32 Books like Synaptic Self

The Disordered Mind

by Eric R. Kandel • 2018

Brain disorders are a natural experiment: they show what each neural circuit actually does.

4.13

3k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🏥 Neuropsychiatry 🩺 Brain Disorders

The Disordered Mind 98%

Brain disorders are a natural experiment: they show what each neural circuit actually does.

by Eric R. Kandel 2018

4.13

3k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🏥 Neuropsychiatry 🩺 Brain Disorders

Pictures of the Mind

by Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald • 2009

The self is a brain process you can train: neuroplasticity and meditation science reveal how.

3.76

894

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🧘 Consciousness Studies 💓 Affective Neuroscience

Pictures of the Mind 97%

The self is a brain process you can train: neuroplasticity and meditation science reveal how.

by Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald 2009

3.76

894 ratings

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🧘 Consciousness Studies 💓 Affective Neuroscience

A User's Guide to the Brain

by John J. Ratey • 2001

Perception, movement, and social contact continuously rewire your brain. A guide for taking control.

4.04

2k+

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🏃 Embodied Cognition 👁️ Perception And Consciousness

A User's Guide to the Brain 97%

Perception, movement, and social contact continuously rewire your brain. A guide for taking control.

by John J. Ratey 2001

4.04

2k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🏃 Embodied Cognition 👁️ Perception And Consciousness

The Brain

by Marco Magrini • 2017

Your brain rewires daily: the operating guide biology class never gave you.

4.12

705

🧠 Brain Science 🔄 Neuroplasticity 💪 Brain Health

The Brain 97%

Your brain rewires daily: the operating guide biology class never gave you.

by Marco Magrini 2017

4.12

705 ratings

🧠 Brain Science 🔄 Neuroplasticity 💪 Brain Health

How Your Brain Works

by New Scientist • 2017

86 billion neurons construct your reality, rewrite your past, and scrub themselves clean each night.

3.92

353

🧠 Neuroscience Primers 👁️ Perception And Reality 💭 Memory Systems

How Your Brain Works 97%

86 billion neurons construct your reality, rewrite your past, and scrub themselves clean each night.

by New Scientist 2017

3.92

353 ratings

🧠 Neuroscience Primers 👁️ Perception And Reality 💭 Memory Systems

An Alchemy of Mind

by Diane Ackerman • 2004

A poet's tour of the brain: how 100 billion neurons invent your reality.

3.96

1k+

🧠 Neuroscience 🔬 Cognitive Science 💭 Consciousness Studies

An Alchemy of Mind 97%

A poet's tour of the brain: how 100 billion neurons invent your reality.

by Diane Ackerman 2004

3.96

1k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroscience 🔬 Cognitive Science 💭 Consciousness Studies

The Root of Thought

by Andrew Koob • 2009

Neurons are ten percent of your brain. The overlooked ninety percent may control thought itself.

3.68

135

🧠 Neuroscience History 🔄 Brain Plasticity 💭 Memory Science

The Root of Thought 97%

Neurons are ten percent of your brain. The overlooked ninety percent may control thought itself.

by Andrew Koob 2009

3.68

135 ratings

🧠 Neuroscience History 🔄 Brain Plasticity 💭 Memory Science

Connections

by Karl Deisseroth • 2021

What mental illness reveals about the brain, from the psychiatrist who invented optogenetics.

3.78

285

🧠 Clinical Neuroscience 🐒 Evolutionary Psychology 📋 Patient Case Studies

Connections 97%

What mental illness reveals about the brain, from the psychiatrist who invented optogenetics.

by Karl Deisseroth 2021

3.78

285 ratings

🧠 Clinical Neuroscience 🐒 Evolutionary Psychology 📋 Patient Case Studies

The Experience Machine

by Andy Clark • 2023

Your brain guesses reality instead of recording it, and the mismatch shapes everything.

3.91

1k+

🧠 Predictive Processing 💭 Consciousness Studies 🦾 Embodied Cognition

The Experience Machine 97%

Your brain guesses reality instead of recording it, and the mismatch shapes everything.

by Andy Clark 2023

3.91

1k+ ratings

🧠 Predictive Processing 💭 Consciousness Studies 🦾 Embodied Cognition

La vida secreta de la mente

by Mariano Sigman • 2015

Decisions begin unconsciously before you're aware; consciousness just invents the story afterward.

3.99

3k+

🧠 Unconscious Processing 🔄 Brain Plasticity 👶 Infant Cognition

La vida secreta de la mente 96%

Decisions begin unconsciously before you're aware; consciousness just invents the story afterward.

by Mariano Sigman 2015

3.99

3k+ ratings

🧠 Unconscious Processing 🔄 Brain Plasticity 👶 Infant Cognition

Descartes' Error

by António Damásio • 1994

A railroad foreman's brain injury revealed that reason depends on emotion, not pure logic.

