A Podcast that Explores how neuroscience is unraveling the mystery of how our brain makes us human
Brain Science is a monthly podcast Brain Science, hosted by Ginger Campbell, MD. We explore how recent discoveries in neuroscience are helping unravel the mystery of how our brain makes us human. The content is accessible to people of all backgrounds.
In response to listener requests, I recently interviewed Dr. Steven Novella from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This has been posted as Episode 16 of Books and Ideas , my other podcast. The details are available in the show notes on the Books and Ideas website. I hope you will consider subscribing to the podcast, but if you just want to hear the interview,
I am including the latest episode of my Books and Ideas Podcast (Episode 25) in the feed for the Brain Science Podcast because I think it may be the most important interview I have ever recorded. My guest was Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. This book examines the history of on-going controversy about whether vaccines cause autism.
I recommend Dr. Offit’s book, Autism’s False Prophets, to everyone because of its thorough examination of the vaccine-autism controversy. He examines the evidence from both sides, while showing compassion for why parents are easily confused and frightened by claims that physicians and scientists have dismissed. The book is unlikely to dissuade those who are convinced by the tactics of vaccine opponents, but it will be a valuable resource to parents who want a clear explanation that includes a sober account of the risks of not vaccinating their children. Physicians and scientists will also benefit from reading this book because it provides an important case study in how lack of scientific literacy can threaten public health.
Recently Natasha Mitchell did an excellent two-part All in the Mind podcast about brain plasticity. In Part 1, she interviewed Jeffrey Schwartz, MD and Norman Doidge, MD. Dr. Schwartz is the author of The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, and Dr. Doidge wrote the recent bestseller,The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science.
In Part 2, Mitchell interviews Dr. Doidge further. One of the topics they explore is the "dark side" of plasticity. Since neuroplasticity is a dynamic, competitive process, it is actually a factor in how we form our habits, both good and bad . This interview is an excellent follow-up to the interview Dr. Doidge did for the Brain Science Podcast back in Episode 26.
You can listen to the podcasts and get transcripts at the All in the Mind website.
Dr. Michael Britt of The Psych Files podcast has just completed an excellent two-part discussion of the so-called Mozart Effect. With his guest, Dr. Kenneth Steele, he examines the origins of this popular idea, as well as the fact that no one has replicated the original research that suggested such an effect might exist. If you have ever wondered whether listening to classic music could make you (or your baby) smarter, you will want to listen to this podcast. Also, check out his blog for a full list of references.
I recently started listening to The Psych Files , and I think the style and content of The Psych Files compliments the Brain Science Podcast. For that reason, I have just added the feed from Dr. Britt's blog to our new Brain Science Podcast room in FriendFeed.
The June 14 Episode of All in the Mind has a thoughtful discussion of the implications of using drugs to improve cognitive performance. Natasha Mitchell interviewed Barbara Sahakian, professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge (UK) and William Glannon, a bioethicist from the University of Calgary (Canada). Several important issues emerged including the fact that that it is unknown whether the drugs currently available are safe for long-term use. There is also the nagging question of whether the use by normal people of drugs originally intended to treat medical conditions (like ADHD) constitutes cheating? What do you think? You can find the podcast and its transcript here. If you want to share you opinion with Natasha go to her All in the Mind Blog.
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Brains Matter is a podcast about science from Australia. It was one of the shows on my ill-fated Podango™ Science channel, and it is now one of the charter members of SCIENCEPODCASTERS.ORG. Unfortunately, I don't have a chance to listen to it on a regular basis, but I want to recommend the most recent episode, which is a discussion of robotics in history and in fiction. The guest is Adam Parker, who is studying for a PhD in Robotics in Australia. He has a surprising knowledge of the history of the field and brings that perspective to the conversation . I think that that is one of the things that makes the interview interesting. This is not a technical conversation, but one that everyone can enjoy. As I said on Digg™, if you liked Blade Runner, you will enjoy this interview.
