Two Heads: A Graphic Exploration of How Our Brains Work with Other Brains

A lively, accessible, graphic novel that takes us on a highly entertaining and fascinating tour through the wonders and mysteries of the human brain—from a renowned husband-and-wife team of cognitive neuroscientists.

Professors and husband-and-wife team Uta and Chris Frith have pioneered major studies of brain disorders throughout their nearly fifty-year career. Here, in Two Heads, their distinguished careers serve as a prism through which they share the compelling story of the birth of neuroscience and their paradigm-shifting discoveries across areas as wide-ranging as autism and schizophrenia research, and new frontiers of social cognition including diversity, prejudice, confidence, collaboration, and empathy.

Working with their son Alex Frith and artist Daniel Locke, the professors examine the way that neuroscientific research is now focused on the fact we are a social species, whose brains have evolved to work cooperatively. Using an engaging and approachable style, they delve into a wide range of complex concepts and explain them with humor and clarity. You’ll discover what happens when people gather in groups, and how people behave when they’re in pairs—either pitted against each other or working together. Is it better to surround yourself with people who are similar to yourself, or different? And, are two heads really better than one?

Highly original and ingeniously illustrated, Two Heads provides an expansive understanding of how our brains work (and how they work together) and is an irresistible visual delight.

About the Author

Uta Frith is Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. She is a member of the Senate of the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Associate of the NAS. Uta is known for her research on autism and dyslexia and was listed in 2014 as among the 200 most eminent psychologists of the modern era.

Chris Frith is Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging at University College London, Visiting Professor at the Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, University of London. He is a pioneer in the application of brain imaging to the study of mental processes and in 2016, he was listed among the top 10 most influential brain scientists of the modern era by Science.

Daniel Locke is an artist and graphic novelist based in Brighton, UK. Since 2013, much of his work has been informed and shaped by the discoveries of contemporary science. He’s worked with Nobrow, Arts Council England, The Wellcome Trust, and The National Trust.

Alex Frith has been a children’s nonfiction author since 2005. Working exclusively for Usborne Publishing, he has written over fifty books covering almost any subject you can think of, from the origins of the Universe to the meaning behind world religions, from extinct animals to prototype AIs.