The brain is considered the most complex structure in all of creation. But recent discoveries in neuroscience are now revealing the inner secrets of the brain - how it works, why it makes us who we are and what happens when it goes wrong.

This cutting-edge and comprehensive guide explains why the human brain became so clever; how it controls everything from breathing, sleeping and seeing to identity, imagination, pleasure and pain; and what will happen when the brain integrates with computers or the latest genetic discoveries. Award-winning science writer Rita Carter also demystifies amnesia, multiple personalities, psychopathy, dreaming, hallucinations, addiction, autism, dyslexia, schizophrenia, dementia, and numerous other conditions of the mind.

The Brain in Minutes covers: the origin and anatomy of the brain; control of the body; mood and emotions; perception; consciousness; memory and learning; personality; intelligence and other higher functions; language; strange states of the mind; malfunctions, disease and treatments; and the future of the brain. It also includes 200 high-tech scans, images and diagrams that detail and explain the structure and workings of the amazing human brain.

Rita Carter is a renowned science writer who has twice been awarded the Medical Journalists' Association prize for outstanding contributions to medical journalism. She is the author of Mapping the Mind and The People You Are and has been shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc Prize for Science Books. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of consciousness and behaviour at seminars and conferences worldwide.