I have always enjoyed doing book reviews and my task is easier when the book holds my interest and leaves me with a favorable impression. I was excited to review Matter of Mind as I enjoy reading anecdotes and clinical vignettes from outstanding neuroscientist and seasoned clinicians. The prospect of gaining some insight into the mind of Ken Heilman was a draw to me! I read the first edition of Heilman and Valenstein (1979) when I was in graduate school; the subsequent two editions hold prominent places on my office bookshelves. I eagerly embarked upon my review of this book, loaded as it appeared to be with rich clinical and scientific material.

This book is divided into nine separate chapters. It mirrors rather closely Heilman and Valenstein's texts in its chosen topics of Language, Emotions, Attention, Memory, Cognitive–Motor Skills, and Sensory-Perception and Recognition. Where it expands beyond the previous books is in the chapters on Self-Awareness, Conation and Intention. As introductions to the different types of deficits that can arise following various forms of brain damage, all of the chapters are very well-organized and could serve as excellent reviews and summaries for students and trainees. More experienced neuroscientists already likely understand most of the concepts and terms in this book. Yet, it is still nice to review them, especially for those of us who do not often have the opportunity to observe the idiosyncratic deficits that arise from very specific brain lesions.

The chapter on Emotions goes beyond prosody and expression, two concepts that Dr. Heilman has extensively studied and written about. His explanation of the different theoretical approaches to describe emotional experiences made interesting reading. For all we know about the brain and brain function, we are just beginning to gain an understanding of the complexity of emotion and how certain types and sites or brain damage mediate positive and negative emotions. Heilman touches briefly on how the manipulation of neurotransmitters such as serotonin may influence the experience of emotion. I would have liked to have seen more written about this.

The chapter on Self-Awareness includes sections on asomatognosia (deficit of self-knowledge) and anosognosia (unawareness of one's deficits). I was anticipating that it would include a more extended discussion on concepts like insight, consciousness, and even “the mind.” After all, the title of the book implied that a discussion on the mind would take place at some point. However, these terms were not found in this chapter nor in any other chapter. Nevertheless, agnostic syndromes such as anosognosia and asomatognosia and their counterpart—self-awareness—are interesting, and the author is indeed a noted expert on these syndromes. Little to no reference was made to other forms of unawareness, except for a very brief (and somewhat outdated) discussion on psychological denial (à la Weinstein and Kahn).

The chapter on Memory gave a good overview of working memory, declarative memory, procedural memory, and semantic memory, concepts and systems with which most neuroscientists should already be familiar. Students would find this interesting reading and it would serve as a good primer. For patients and families, a lot of the content may be over their heads. I kept asking myself, “How will this benefit a patient or family member?” “Will it answer the questions they have about their particular brain injury or disease?” Perhaps, chapters like this one on memory will provide the answers that some people are looking for. They may want to understand the site and cause of memory impairment, but are probably much more interested in learning about effective treatments for memory deficits. Heilman's book does not offer a lot of treatment answers or recommendations. On the other hand, this chapter may help patients and family members to be more effective consumers, i.e., to ask the right kinds of questions of their doctors.

Chapter 7 and 8 on Cognitive–Motor Skills and Sensory–Perception and Recognition are the stuff of classic neurology. Indeed, students of neurology and neuropsychology, should find the discussion on apraxias and agnosias very interesting reading. Most of us in clinical practice rarely see such disorders as “tactile anamia” or “auditory amusia,” so I am glad that experts like Dr. Heilman can explain them to us. These chapters are an example of the book's audience problem. Its content is most suitable for clinicians; patients and families might find little to maintain their interest unless the patient has achromatopsia, asterognosia, or some other isolated “gnosia.”

The final chapter on Conation and Intention discusses action initiative arising from within oneself. Concepts like abulia, akinesia, and impersistence are discussed with excellent explanations of the neuropathology underlying each of these conditions. As expected, emphasis was on the role of frontal lobes. Like the other chapters, the clinical vignettes made for the most interesting reading.

A nice feature of this book is the summaries and selected readings at the end of each chapter. This can help readers to focus on what was emphasized in the preceding pages and provides them with some valuable resources for further inquiry. Unfortunately, the book lacks a summary chapter. Dr. Heilman might have added something at the end, for example, a discussion about his visions for the future, or a summing up of his years working as a behavioral neurologist. Readers will have to be content with the rich clinical vignettes. Yet, some of us want more of Dr. Heilman's mind.