{"id":98901,"date":"2025-08-27T05:24:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T05:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/98901\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T05:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T05:24:07","slug":"the-transmitters-reading-list-six-upcoming-neuroscience-books-plus-notable-titles-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/98901\/","title":{"rendered":"The Transmitter\u2019s reading list: Six upcoming neuroscience books, plus notable titles in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Upcoming titles:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262049955\/what-is-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cWhat Is Intelligence?: Lessons from AI About Evolution, Computing, and Minds,\u201d <\/a>by Blaise Ag\u00fcera y Arcas (MIT Press)<\/p>\n<p>The convergence between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/neuroai\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">neuroscience and artificial intelligence<\/a> in the past few years has sparked lively discussions, including debate about what both fields consider to be fundamental aspects of cognition, consciousness and intelligence. In his new book, AI researcher <a href=\"https:\/\/research.google\/people\/106776\/?&amp;type=google\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Blaise Ag\u00fcera y Arcas<\/a> synthesizes ideas from computer science, machine learning and neuroscience to provide a bold perspective on intelligence, arguing that the ability of a system to predict may be fundamental not only to intelligence, but also to life itself.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 23 September 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cup.columbia.edu\/book\/the-great-balancing-act\/9780231218634\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cThe Great Balancing Act: An Insider\u2019s Guide to the Human Vestibular System,\u201d<\/a> by Jeffrey Sharon (Columbia University Press)<\/p>\n<p>How does the vestibular system integrate a barrage of sensory information to enable animals to navigate the world? In \u201cThe Great Balancing Act,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsfhealth.org\/providers\/jeffrey-d-sharon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jeffrey Sharon<\/a> addresses these and other questions about this elegant sensory system that helps regulate proprioception and spatial reasoning. Sharon discusses how the vestibular system evolved and how it interacts with brain areas that process vision, abstract thought and memory. He ends the book on a forward-looking note, explaining how insights from basic neuroscience are propelling exciting advances in prosthetic implants and gene therapies to help rebuild cellular structures in diseased vestibular systems.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 14 October 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/761227\/why-brains-need-friends-by-ben-rein-phd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cWhy Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection,\u201d<\/a> by Ben Rein (Penguin Random House)<\/p>\n<p>Neuroscientist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.benrein.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ben Rein<\/a> offers readers a nuanced assessment of the relationship between social psychology and neuroscience. A well-known science communicator, he skillfully distills years of social and behavioral neuroscience research to explore why social connection is essential for humans\u2019 mental health and well-being. Rein places neuroscience at the center of his new book, arguing that to date, the conversation around loneliness and isolation in modern-day society has failed to incorporate it.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 14 October 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/hardcover\/9780691266688\/how-to-change-a-memory?srsltid=AfmBOoo8ssgLiUuW7LkqSlumeYV5Ao1Gt6yb5qxo3TH2yovMn5dIw_9G\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist\u2019s Quest to Alter the Past,\u201d <\/a>by Steve Ramirez (Princeton University Press)<\/p>\n<p>In this new page-turner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/csn\/profile\/steve-ramirez\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Steve Ramirez<\/a> provides an overview of the history of memory research with a personal touch. Part scientific exploration, part memoir, Ramirez delivers a wide-ranging assessment of the field, all while weaving in his journey as a scientist and his relationship with his colleague and friend, neuroscientist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the-scientist.com\/notable-young-neuroscientist-dies-35915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Xu Liu<\/a>. He recounts the scientific advances that broadened neuroscience\u2019s understanding of memory storage and encoding, analyzes how the field is trying to address debilitating memory disorders and examines the extent to which memory research is intertwined with the human condition.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 4 November 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262553520\/neuroethics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cNeuroethics: The Implications of Mapping and Changing the Brain,\u201d<\/a> by Walter Glannon (MIT Press)<\/p>\n<p>Ethical considerations frequent the minds of clinicians and basic neuroscientists alike. Here <a href=\"https:\/\/arts.ucalgary.ca\/philosophy\/contact\/philosophy-directory\/emeriti-and-retired-professors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Walter Glannon<\/a> considers the past 25 years of the neuroethics field and offers his take on some of its most pressing issues. He tackles questions about the safety and efficacy of psychedelic drugs for psychiatric disorders, brain computer interfaces, the increasing interactions between neuroscience and AI, behavioral control and neural interventions, and much more.