Eve Marder’s life in lobster neurons, the history of hormones, and logic laid bare: Books in brief

Abstract

Lessons from the Lobster: Eve Marder’s Work in Neuroscience Charlotte Nassim MIT Press (2018) For 40 years, neuroscientist Eve Marder has researched a tiny clutch of specialized neurons controlling the crustacean stomach — the stomatogastric ganglion. From that intense, data-centred process, she has gleaned key findings on the operation of neuronal circuits, neuronal homeostasis and neuroplasticity. Charlotte Nassim’s richly detailed ‘thought biography’ unpeels the minutiae of lab life, revealing how Marder, “without technological fireworks or lavish funding”, has illuminated areas of human neuroscience such as brain variability. A nuanced portrait of an inspired scientist at work.