How the Mind Changed: A Human History of Our Evolving Brain

The extraordinary story of how the human brain evolved... and is still evolving.

We've come a long way. The earliest human had a brain as small as a child's fist; ours are four times bigger, with spectacular abilities and potential we are only just beginning to understand.

This is How the Mind Changed, a seven-million-year journey through our own heads, packed with vivid stories, groundbreaking science, and thrilling surprises. Discover how memory has almost nothing to do with the past; meditation rewires our synapses; magic mushroom use might be responsible for our intelligence; climate accounts for linguistic diversity; and how autism teaches us hugely positive lessons about our past and future.

Dr. Joseph Jebelli's In Pursuit of Memory was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and longlisted for the Wellcome. In this, his eagerly awaited second book, he draws on deep insights from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, psychology, and philosophy to guide us through the unexpected changes that shaped our brains. From genetic accidents and environmental forces to historical and cultural advances, he explores how our brain's evolution turned us into Homo sapiens and beyond.

A single mutation is all it takes.


Author: Joseph Jebelli
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
Published: 07/12/2022
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.94lbs
Size: 8.47h x 5.80w x 1.11d
ISBN: 9780316424981

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 05/16/2022

About the Author
Joseph Jebelli, PhD, is a neuroscientist and the author of In Pursuit of Memory. He obtained his doctorate in Neurobiology from the Insitute of Neurology, University College London. His research focuses on the cell biology of Alzheimer's disease. He lives in the United Kingdom