CAT NORRIS

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES

FAVORITE BOOK TO TEACH:

Descartes'Error, by Antonio Damasio

MUST-READ BOOK IN YOUR FIELD:

Foundations of Social Neuroscience, by M.R. Bennett and P.M.S. Hacker

FAVORITE PLEASURE READS:

The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk

Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk

CURRENTLY READING:

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Descartes' Error is an example of a really good popular-press book about the brain and emotion. I tend to not use textbooks to teach in our field. I believe that students learn more from reading and thinking critically about original research articles.

The field of social neuro- science is relatively new but has roots in many other research areas. When students come to me and ask how they can learn more about this relatively new field, I always recommend Foundations, a volume of previously published articles.