Sociological Reflections on the Neurosciences

This is an anthology of technical essays on the social aspects of medical research and education in the neurosciences. The editors are based in the UK and the Netherlands, and the contributors are mostly from the UK or the US. The majority are sociologists, though a scattering of other perspectives are represented: philosophy, medical education, anthropology, communication. All are academic professors. The collection is written for specialist audiences. The essays mostly address pressing social questions that come from the recent trend to view what were formerly considered social, psychological, or moral issues (addiction, depression, cognitive or behavioral differences that change but do not prevent social functioning) as medical problems in the mechanical function of the brain. A few essays address the question of drugs for neurological "enhancement." The authors discuss these shifts in thinking and their potential consequences for education, public policy, social work, and medicine. As sociological studies, the essays do not focus on the scientific accuracy of one or another view, but on the social consequences of believing it. Though the subject is topical and of great general interest, the language and context of the book is academic. Perhaps in response, the writing varies in style as well as quality; some essays offer an uneasy mixture of first-person prose and dense thickets of technical jargon, others are well-written in an impersonal voice. The collection is best suited for academic readers in sociology or social aspects of medicine, and readers with college-level education in medicine or the social sciences and an interest in the subject. Distributed in North America by Turpin Distribution. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)