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 11 November 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262553414\/wired-for-words\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cWired for Words: The Neural Architecture of Language,\u201d<\/a> Gregory Hickok (MIT Press)<\/p>\n<p>In 424 pages, cognitive neuroscientist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.faculty.uci.edu\/profile\/?facultyId=3355\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gregory Hickok<\/a> surveys the landscape of neurolinguistic research, providing a detailed analysis of the neural mechanisms that regulate speech, including motor coordination, word recognition and perception and encoding. He carefully considers some of the predominant research ideas that have shaped our understanding of the neural architecture of language and evaluates their pervasiveness. In the exemplary case of the dual stream model of speech processing, Hickok argues that even though some of its core ideas remain useful, its persistence could obstruct further progress in our understanding of language perception and brain organization.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 25 November 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also published in 2025:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/shop.elsevier.com\/books\/crosscultural-perspectives-on-mind-and-brain\/illes\/978-0-443-34531-9#full-description\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cCrosscultural Perspectives on Mind and Brain,\u201d <\/a>edited by Judy Illes and Melissa Perreault (Academic Press)<\/p>\n<p>The eighth volume of \u201cCrosscultural Perspectives on Mind and Brain\u201d places its focus squarely on how Indigenous knowledge can contribute to and enrich scientific understanding of the brain. <a href=\"https:\/\/neurology.med.ubc.ca\/faculty-listing\/academic\/judy-illes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Judy Illes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ovc.uoguelph.ca\/biomedical-sciences\/people\/faculty\/melissa-perreault\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Melissa Peurreault<\/a> feature essays, written by cognitive neuroscientists, neuroethicists and philosophers, about the importance of Indigenous perspectives in modern brain research and how to improve global neuroliteracy through community-tailored science communication.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 4 August 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/space-time-and-memory-9780192882547\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cSpace, Time, and Memory,\u201d<\/a> edited by Lynn Nadel and Sara Aronowitz (Oxford University Press)<\/p>\n<p>As sweeping as its title, this summer release examines three mystifying concepts through the lenses of philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. Edited by <a href=\"https:\/\/psychology.arizona.edu\/person\/lynn-nadel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Lynn Nadel<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/philosophy.utoronto.ca\/directory\/sara-aronowitz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Sara Aronowitz<\/a>, the book sprang from a workshop of the same name held at the University of Arizona in 2022 and features contributions from a variety of brain experts, including <a href=\"https:\/\/psychology.ucdavis.edu\/people\/charan-ranganath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Charan Ranganath<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.momen-nejad.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ida Momennejad<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/med.nyu.edu\/faculty\/gyorgy-buzsaki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gy\u00f6rgy Buzs\u00e1ki<\/a>. Nadel and Aronowitz curate a range of perspectives to showcase the value of taking a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the fundamental processes of the brain. <\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 28 June 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/hardcover\/9780691243054\/elusive-cures?srsltid=AfmBOopFgROWL8D0V0ywe4qSOhGq3ObunKGZwhemg8LjoNjAB7Hg6POY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cElusive Cures: Why Neuroscience Hasn\u2019t Solved Brain Disorders\u2014and How We Can Change That,\u201d<\/a> by Nicole Rust (Princeton University Press)<\/p>\n<p>In this ambitious book, neuroscientist (and Transmitter contributing editor) <a href=\"https:\/\/psychology.sas.upenn.edu\/people\/nicole-rust\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nicole Rust<\/a> evaluates her field\u2019s triumphs and failures, and the future of neurological disease studies. She provides a balanced critique of the molecular neuroscience framework long used to study brain disorders and proposes an alternative for how to move forward. Laying out her \u201cgrand plan,\u201d Rust calls for a shift away from seeing neurological diseases as step-by-step, \u2018domino chain\u2019 processes to a more holistic view of them as states within complex, shifting dynamical systems. