Chris,
Find in a library: Principles of Neuroscience, Kandel et al. That covers a
very wide range and is a very good starting point but it will challenge you.
Then again, if you're starting out in neuroscience expected to be challenged
and never expect to finish "starting out"(eg. there is still considerable
debate about why drug X is beneficial for condition Y). If you're at high
school and have developed a strong interest then a steady habit of reading
will prepare you very well and give you a great headstart. Neuroscience will
do more than teach us about brains, I believe that over the coming
generations it will fundamentally change our view of human nature. So you're
in for a great ride. Good luck.
John H.
"Kent H." <kh6444 at comcast.net> wrote in message
news:3FC2E88D.22A7976E at comcast.net...
> Chris, I spend a lot of time reading medical literature, including some
> neuroscience. I agree fully with you that there is nothing more boring
> than reading a textbook. Textbook writers, though scolarly, tend to be
> very conservative, and geezers, if not in physical age, certainly in
> emotional age. I search and read the National Libary of Medicine a lot
> when I want to persue a medical answer to a question, and I enjoy it.
> That URL is:
>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=Search&DB=PubMed, a
> search on Methylphenidate reveals some 3000+ articles published about
> that drug. To master all of this, you need a didactic organized,
> classroom series of events, i.e. a medical education. However you won't
> lose anything and you might gain a lot by plunging ahead on your own
> right now.
> If you want to e-mail me directly about this, go ahead. If you want to
> respond on either of these NGs go ahead.
> Good Luck, to probably one of the younger premeds around.
> Kent
>> Chris Brunner wrote:
> >
> > Hello people,
> > I am a student in high school who has always found an interest in
> > neuroscience. Basically, my problem is that the only books I can find
on
> > the subject are textbooks. I am looking for some kind of book that
serves
> > as an introduction, ideally a thorough one, to neuroscience that is not
a
> > textbook. If anyone knows of such a book, their recommendation of it
> > would be tremendously appreciated! If no one knows of such a book, then
> > any other recommendation (of books on this subject that I may be able to
> > read) would be just as helpful. I know that many people reading this
post
> > will think it is be insane for me to expect to be able to read something
> > like this, but I'd like to encourage these people to ignore that and
help
> > me find a book. =] I'm willing to read something ridiculously long.
I'm
> > willing to have to do research in order to understand what the book is
> > talking about. I'd just like a place to start.
> >
> > If anyone cares for a reason why I'm asking, keep reading. Else,
there's
> > no reason to waste your time, so you'll probably want to either go ahead
> > and post a reading recommendation or move on to another post.
> >
> > I was prescribed by a physician Methylphenidate when about
six-years-old.
> > It blew my mind that a pill could alter my brain's function in such a
> > major way, and I kept asking my physician for answers as to how it
works,
> > but the most I could get at that age was the doctor's drawing on a pad
of
> > paper of how she said it worked. That sufficed at the time to make the
> > realize that the explanation was more than I could understand, at that
> > point at least. To make a very long story short, I've been interested
in
> > how these things work since then. I've looked for as much information
as
> > I can find regarding how exactly drugs like dextroamphetamine work, but
I
> > accept now that I'll never understand until I have a much better
knowledge
> > of neurology as whole. So... that's my goal now: To learn enough until
I
> > understand the dopamine neurotransmitter and what effects
amphetamine-like
> > stimulants have on it. The reason that I've posted to Usenet is that I
> > can't think of a better way of finding a way to find this information
than
> > by asking people who have learned these things. So, to get back to my
> > point, if anyone thinks they know of a way for me to get started, please
> > tell me what I can read. Your input, whether in regard to books or not,
> > will not go unappreciated!
> >
> > Thanks in advance everyone!
> > Chris Brunner
> >
> > PS: If anyone knows of a better place to post this, please let me know.
> > PSS: Email is more likely to received by me if "newsaddy" is replaced
> > with "chris"
