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.
BS 174 is an interview with Georg Northoff about his book The Spontaneous Brain: From the Mind–Body to the World–Brain Problem. We explore the surprising discovering that much of the brain’s activity is entirely independent of inputs from the senses, how this spontaneous activity interacts with stimuli, and the implications of these discoveries on our understanding of how the brain generates conscious experience.
Read MoreEpisode 162 is an interview with neuroscientist Michael Graziano about his new book Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience. This is the 3rd of our four-part conversation about the neuroscience of consciousness.
Read MoreBrain Science 161 is an interview with neuroscientist Joesph Ledoux about his new book The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains. It is the second of our 4 part series on the neuroscience of consciousness and focuses on the evolutionary role of emotion. Dr. Ledoux takes a surprising position on the relationship between emotion and consciousness.
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Michal Graziano and Kevin
In his latest book Consciousness and the Social Brain Princeton neuroscientist Michael Graziano proposes a unique and compelling theory of consciousness. He proposes that the same circuits that the human brain uses to attribute awareness to others are used to model self-awareness. He emphasizes that his attention schema theory is only tentative, but it is testable and it does fit our current knowledge of brain function.
In a recent interview for the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 108), Graziano used the following clinical example to clarify his approach. A colleague had a patient who was convinced that he had a squirrel in his head. When confronted with the illogic of his claim the patient replied “Not everything can be explained by science.” In this example it is clear that the squirrel doesn’t really exist, so the question to be answered is HOW did his brain reach the conclusion that it does.
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While imagining one has a squirrel in one’s head is thankfully rare, we also know that our subjective experiences of the world are not necessarily accurate. Our perception of the world is shaped by how our brain processes the sensory inputs it receives. For example, we perceive white light as an absence of color even though in reality it consists of all wavelengths.
Perception is something our brains do constantly and which we can not consciously control. In considering awareness (and by extension consciousness) perception-like Graziano is emphasizing several important features. The most important is probably the fact that it is only “quick and dirty model” of what is really going on, which means that our intuitions about consciousness are not necessarily reliable. In fact, humans have a strong tendency to over-attribute awareness to the world around us. This is part of the social circuitry that has made us the most successful species in the earth’s history, but it can also lead to amusing results (as anyone who has interacted with Siri on an iPhone has no doubt observed).
Another implication of considering awareness as a form of social perception is that it reverses the usual approach taken to understanding consciousness. Instead of asking how a physical brain can produce something subjective and non-physical called consciousness, we ask what kind of information processing leads to the conclusion that I (or anyone else) is conscious. As Graziano points out, this is a “mechanistic” model. Not only can it be tested but it has interesting implications. Dr. Graziano concluded that one of the key implications is "that awareness and consciousness are tools for information processing, and they are mechanistically understandable, and presumably can be engineered.”
I find the attention schema theory to be very compelling. Besides being testable, it has a simple elegance that I appreciate. It also explains why most humans experience a world filled with spirits, and are utterly convinced that their own consciousness is something special and non-physical.
Since understanding consciousness is one of the deepest questions facing neuroscience, it has been explored on many previous episodes of the Brain Science Podcast. Rather than list all those episodes I want to mention just a few that I think are particularly relevant to this month’s episode.
BSP 21 and BSP 23 discuss how the brain maps the body. Understanding the concept of a body schema puts Graziano’s attention schema theory into scientific context.
In BSP 57 psychologist Chris Frith (Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World) introduced the idea that our brain creates the world we experience, but that world is not necessarily an accurate representation of the physical world around us.
In BSP 67 philosopher Thomas Metzinger (The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self) considered how unusual experiences (like the out of body illusion) shed light on how our brains create the world we experience, including our experience of who we are.
Please post your comments about this episodes in the new thread on our Goodreads page at http://brainscienceforum.com.
Dr. Campbell will be speaking at The Amazing Meeting this July. This year's theme is skepticism and the brain.
Don't forget to check out listener John Richards new neuroscience glossary at http://richardsonthebrain.com.
Episode 90 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Self Comes To Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, by Antonio Damasio. Damasio's book focuses on the answer to two key questions: How does the brain generate the Mind? and, How does the Brain generate Consciousness? His approach is unusual because many scientists and writers treat the Mind and Consciousness as identical. In contrast, Damasio argues that Mind precedes Consciousness. Listen to this podcast to learn how the Mind becomes Conscious.
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Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, by Antonio Damasio.
The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness, by Antonio Damasio.
Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions, by Jaak Panksepp.
The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions, by Jaak Panksepp and Lucy Biven.
Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind, by Evan Thompson
Psychology (10th Edition) by Carole Wade and Carol Tavris.
I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self, by Rodolfo R. Llinas.
For more references see the episode transcript.
BSP 65: Jaak Panksepp talks about the subcortical origins of emotions
BSP 89: Evan Thompson talks about his book, Mind in Life
Next month's Brain Science Podcast will be a return interview with Jaak Panksepp to talk about his new book, The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions.
Please check out my other podcast, Books and Ideas.
