into the [audio or video player] anytime.” —Harvard Magazine Optimizing Brain Fitness “Passionate, erudite, living legend lecturers. Academia’s best lecturers are being captured on tape.” —The Los Angeles Times “A serious force in American education.” —The Wall Street Journal Course Guidebook Professor Richard Restak The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Professor Richard Restak is Clinical Professor of Neurology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He also maintains a private practice in Washington DC. A prolific writer, Dr. Restak has written 20 books on the human brain—4 of which were Main Selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club. His awards include Georgetown University Medical School’s Linacre Medal. THE GREAT COURSES ® Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, VA 20151-2299 USA Phone: 1-800-832-2412 www.thegreatcourses.com Cover Image: © Matthias Kulka/Corbis. Course No. 1651 © 2011 The Teaching Company. PB1651A Subtopic Health & Wellness PUBLISHED BY: THE GREAT COURSES Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, Virginia 20151-2299 Phone: 1-800-832-2412 Fax: 703-378-3819 www.thegreatcourses.com Copyright © The Teaching Company, 2011 Printed in the United States of America This book is in copyright. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of The Teaching Company. Richard Restak, M.D. Clinical Professor of Neurology The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences P rofessor Richard Restak is Clinical Professor of Neurology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He also maintains an active private practice in neurology and neuropsychiatry in Washington DC. A graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine, Dr. Restak completed his postgraduate training at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, psychiatric training at Georgetown University Hospital, and a residency in neurology at The George Washington University Hospital. Dr. Restak has written 20 books on the human brain, 2 of which were bestsellers and 4 of which were chosen as Main Selections of the Book-ofthe-Month Club. He has penned dozens of articles for national newspapers, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. He has contributed brain- and neuroscience-related entries for World Book Encyclopedia, Compton’s Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Dr. Restak has been elected to fellowship in the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Neuropsychiatric Association. He served as president of the American Neuropsychiatric Association from 2005 to 2007. In 1992, the Chicago Neurosurgical Center awarded him the Decade of the Brain Award. In 1995, he received the Linacre Medal conferred by Georgetown University Medical School. Dr. Restak’s consulting appointments have included the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall; the Franklin Institute Science Museum of Philadelphia; i the the Of¿ce of Interdisciplinary Studies, Smithsonian Institution; and the Advisory Panel, U.S. Congress Of¿ce of Technology Assessment. He has served on the Board of Advisors for the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America and was a member of the Board of Trustees at the Krasnow Institute for Advanced