Our Creative Brains

How do humans develop? At birth, our brains are only a third of the size to which they grow in adulthood. A safe, warm and stimulating environment is essential to allow the brain’s power to flourish. In addition, communication is of the utmost importance and art and music are among the most remarkable ways we can stimulate our brain. In Our Creative Brains, Dick Swaab reveals what makes us human: the interaction of the brain with our environment. How is the work of artists influenced by their brain diseases? How can talent determine your profession and how does your profession change your brain? How can you delay Alzheimer’s disease? Brain research has not only transformed the way we think about our brain, free will and ourselves, it also has profound social consequences. For there is no better way to gain an understanding of brain diseases than by generating curiosity, wonder, and admiration for our brain. Dick Swaab (1944) became world famous with his work about differences between the sexes in the brain. His research even caused controversy when he discovered the first difference in the brains of homosexual men, but subsequently the critics were forced to admit they had been wrong. He is a professor in neurobiology at the University of Amsterdam and was director of The Netherlands Institute for Brain Research for thirty years. He writes for a broad range of newspapers and magazines, from Nature to NRC Handelsblad. His international bestseller ‘We Are Our Brains’ sold 450,000 copies in the Netherlands and close to 50,000 abroad.