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One of the most complicated and advanced computers on Earth can’t be purchased in any store. This astonishing device, responsible for storing and retrieving vast quantities of information that can be accessed at a moment’s notice, is the human brain. How does such a dynamic and powerful machine make memories, learn a language, and remember how to drive a car? What habits can we adopt to learn more effectively throughout our lives? And how do factors like traumatic injuries, stress, and mood affect our grey matter? The answers to these questions are merely the tip of the iceberg in The Learning Brain.
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Topic Science Master scientifically proven study techniques to become a better student and more adept learner. The Learning Brain “Pure intellectual stimulation that can be popped into the [audio or video player] anytime.” —Harvard Magazine “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 Thad A. Polk is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. He received an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Computer Science and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. Professor Polk’s teaching—on topics ranging from the human mind and brain to cognitive psychology—has been recognized with numerous awards, including being named one of The Princeton Review’s Best 300 Professors in the United States. He is also a frequent visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. Professor Photo: © Jeff Mauritzen - inPhotograph.com. Cover Image: © Sergey Nivens/Alamy. Course No. 1569 © 2018 The Teaching Company. PB1569A Guidebook THE GREAT COURSES ® Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, VA 20151-2299 USA Phone: 1-800-832-2412 www.thegreatcourses.com Subtopic Neuroscience & Psychology The Learning Brain Course Guidebook Professor Thad A. Polk University of Michigan 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 | [ web] www.thegreatcourses.com Copyright © The Teaching Company, 2018 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. Thad A. Polk, PhD Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology University of Michigan Thad A. Polk is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. He received a BA in Mathematics from the University of Virginia and an interdisciplinary PhD in Computer Science and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. He received postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan. Professor Polk’s research combines functional imaging of the human brain with computational modeling and behavioral methods to investigate the neural architecture underlying cognition. Some of his major projects have investigated changes in the brain as we age, contributions of nature versus nurture to neural organization, and differences in the brains of smokers who quit compared with those who do not. Professor Polk regularly collaborates with scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas and at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, where