3.95

10k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🦵 Embodied Cognition

Descartes' Error 96%

A railroad foreman's brain injury revealed that reason depends on emotion, not pure logic.

by António Damásio 1994

3.95

10k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🦵 Embodied Cognition

The Ravenous Brain

by Daniel Bor • 2012

Consciousness is a biological trick evolution built, and its failures reveal mental illness.

3.91

427

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The Ravenous Brain 96%

Consciousness is a biological trick evolution built, and its failures reveal mental illness.

by Daniel Bor 2012

3.91

427 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The New Mind Readers

by Russell A. Poldrack • 2018

Brain scans map blood flow, not thought. A pioneer reveals what fMRI can and cannot do.

3.93

168

🧠 Brain Imaging 🔄 Neural Plasticity ⚖️ Neuroethics

The New Mind Readers 96%

Brain scans map blood flow, not thought. A pioneer reveals what fMRI can and cannot do.

by Russell A. Poldrack 2018

3.93

168 ratings

🧠 Brain Imaging 🔄 Neural Plasticity ⚖️ Neuroethics

Being You

by Anil Seth • 2020

Your brain does not read reality. It invents it. Every sensation, every self, is a guess.

4.10

5k+

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🪞 Neuroscience Of Self 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind

Being You 96%

Your brain does not read reality. It invents it. Every sensation, every self, is a guess.

by Anil Seth 2020

4.10

5k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🪞 Neuroscience Of Self 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind

Phantoms in the Brain

by V.S. Ramachandran • 1998

A missing arm can still hurt. That paradox unlocks how your brain constructs reality.

4.27

21k+

🧠 Neuropsychology 🔄 Brain Plasticity 🏥 Neurological Disorders

Phantoms in the Brain 96%

A missing arm can still hurt. That paradox unlocks how your brain constructs reality.

by V.S. Ramachandran 1998

4.27

21k+ ratings

🧠 Neuropsychology 🔄 Brain Plasticity 🏥 Neurological Disorders

The Mind and the Brain

by Jeffrey M. Schwartz • 2001

Conscious thought can change brain circuitry. A psychiatrist argues quantum physics is the reason.

4.10

7k+

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🪐 Consciousness Studies 🧘 Mindfulness Therapy

The Mind and the Brain 96%

Conscious thought can change brain circuitry. A psychiatrist argues quantum physics is the reason.

by Jeffrey M. Schwartz 2001

4.10

7k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🪐 Consciousness Studies 🧘 Mindfulness Therapy

Cognitive Neuroscience

by Richard Passingham • 2016

Seeing is not believing: your brain builds reality from parallel streams, then fact-checks itself.

3.71

318

🧠 Brain Science 📚 Cognitive Psychology 🧪 Neuropsychology

Cognitive Neuroscience 96%

Seeing is not believing: your brain builds reality from parallel streams, then fact-checks itself.

by Richard Passingham 2016

3.71

318 ratings

🧠 Brain Science 📚 Cognitive Psychology 🧪 Neuropsychology

The Mind's Past

by Michael S. Gazzaniga • 1998

Your brain acts, then invents a story about why. Your conscious self gets the press release.

3.77

115

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 👁️ Consciousness Studies ⚡ Unconscious Processing

The Mind's Past 96%

Your brain acts, then invents a story about why. Your conscious self gets the press release.

by Michael S. Gazzaniga 1998

3.77

115 ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 👁️ Consciousness Studies ⚡ Unconscious Processing

The Neuroscience of You

by Chantel Prat • 2022

Your brain isn't like anyone else's. Neuroscience finally has a field guide for that.

3.80

1k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🌈 Neurodiversity 🔄 Brain Plasticity

The Neuroscience of You 96%

Your brain isn't like anyone else's. Neuroscience finally has a field guide for that.

by Chantel Prat 2022

3.80

1k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🌈 Neurodiversity 🔄 Brain Plasticity

The Hidden Spring

by Mark Solms • 2021

Consciousness isn't a cortical achievement: it's a feeling in the brainstem, predicting uncertainty.

4.25

1k+

🧠 Consciousness Studies ❤️ Affective Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The Hidden Spring 96%

Consciousness isn't a cortical achievement: it's a feeling in the brainstem, predicting uncertainty.

by Mark Solms 2021

4.25

1k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies ❤️ Affective Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

How to Change a Memory

by Steve Ramirez • 2025

Memory can be edited with light. The pioneer explains why rewriting your past is inevitable.

4.17

🧠 Memory Science 🎭 False Memories 💔 Memory And Trauma

How to Change a Memory 96%

Memory can be edited with light. The pioneer explains why rewriting your past is inevitable.

by Steve Ramirez 2025

4.17

54 ratings

🧠 Memory Science 🎭 False Memories 💔 Memory And Trauma

NeuroLogic

by Eliezer J. Sternberg • 2016

Your brain constructs reality, rewrites memory, and confuses your inner voice for someone else's.

4.26

848

🧠 Unconscious Processing 🔄 Dual Process Theory 💭 Reconstructive Memory

NeuroLogic 96%

Your brain constructs reality, rewrites memory, and confuses your inner voice for someone else's.

by Eliezer J. Sternberg 2016

4.26

848 ratings

🧠 Unconscious Processing 🔄 Dual Process Theory 💭 Reconstructive Memory

The Forgetting Machine

by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga • 2017

Your memory stores roughly 125 MB. The real marvel is what your brain decides to forget.

