Yves Agid is founder of ICM, the International Brain Institute in Paris, and professor emeritus of neurology and cell biology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences. His research has made major contributions to the understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Preface: From Bench to Bedside and Vice VersaAcknowledgments1. The Interrelated Levels of Consciousness2. The Complexities of Subconsciousness3. A Physiological Base for the Subconscious in the Brain4. The Diseased Subconscious and Implications for the Future5. Looking Deeper Into the Basement of the BrainNotesFurther ReadingIndex

Written by one of the world’s great experts in neurology, this brilliant work shows Yves Agid to be not only an accomplished neuroscientist but also an elegant essayist. Agid brilliantly summarizes, in sparkling prose, how our conscious and subconscious worlds intersect, and how conscious behaviors can be revealed by understanding the subconscious forces at work. In the great tradition of medical science, he uses examples from his clinical experience, in patients with Parkinson disease and other ailments, to illuminate how circuits within the basal ganglia of our brain regulate and influence many aspects of “voluntary” decision making. I cannot imagine a more approachable or enjoyable introduction to modern neuroscience than this beautiful little volume. Wise, charming, and playful, it should be essential reading for anyone who cares about how we think and behave.

Yves Agid is founder of ICM, the International Brain Institute in Paris, and professor emeritus of neurology and cell biology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences. His research has made major contributions to the understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Preface: From Bench to Bedside and Vice VersaAcknowledgments1. The Interrelated Levels of Consciousness2. The Complexities of Subconsciousness3. A Physiological Base for the Subconscious in the Brain4. The Diseased Subconscious and Implications for the Future5. Looking Deeper Into the Basement of the BrainNotesFurther ReadingIndex

Written by one of the world’s great experts in neurology, this brilliant work shows Yves Agid to be not only an accomplished neuroscientist but also an elegant essayist. Agid brilliantly summarizes, in sparkling prose, how our conscious and subconscious worlds intersect, and how conscious behaviors can be revealed by understanding the subconscious forces at work. In the great tradition of medical science, he uses examples from his clinical experience, in patients with Parkinson disease and other ailments, to illuminate how circuits within the basal ganglia of our brain regulate and influence many aspects of “voluntary” decision making. I cannot imagine a more approachable or enjoyable introduction to modern neuroscience than this beautiful little volume. Wise, charming, and playful, it should be essential reading for anyone who cares about how we think and behave.

Yves Agid is founder of ICM, the International Brain Institute in Paris, and professor emeritus of neurology and cell biology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital. He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences. His research has made major contributions to the understanding of neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Preface: From Bench to Bedside and Vice VersaAcknowledgments1. The Interrelated Levels of Consciousness2. The Complexities of Subconsciousness3. A Physiological Base for the Subconscious in the Brain4. The Diseased Subconscious and Implications for the Future5. Looking Deeper Into the Basement of the BrainNotesFurther ReadingIndex

Written by one of the world’s great experts in neurology, this brilliant work shows Yves Agid to be not only an accomplished neuroscientist but also an elegant essayist. Agid brilliantly summarizes, in sparkling prose, how our conscious and subconscious worlds intersect, and how conscious behaviors can be revealed by understanding the subconscious forces at work. In the great tradition of medical science, he uses examples from his clinical experience, in patients with Parkinson disease and other ailments, to illuminate how circuits within the basal ganglia of our brain regulate and influence many aspects of “voluntary” decision making. I cannot imagine a more approachable or enjoyable introduction to modern neuroscience than this beautiful little volume. Wise, charming, and playful, it should be essential reading for anyone who cares about how we think and behave.