"Everyone has a brainstem, but it's tuned differently depending on what sounds are behaviorally relevant to a person; for example, the sounds of his or her mother tongue," Gandour said.
I just listened to the February 6, episode of Science Talk, the podcast from Scientific American. Steve Mirsky talks with linguist Alice Gaby, from the University of California-Berkeley, about the relationship between language, culture, cognition and perception. This is very relevant to Episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast (due out on February 8), which is about the evolution of language.
The Philosopher's Zone is one of the excellent Australian podcasts that I listen to regularly. The episode of January 12, 2007, is especially relevant to our recent discussion of embodied intelligence. Host Alan Saunders interviews Matt Carter, author of Minds and Computers: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence.
Their conversation is a good brief introduction to some of the issues of philosophy of mind, the relevance of the computational theory of the mind (introduced in Brain Science Podcast #15), and the importance of embodiment to the field of artificial intelligence.
If anyone has already read this book, I would love to hear your feedback and impressions.
Books and Ideas Podcast #15 is an interview with Robert Schleip, PhD, from the University of Ulm in Germany. Dr. Schleip is an experienced practitioner of the body work method known as Rolfing, but several years ago he went back and earned his PhD in Biology and began a second career as a research scientist.
In our interview, we discuss some of the recent discoveries that may revolutionize the way we look at the connective tissue that is commonly called fascia. We also talk about the importance of applying the scientific method to the evaluation of alternative and complimentary healing methods (CAM). Dr. Schleip's enthusiasm for science made this a very enjoyable interview.
Dr. Schleip recommends the Wikipedia entry on fascia if you would like to learn the basics.
To learn more about Dr. Schleip's work, visit the Fascia Research Project website at http://www.fasciaresearch.de/
The First International Congress International Research Congress was held in October, 2007 in Boston, MA.
You can find some of the scientists Dr. Schleip mentions this.
Click here for more references, including those written in German.
Nature recently relaunched its neuroscience podcast under the new name: Neuropod with host Keri Smith. The show is supposed to come out once a month, and while there is some overlap in content with the main Nature Podcast, the focus on neuroscience allows them to expand the coverage of related topics.
I got an email from Keri Smith today that said there is a special episode available on the website that is devoted to coverage of the recent Society for Neuroscience meeting that was held in San Diego. I have enjoyed all the episodes so far and look forward to more.
Michael Arbib of USC discusses (Talking Robots 10/12/07) how the discovery of mirror neurons is inspiring attempts to design robots that can emulate human emotions. This is part of a larger trend in robotics which is called biological robotics in which designs are inspired by biological systems. It is significant that what is learned by attempts to design robotic animals can in turn shed light on how biological systems work. This kind of interdisciplinary work is at the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and computer engineering. Dr. Arbib also discusses the challenges of doing interdisciplinary work in an age of exploding knowledge. You can find more about his work including links to a few of his numerous publications on his website.
Read MoreI am happy to report that Nature has relaunched its neuroscience podcast under the new name NeuroPod. If you like the Nature podcast but would rather hear a show devoted to the latest Nature articles on neuroscience, you will want to check this out at http://www.nature.com/neurosci/neuropod.
If you prefer blogs, you might want to check out Action Potential (also from the editors of Nature). I am not very good at keeping my blogroll up-to-date, but another site worth checking out (suggested to me by Adam Rutherford at Nature) is Mind Hacks.
The latest episode of Futures in Biotech (FiB 20) is an interview with Dr. Eric Kandel, who won a Nobel Prize in 2000 for his discoveries about how memory works. I think you will enjoy listening to Dr. Kandel's interview.
I discussed Dr. Kandel's book, In Search of Memory, in Episode 3 of the Brain Science Podcast. I also discussed his textbook, Memory: From Mind to Molecules in Episode 12.
For anyone who would like to go back and listen to these episodes, I have provided direct links to the audio files below:
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