For Everyone Who Has a Brain
his blog contains detailed show notes for the Brain Science Podcast, including links to free episode transcripts.
BS 151 is a discussion of The Neuroscience of Emotion: A New Synthesis by Ralph Adolphs and David J. Anderson. We talk about key ideas from the book and relate them to several previous episodes about emotion including interviews with Jaak Panksepp, Lisa Feldman Barrett and Luiz Pessoa.
Read MoreBS 150 is our 4th interview of Seth Grant, the molecular biologist who has uncovered the fascinating evolution of synapse complexity. In this interview we learn about the first whole brain mapping of the mouse brain synaptome. We discuss the implications of the surprising level of diversity found in synapses in different brain areas. Dr Grant introduces us to a new theory of perception and memory recall.
Read MoreBS 149 is an interview with Dean Burnett, author of Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From, and Why. This is a good episode for new listeners of all backgrounds.
Read MoreBS 148 is an interview with pioneering neuroscientist Dr. Eve Marder. It was recorded in 2009, but the content remains surprisingly relevant.
Read MoreBS 147 is a discussion of Lessons from the Lobster: Eve Marder's Work in Neuroscience by Charlotte Nassim. I explain why I think Dr. Eve Marder deserves a Noble Prize for her life time of contributions to neuroscience. Please note that Marder’s original interview (BSP 56) is also now available for FREE download.
Read MoreBS 146 is an interview with Dr. Alan Jasanoff, author of The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are. We talk about how what he calls “the cerebral mystique” causes people to forget that the brain is not autonomous, but relies on its interaction with the body and its environment to create the Mind.
Read MoreBS 145 is an interview with Dr. Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain and Tales of Literacy for the 21st Century: The Literary Agenda. Dr Wolf has spent her career studying how the brain is changed by learning to read. We also explore her concerns about how the shift to digital media will change our reading brains.
Read MoreBS 144 is an interview with Dr. Angela Friederici, author of Language in Our Brain: The Origins of a Uniquely Human Capacity. This is an extensive review of several decades of research, but this interview makes the field accessible to listeners of all backgrounds.
Read MoreBS 143 is an interview with Elkhonon Goldberg, author of Creativity: The Human Brain in the Age of Innovation. Dr. Goldberg's earlier books were featured during our first year, and he was last interviewed way back in 2007 for BSP 18.
Read MoreBS 142 features the return of Dr. Michael Graziano, who first appeared on Brain Science in BSP 108. In this episode we talk about his new book, The Spaces Between Us: A Story of Neuroscience, Evolution, and Human Nature. This is an exploration of peripersonal neurons. We explore not just how they were discovered, but why they are so important in our daily lives, affecting everything from tool use to getting along with others.
Read MoreBS 141 is an interview with Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, author of The Forgetting Machine: Memory, Perception, and the "Jennifer Aniston Neuron."
Read MoreBS 140 is our Eleventh Annual Review episode. We look back at the highlights from 2017 and also share a few ideas from this years annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Thank you for your support.
Read MoreJeff Hawkins, author of the bestseller On Intelligence tells us about his latest research into how the neocortex produces intelligence. He proposes an exciting new model that could change the way we imagine cortical function.
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Dr. John Medina has spent his career in bio-engineering, but he also has a deep interest in how the brain works. In his latest book Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp, he presents our knowledge brain aging in an engaging manner that can be enjoyed by readers of all backgrounds.
In this month's episode of Brain Science (BS 138) we discuss some of the most important principles for nourishing brains as we age. He describes what he calls the "dopamine lollipop," which is the surge of dopamine created by activities such as teaching and physical activities like dancing. Some of his ideas reinforce what we have discussed in previous episodes, but there are new ideas that are relevant to listeners of all ages.
In BS 137 neuroscientist Seth Grant introduces the "genetic lifespan calendar." He describes a new paper that describes how the genome determines the brain's complexity in "both time and space." This is the first paper to describe evidence that gene expression in the brain follows a predictable schedule that might offer new understanding of diseases like schizophrenia.
Read MoreBrain Science 136 is a discussion of Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It by Mark Seidenberg. We explore some recent discoveries from reading science and ponder why there is such a large gap between these scientific discoveries and current educational practices in the US.
Read MoreBS 135 is an interview with Lisa Feldman Barrett, author of How Emotions Are Made. We explore the evidence AGAINST the classical assumption that emotions are universal and hard-wired, but we also discuss a fascinating new Theory of Constructed Emotion, which is very consistent with current neuroscience.
Read MoreIn Brain Science 134 we remember Dr. Jaak Panksepp, pioneer of Affective Neuroscience.
A completely new episode will be out near the end of July.
Read MoreThis is an interview with Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel, the scientist who discovered that the human brain has an average of 86 billion neurons, which is significantly less than the 100 billion that was long assumed. She has also written a wonderful book called The Human Advantage: How Our Brains Became Remarkable.
Read MoreDr. William Uttal, who died last month at the age of 86, had a very unusual career, going from physics and engineering to psychology and cognitive science. I think his unique background contributed to the refreshing skepticism that he brought to the growing use of imaging (especially fMRI) in the cognitive sciences.
He was a prolific writer on the subject and back in 2012 I had the honor of talking with him about his book Mind and Brain: A Critical Appraisal of Cognitive Neuroscience. In addition to shedding light on the limitations of imaging (such as poor reproducibility), Dr. Uttal also argued that it was premature to abandon other psychological testing methods.
This month I am replaying that 2012 interview. Brain Science 132 includes a new introduction and closing remarks. While Dr. Uttal's writing was aimed at a technical audience I think it is important for listeners of all backgrounds to be aware of these issues because they remain as relevant as ever.
The Brain Science Podcast features the latest books about neuroscience as well as interviews with leading scientists from around the world.
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