QUIRK Brain Science Makes Sense of Your Peculiar Personality

Next time someone calls you a rat, it might be truer than you think. Science journalist Hannah Holmes takes listeners on a tour of various research labs where genetically engineered mice, rats, and voles explore mazes, survive shocks, get hooked on cocaine, and have their brains probed for chemicals. Holmes contends that they display rudimentary versions of human personality traits like anxiety and cheerfulness. She writes in an engaging style that generally translates well to audio, especially her use of clichés as jumping-off points for discussions. But this is still a technical work that requires a higher degree of concentration. Susan Denaker uses pauses effectively to break up long sentences and adds a bit of emotion to selected passages. Her characterization of accents isn’t strong, but it doesn’t detract from the overall work. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2011]