Michael Graziano explains Peripersonal Neurons (BS 142)

Michael Graziano (Click image to play audio)

Michael Graziano (Click image to play audio)

As a young student Dr. Michael Graziano helped discover peripersonal neurons, which are neurons that detect when objects are coming near our bodies. In his new book The Spaces Between Us: A Story of Neuroscience, Evolution, and Human Nature, Graziano takes us through two decades of research into how these neurons work. Peripersonal neurons make it possible for us to move through our lives without constantly bumping into the objects and people around us, but because they work outside our conscious awareness we take them for granted. Graziano  concludes The Spaces Between Us with the compelling story of his son's dyspraxia, a condition that highlights how vital these neurons really are.

In BS 142 we explore these ideas, and Dr. Graziano explains why he wrote this book in a style meant to be accessible to a general audience.

 

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