The Neuroscience of You

How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours

By: Chantel Prat

Narrated by: Chantel Prat

From University of Washington professor Chantel Prat comes The Neuroscience of You, a rollicking adventure into the human brain that reveals the surprising truth about neuroscience, shifting our focus from what’s average to an understanding of how every brain is different, exactly why our quirks are important, and what this means for each of us.

With style and wit, Chantel Prat takes us on a tour of the meaningful ways that our brains are dissimilar from one another. Using real-world examples, along with take-them-yourself tests and quizzes, she shows you how to identify the strengths and weakness of your own brain, while learning what might be going on in the brains of those who are unlike you. With sections like “Focus,” “Navigate,” and “Connect,” The Neuroscience of You helps us see how brains that are engineered differently ultimately take diverse paths when it comes time to prioritize information, use what they’ve learned from experience, relate to other people, and so much more.

While other scientists focus on how “the” brain works “on average,” Prat argues that our obsession with commonalities has slowed our progress toward understanding the very things that make each of us unique and interesting. Her field-leading research, employing cutting-edge technology, reveals the truth: Complicated as it may be, no two brains are alike. And individual differences in brain functioning are as pervasive as they are fundamental to defining what “normal” looks like. Adages such as, “I’m not wired that way” intuitively point to the fact that the brains we’re piloting, educating, and parenting are wonderfully distinct, explaining a whole host of phenomena, from how easily a person might learn a second language in adulthood to whether someone feels curious or threatened when faced with new information. This book invites the listener to understand themselves and others by zooming in so close that we all look gray and squishy.

* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF with images referred to in the text.

©2022 Chantel Prat (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Move over, outer space—this book is a dazzling tour through inner space. Chantel Prat has a rare, remarkable gift for making neurons sing and dendrites dance, and she’s written the smartest, clearest, and funniest book I’ve ever read about the brain.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

"Prat wants to help readers understand their brain.... She does so in a friendly, personable voice that makes the complexities of the brain accessible.... A highly readable, entertaining, and authoritative book. Recommended for all non-specialists interested in how the brain works."—Library Journal (starred)

“In The Neuroscience of You, Chantel Prat pulls off the nearly impossible feat of writing a book that is authoritative, personal, technically astute and charming. Prat offers a profound thesis: that there is wonder and beauty in understanding the variation in how brains function. Prat teaches us that these differences should not be fuel for division, but rather, the object of fascination, appreciation, and celebration.”—C. Brandon Ogbunu, Yale University, Ideas contributor for Wired Magazine

Fun Brain Stuff

Reading this is kinda liken You to Neuroscience as to what Neil deGrasse Tyson is to Astrophysics!! Both of you are fun & bring a entertaining spin science. Which potentially could be boring or not relatable to the common person.
Thanks 😁

Fun with neuroscience

What a great and informative read with exciting assessments throughout 🙏😃.
Thanks for the hard work at taking complex ideas and making them relatable

Engaging and Insightful

Absolutely enjoyed this book. Favourite chapters were 'Lopsided', 'Adapt' and 'Connect'. Insightful, humorous and engaging.

Listen many times

There is so much information in this book even listening twice isn’t enough to get it into my brain. I’m buying the book also.

She understands Neuroscience

Not sure what the motivation is to see everything theough social justice lenses. Human nature is at the most basic adaptive to survival. Why mix human behavior to human neuroscience….
I study Neuroscience and apply it clinically. My adaptive human nature shuns people who twist it to their own purpose.
AND, if I have to hear Basal “ganglia” one more time!!…. 🤪

Enlightening!

Fascinating! If you can take what you have learned from this book and use it in your everyday life your life will be enriched! The brain is presented in layman's terms and many examples are given. Add the authors incredible humor to this mix you've got a delightful book!

Rich with information

The book is dense, but Prat makes the content extremely palatable. In fact, the book is so dense, that I had to rewind if something more pressing stole my attention for even a minute. The book requires attentiveness and patience.
Lots of fun and interesting nuggets about the brain, and no shortage of future studies, videos and topics to reference.
I hope she brings her last book to audible soon, so I can listen to that one too.

Love it!!

A fantastic way of presenting the subject. Lots of valuable information very well explained. “The book” for everyone interested in neuroscience.

Most Annoying!

I found this book most annoying. And the delivery in particular. It is read by the author.

In addition to discovering diverse things about personality…. You will discover :

/More than you ever wanted to know about Beyoncé…. Including that apparently she is the greatest entertainer throughout the entire history of mankind.
- More than you would ever want to know about her relationship with her daughter
-The entire dating history that occurred between her and her boyfriend….. whom she ultimately married( also a neurobiologist)

I suppose that there was some validity to content, but I almost had to grit my teeth to bear.the presentation which…. In my mind…… seems to be written by a “twenty something”…. for other “Twenty somethings”

I don’t necessarily expect a formal sort of presentation about everything in neurobiology…… and I listen to a lot of neurobiology. But this book was beyond the pale.

A True Neurological Adventure!

I found the book very fascinating with many great anecdotes. The anecdotes helped bring the subjects to life with better understanding. It is really amazing how unique individuals are and I would strongly recommend everyone giving this a read or listen!! It is also pleasant to hear the author read the book the way it was envisioned, it was a joy to listen to!