3.74

1k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧠 Constructive Memory

The Forgetting Machine 96%

Your memory stores roughly 125 MB. The real marvel is what your brain decides to forget.

by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga 2017

3.74

1k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧠 Constructive Memory

Your Brain

by Matthew MacDonald • 2008

A manual for the hardware you were born with: how perception, memory, and emotion really work.

3.77

367

🧠 Pop Neuroscience 🧩 Neuroplasticity 🧬 Evolutionary Psychology

Your Brain 96%

A manual for the hardware you were born with: how perception, memory, and emotion really work.

by Matthew MacDonald 2008

3.77

367 ratings

🧠 Pop Neuroscience 🧩 Neuroplasticity 🧬 Evolutionary Psychology

Projections

by Karl Deisseroth • 2021

How grief, mania, and psychosis reveal the ancient brain circuits that built human emotion.

4.00

2k+

🧠 Biological Psychiatry 💔 Affective Neuroscience 🔌 Neural Circuits

Projections 96%

How grief, mania, and psychosis reveal the ancient brain circuits that built human emotion.

by Karl Deisseroth 2021

4.00

2k+ ratings

🧠 Biological Psychiatry 💔 Affective Neuroscience 🔌 Neural Circuits

Surfing Uncertainty

by Andy Clark • 2015

Reality is the brain's best guess, and action is how the body makes it come true.

4.09

381

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🔮 Predictive Processing

Surfing Uncertainty 96%

Reality is the brain's best guess, and action is how the body makes it come true.

by Andy Clark 2015

4.09

381 ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🔮 Predictive Processing

Wider Than the Sky

by Gerald M. Edelman • 2004

The mind is not a program. Consciousness is built by neural selection, not by running code.

3.65

421

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Evolutionary Neuroscience

Wider Than the Sky 96%

The mind is not a program. Consciousness is built by neural selection, not by running code.

by Gerald M. Edelman 2004

3.65

421 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Evolutionary Neuroscience

Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness

by Patrick House • 2022

Movement built consciousness. Nineteen scientific guesses at how the rest of your mind followed.

3.47

774

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience

Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness Summary

Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness 96%

Movement built consciousness. Nineteen scientific guesses at how the rest of your mind followed.

by Patrick House 2022

3.47

774 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience

Self Comes to Mind

by António Damásio • 2010

The self is a process built from body maps: three layers that turn mind into experience.

3.97

3k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

Self Comes to Mind 96%

The self is a process built from body maps: three layers that turn mind into experience.

by António Damásio 2010

3.97

3k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The Brain and the Meaning of Life

by Paul Thagard • 2010

Mental life is brain activity, and meaning is its reward for satisfying three deep human needs.

3.23

128

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Mind Brain Identity 🔬 Neurophilosophy

The Brain and the Meaning of Life Summary

The Brain and the Meaning of Life 96%

Mental life is brain activity, and meaning is its reward for satisfying three deep human needs.

by Paul Thagard 2010

3.23

128 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Mind Brain Identity 🔬 Neurophilosophy

Uncle Tungsten

by Oliver Sacks • 2001

A boy, a bar of tungsten, a brutal wartime school: how chemistry became Oliver Sacks's sanctuary.

3.98

7k+

🧪 Chemical Memoir 📜 History Of Chemistry 🇬🇧 Wartime England

Uncle Tungsten 96%

A boy, a bar of tungsten, a brutal wartime school: how chemistry became Oliver Sacks's sanctuary.

by Oliver Sacks 2001

3.98

7k+ ratings

🧪 Chemical Memoir 📜 History Of Chemistry 🇬🇧 Wartime England

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons

by Sam Kean • 2014

History's most bizarre brain traumas, and what each one revealed about your mind.

4.25

14k+

🧠 Neuroscience 📜 History Of Science 🏥 Medical History

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons Summary

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons 96%

History's most bizarre brain traumas, and what each one revealed about your mind.

by Sam Kean 2014

4.25

14k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroscience 📜 History Of Science 🏥 Medical History

Compare Features	Free	Pro
📖 Read Summaries Read unlimited summaries. Free users get 3 per month
🎧 Listen to Summaries Listen to unlimited summaries in 40 languages	—
❤️ Unlimited Bookmarks Free users are limited to 4	—
📜 Unlimited History Free users are limited to 4	—
📥 Unlimited Downloads Free users are limited to 1	—

People love SoBrief

Join our global community of 600,000+ readers

★★★★★

This site is a total game-changer. I've been flying through book summaries like never before. Highly, highly recommend.

— Dave G

Worth my money and time, and really well made. I've never seen this quality of summaries on other websites. Very helpful!

— Em

Highly recommended!! Fantastic service. Perfect for those that want a little more than a teaser but not all the intricate details of a full audio book.

— Greg M