Neuroscience Book Club
The Neuroscience Book Club brings students, faculty, and staff together to explore how discoveries in brain science shape our understanding of memory, behavior, and human experience. Through shared reading and guided discussion, participants engage with neuroscience beyond the classroom in an informal, interdisciplinary setting.
The book club is open to all members of the Wake Forest community—no prior neuroscience coursework required. Contact or for more information.
Fall 2026
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons
From the author of the bestseller The Disappearing Spoon, tales of the brain and the history of neuroscience.
We’re also excited that Sam Kean will be speaking here at Wake on 11/9, details to follow.
Meeting Dates: 9/13, 10/4 & 11/8 | 7:00-8:30 pm | Winston Hall 126
Early studies of the functions of the human brain used a simple method: wait for misfortune to strike-strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, lobotomies, horrendous accidents-and see how the victim coped. In many cases survival was miraculous, and observers could only marvel at the transformations that took place afterward, altering victims’ personalities. An injury to one section can leave a person unable to recognize loved ones; some brain trauma can even make you a pathological gambler, pedophile, or liar. But a few scientists realized that these injuries were an opportunity for studying brain function at its extremes. With lucid explanations and incisive wit, Sam Kean explains the brain’s secret passageways while recounting forgotten stories of common people whose struggles, resiliency, and deep humanity made modern neuroscience possible.