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/community\/elusive-cures-why-neuroscience-hasnt-solved-brain-disorders-and-how-we-can-change-that-an-excerpt\/?swcfpc=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read an excerpt<\/a> from Chapter 9 of \u201cElusive Cures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 10 June 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262044998\/natural-neuroscience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">\u201cNatural Neuroscience: Toward a Systems Neuroscience of Natural Behaviors,\u201d<\/a> by Nachum Ulanovsky (MIT Press)<\/p>\n<p>The call to study behavior under naturalistic conditions has drawn increasing attention among modern-day neuroscientists\u2014and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weizmann.ac.il\/brain-sciences\/labs\/ulanovsky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nachum Ulanovsky<\/a> finds himself at the forefront of this movement. In \u201cNatural Neuroscience,\u201d he asks the field to move away from overly controlled experiments and outlines the advances that are making it possible to examine behavior under more naturalistic conditions. Ulanovsky describes in detail how this research is helping the field to understand navigation, sensory processing, memory and more. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/systems-neuroscience\/natural-neuroscience-toward-a-systems-neuroscience-of-natural-behaviors-an-excerpt\/?swcfpc=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read an excerpt<\/a> from Chapter 1 of \u201cNatural Neuroscience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 15 April 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Textbooks:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jblearning.com\/catalog\/productdetails\/9781284286878?srsltid=AfmBOoqXFphiZJTBe55sN2KsPKMCCSgDpyJcM6B3eM2oF6xamI8DoA7W\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, Enhanced Edition (Fifth Edition)<\/a>, by Mark Bear, Barry Connors and Michael Paradiso (Jones &amp; Bartlett Learning)<\/p>\n<p>The classic undergraduate introductory neuroscience textbook by neuroscientists <a href=\"https:\/\/picower.mit.edu\/mark-bear\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mark Bear,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/vivo.brown.edu\/display\/bconnors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Barry Connors<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/vivo.brown.edu\/display\/mparadis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Michael Paradiso<\/a> is a mainstay in neuroscience departments everywhere. As the book celebrates its 30th anniversary, it remains as relevant as ever. The new edition features chapters that are updated with the latest research advances, improved visuals and figures, and\u00a026\u00a0new \u201cPath of Discovery\u201d essays,\u00a0in which neuroscientists tell stories\u00a0about their key contributions\u00a0to the field.\u00a0Essay contributors include <a href=\"https:\/\/picower.mit.edu\/emery-n-brown\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Emery Brown<\/a>, who discusses his work on brain wave oscillations; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasonline.org\/directory-entry\/ghislaine-dehaene-lambertz-qmdp8n\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz<\/a>, who examines the value of studying linguistic networks in infants; and <a href=\"https:\/\/psychology.berkeley.edu\/people\/gul-dolen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">G\u00fcl D\u00f6len<\/a>, who shares how she studies psychedelics in octopuses. These additions reinvigorate a classic textbook that has already taught scores of young neuroscientists.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 14 July 2025<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taylorfrancis.com\/books\/mono\/10.1201\/9781003459361\/theoretical-neuroscience-xiao-jing-wang\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Theoretical Neuroscience: Understanding Cognition, <\/a>by Xiao-Jing Wang (CRC Press)<\/p>\n<p>In his new textbook, computational neuroscientist <a href=\"https:\/\/as.nyu.edu\/faculty\/xiaojing-wang.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Xiao-jing Wang<\/a> dives deep into theory and modelling to put the field of quantitative and computational neuroscience into historical perspective. He deftly guides readers through biophysical models of single neurons, recurrent network dynamics of neuronal populations and everything in between. In the textbook\u2019s final chapter, Wang shares his forward-looking views on some of computational neuroscience\u2019s most pressing mysteries, such as the dynamical nature of the restless brain, what constitutes human cognitive uniqueness and whether brain theory can incorporate emotion. Check out Wang\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetransmitter.org\/brain-inspired\/xiao-jing-wang-outlines-the-future-of-theoretical-neuroscience\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">conversation with Paul Middlebrooks about the book<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Publication date: 27 February 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Upcoming titles: \u201cWhat Is Intelligence?: Lessons from AI About Evolution, Computing, and Minds,\u201d by Blaise Ag\u00fcera y Arcas&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[64,63,457,134],"class_list":["post-98901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-books","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}