Reflections of a Neuropsychologist ― Brushes With Brains

Reflections of a Neuropsychologist: Brushes with Brains follows the life of an influential neuropsychologist with a fascinating and varied career. Unique in its autobiographical approach, it features up-to-date coverage of research into human evolution, archaeology and neurology.

Beginning with his earliest memories (and implications for memory processes), he reflects on his archaeological expeditions preceding his primary career as a Physiological Psychologist and a Behavioral Neuroscientist. His influential research covers such rare neurological disorders as Huntington’s disease, Friedreich ataxia, and Williams syndrome, and more common maladies like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, stroke, Fragile X, Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, schizophrenia, autism, and depression.

His fascinating personal experiences illustrating scientific discoveries will entertain, enthuse, encourage and inspire, and provide established research scientists and practicing clinicians with a unique road map.

John L. Bradshaw originally received a scholarship to study Classical Languages at Merton College, Oxford (1958), before transferring to Psychology, Physiology and Philosophy. After two years (1962-1964) as a System’s Analyst for Imperial Chemical Industries, John completed a PhD in Physiological Psychology at Sheffield University (1967). He then worked at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (1967-1968), before moving to the newly-established Monash University (Melbourne, Australia), rising to a Personal Chair and an Emeritus Professorship. His group has worked on movement, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, human evolution and the evolution of language, praxis and tool use, synaesthesia, spatial representation, embodiment, mirror-neuron, phantom-limb and many other arcane phenomena.