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R. Douglas Fields, Ph.D.

Author of Why We Snap

Listen to Audio Excerpt
  • Why do ordinary, healthy people inexplicably commit acts of HEROISM?
    Neuroscience explains the positive side of the brain’s rage circuit.
  • Why do ordinary, healthy people inexplicably commit acts of VIOLENCE?
    Neuroscience explains the "rage circuit" and how individuals can control it.
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Acts of Violence.  Acts of Heroism. Same Brain Biology.

fields-hp-portraitEvery day we hear about rational, “normal” people snapping in a domestic dispute, barroom brawl, or road-rage attack. The right trigger in the right circumstances can unleash a fit of rage in almost anyone. Surprisingly, the same “rage circuits” can enable us to act heroically and altruistically before our conscious brain realizes what we are doing. A stranger dives into a frigid  lake to save a drowning child … a  soldier tackles a suicide bomber … a doctor dives under a bus to help a trapped accident victim. Why We Snap by Dr. Douglas Fields reveals the secrets of the rage circuit and how we can control it to reduce violence and harness it for the pursuit of social harmony in our troubled world. LEARN MORE

“This book is a riveting journey into your brain’s most mysterious, dangerous, and possibly redemptive territory… a blueprint for understanding – and perhaps remedying – the explosions of violence that can mar our world and our lives.”

– Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code

About Dr. Fields

R. Douglas Fields, PhD, is a neuroscientist and author. Throughout his career his scientific research has explored the cellular mechanisms of nervous system development, plasticity, and memory, working at UC San Diego, Stanford University, Yale University, and the National Institutes of Health.

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IN THE NEWS

My Google Talk on Why We Snap, the neuroscience of aggression and The Other Brain, about glia, just went up on Google Talks/YouTube.  My thanks to Jaka Jasic and colleagues at Google for hosting my talk and wonderful visit to the Google campus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJtoW8wvgXo

 

Three-minute Storyteller:  video interview with the author about Why We Snap, recorded at the Books for a Better Life Award Ceremony; posted last week in the wake of the horrendous mass murder in Las Vegas.

Why We Snap finalist in Books for a Better Life Award!  Ceremony at The Times Center, NYC, April 17, 2017.

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EVENTS

June 7, 2018    

Author speaking about Why We Snap and The Other Brain at Google Headquarters, California

 

 

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LATEST BLOG ENTRY

Humans Mated with Neanderthals–They Still Are

We know that Homo sapiens (meaning the wise one) co-inhabited the earth with Neandertals. What’s more, DNA analysis proves that men and women of both species (or subspecies if you prefer), mated. Of course, there was no Valentine’s Day back when the … READ FULL POST

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