Monday, May 31, 2010

The brainy stuff aka Neuroscience

The main character, Dominic, is a neuroscientist and usually the inclusion of scientific terminology and jargon would mean that my eyes would glaze over, my ability to comprehend in any rational manner completely disappearing and my interest in reading further going with it. Not the case...well, at least this time. I was riveted and I felt like Dominic was the perfect combination of scientist and handsome lead. The initial conversation between Madalene and Dominic, beginning on page 36, involving memory and delusion was flawless and easily understandable. Reminded me of the movie The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and the television show Fringe.

"The brain can't tell the difference between the memory of an old trauma and a fresh instance of a recurrent one," he said. "The pathway is reinforced every time an event is relived in imagination or experience, but we're learning to identify the memory trace- the specific grouping of neurons that represent a memory- and we're finding these traces aren't simply the environments in which a memory is formed, but actually hold he memory itself."

How did you react to the science speak? Driven to the computer to check on reality of memory erasure? Turned on by the brainy doctor? Wondering about the connection to the Fallen? Curious to learn more?

3 comments:

Michele Hauf said...

I love a sexy, SMART hero. Neurology fascinates me, so mixing that with vampires was like the perfect combo for me. And White didn't make Dominic so over the top that I skipped stuff, or my eyes glazed over. He was fascinating, and a nice alternate to the paranormal stuff in the story.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

I'm a fan of shows like CSI so I don't shy away from reading books that have science speak. I loved the good doctor. He was the perfect mix of intelligence, strength and sensitivity. Um, and he has a body tattoo. How could you not fall a little in love with Dr. O'Shaughnessy.

Would I want to learn more about memory erasure? Eh, not really. It's too big brotherish for me. I believe Dominic says something to the effect of 'would I be me without my memories'? I'm not sure what the answer is but, I don't think I would be me without my life experiences nestled inside my brain.

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure we could ponder the deeper meaning of memories for ages and never really find our answers. But it would be a great conversation!