The positive outcomes of being an active musician are also of interest. Kraus demonstrates well how sustained background noise - even at relatively low levels - can have a negative impact on achievements. The chapters on language and sound were very interesting, as were those on noise and ageing. Some sections worked particularly well for me. Kraus even points out how easily confused they are - so why use them? This isn't a textbook - there's no need to load the reader with all the jargon. For example, she defines two terms 'afferent' and 'efferent', apparently adjectives for direction of travel. However, Kraus does occasionally fall for a classic academic's failing of making use of unnecessary jargon. Nina Kraus is certainly enthusiastic about her topic and generally the book is well-pitched (appropriate given the musical connotations) and readable. Nina Kraus is certainly enthusiastic about her topic and generally the book is well-pitched (appropriate given the musical connotations) and readable Like most genres, popular science goes through phases - for the last couple of years, neuroscience has been the in thing, to the extent that I tend to think 'not another brain book' when I see one - but for someone who has always sung, the idea of finding out more about the relationship between the brain and sound, especially music, was attractive. Like most genres, popular science goes through phases - for the last couple of years, neuroscience has been the in thing, to the extent that I tend to think 'not another brain book' when I see one - but for someone who has always sung, the idea of finding out more about the relationship between the brain and sound, especially music, was attractive. The sounds of our lives shape our brains, for better and for worse, and help us build the sonic world we live in.more Kraus shows how our engagement with sound leaves a fundamental imprint on who we are. She traces what happens in the brain when we speak another language, have a language disorder, experience rhythm, listen to birdsong, or suffer a concussion.

Kraus explores the power of music for healing as well as the destructive power of noise on the nervous system. Sound plays an unrecognized role in both healthy and hurting brains. Auditory neurons make calculations at one-thousandth of a second hearing is the speediest of our senses. It interacts with what we know, with our emotions, with how we think, with our movements, and with our other senses. Our hearing brain, Kraus tells us, is vast. Kraus explores what goes on in our brains when we hear a word-or a chord, or a meow, or a screech. We don't just hear we engage with sounds. Our hearing is always on-we can't close our ears the way we close our eyes-and yet we can ignore sounds that are unimportant. In Of Sound Mind, Nina Kraus examines the partnership of sound and brain, showing for the first time that the processing of sound drives many of the brain's core functions. Making sense of sound is one of the hardest jobs we ask our brains to do.

Our hearing is always on-we can't close our ears the way we close our eyes How sound leaves a fundamental imprint on who we are. How sound leaves a fundamental imprint on who we are.

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