Wild Brains

How nature’s mental health strategies can inspire healthier, more adaptive human minds

Despite a century of impressive advances in neuroscience, few true breakthroughs in mental health treatment have emerged. At a time of escalating mental health challenges across the globe, what have we missed by focusing on rats and mice in brain research and neglecting other species with equally complex and adaptive brains? In Wild Brains, Kelly Lambert invites readers on a captivating journey to rethink traditional animal research models, venturing beyond the confines of the laboratory to explore the extraordinary promise of studying animal brains in the wild.

With Lambert as your guide, you’ll discover neural clues that help us understand the mischievous raccoon, the shape-shifting octopus, the family-focused owl monkey, the industrious beaver, and elephants that engage in deceptive behavior. Can naked mole rats unlock secrets to aging well? Could the play behaviors of animals offer mood-boosting strategies for humans? Can prairie voles help us decode the neural roots of human connection? Lambert draws on historical insights as well as her own groundbreaking research—from teaching rats to drive tiny cars to testing the problem-solving skills of mouse lemurs in Madagascar—to reveal what wild brains can teach us about emotional resilience, stress regulation, social bonding, and longevity.

A bold case for diversifying our brain research to include more species and habitats, Wild Brains blends cutting-edge neuroscience with vivid storytelling to open new pathways for understanding the human brain and advancing mental health through more ecologically informed strategies.