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Evan Thompson, PhD
Embodied Cognition is a movement within cognitive science that argues that the mind is inseparable from the fact that the brain is embedded in a physical body. This means that everything that the brain does, from the simplest perception to complex decision-making, relies on the interaction of the body with its environment. Evan Thompson's book, Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind, is an in-depth look at what he calls the "enactive" approach to embodied cognition. The enactive approach was pioneered by Thompson's mentor Francisco Varela, and it emphasizes the importance of the body's active engagement with its environment.
In a recent interview (BSP 89) I talked with Thompson about some of the key ideas in Mind in Life. Unlike most episodes of the Brain Science Podcast, this is not really a stand-alone episode. It is part of my ongoing exploration of both embodied cognition and the controversial topic of emergence. It is also intended as a follow-up to my recent interview with Terrence Deacon.
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Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind, by Evan Thompson (2007).
The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience, by Francisco J. Varela, Evan T. Thompson, & Eleanor Rosch (1991).
Embodied Cognition, by Lawrence Shapiro (2010).
Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter, by Terrence W. Deacon (2011).
Dynamic Patterns: The Self-Organization of Brain and Behavior, by J. A. Scott Kelso (1995).
Friston, K.J. (1995) "Transients, Metastability, and Neuronal Dynamics."Neuroimage 5 (164-171).
BSP 5: A bried introduction to philosphy of mind
BSP 25: Embodied Intelligence with Rolf Pfeifer
BSP 36: Art Glenberg on Embodied Cognition
BSP 53: Discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? (emergence and free will)
BSP 62: Warren Brown, co-author of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?
BSP 73: Lawrence Shapiro, author of Embodied Cognition.
Books and Ideas #47: Terrence Deacon, author of Incomplete Nature.
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I will be in Philadelphia, PA October 16-21 to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Please contact me if you would like to get together.
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Next month's Brain Science Podcast will be a discussion of Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain by Antonio Damasio. Self Comes to Mind is also available from our sponsor Audible.com.
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Christof Koch, PhD
he scientific study of consciousness was once viewed with skepticism, but this has changed dramatically in recent years. According to pioneering neuroscientist, Christof Koch, "the great thing is we’re not condemned to just sort of philosophical speculation, but we can make some predictions, and then go out and measure them. And those are the things I talk about in this book, Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist." In Brain Science Podcast #84, Koch reflects on the progress that has been made since I interviewed him back in 2007 (BSP 22), and he also talks about the latest initiatives at the Allen Institute for Brain Research, where he as recently become the chief science officer.
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Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist, by Christof Koch.
The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach, by Christof Koch.
BSP 22: Interview with Christof Koch.
BSP 61: Interview with Allan Jones of the Allen Institute for Brain Research.
Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain, by Michael S. Gazzaniga.
BSP 82: Discussion of Who's in Charge?
Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter, by Terrence W. Deacon.
Tononi, G. An Information Integration Theory of Consciousness. BMC Neuroscience 2004, 5:42.
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Next month's podcast will be an interview with Sebastian Seung, author of Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are.
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The free podcast version of Brain Science Podcast 67 is now available. It is an interview with German philosopher Thomas Metzinger, author of The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self , and Being No One. Dr. Metzinger argues that any credible model for how the brain generates the mind must incorporate unusual human experiences, such as so-called out of body experiences (OBE), and psychiatric conditions. In this interview we explore how OBE and virtual reality experiments shed light on how the brain generates the sense of self that characterizes normal human experience.
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Thomas Metzinger: University of Mainz, Wikipedia entry.
Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC).
Olaf Blanke: Swiss scientist and physician who has demonstrated that out of body experiences (OBE) can be generated by electrical stimulation of the brain.
YouTube video of Thomas Metzinger's Being No One lecture.
For more links download the free transcript of BSP 67.
BSP 21: A look at how our brain create body maps that may incorporate tools.
BSP 22: Interview with Christof Koch, author of The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach.
BSP 35: An introduction to Mirror Neurons.
BSP 55: Interview with philosopher Patricia Churchland.
BSP 57: (mention in the podcast)Interview with neuropsycologist Chris Frith, author of Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World.
The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self, by Thomas Metzinger.
Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity, by Thomas Metzinger.
How the Body Shapes the Mind, by Shaun Gallagher.
Blanke, et al., "Stimulating Illusory Own-Body Perceptions," Nature, 419:269-270 (2002) Click here for more papers by Olaf Blanke.
Beyond the Body: An Investigation of Out of Body Experiences by Susan Blackmore (click here for more publications from Susan Blackmore).
O. Blanke & T. Metzinger,"Full-Body Illusion and Minimal Phenomenal Selfhood," Trends in Cognitive Neuroscience 13(1):7-13 (2009).
T. Metzinger, "Out of Body Experiences as the Origin of the Concept of a 'Soul,'" Mind and Matter 3(1):57-84 (2005) Click for more papers by Thomas Metzinger..
BSP 68 will be an interview with geriatric neurologist, Peter Whitehouse, author of The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis. The premium version will be available on April 1 and will include an additional interview with his co-author Daniel George. The free podcast will come out the second week of April.
The latest episode of my Books and Ideas podcast is an interview with best-selling horror writer Scott Sigler. We discuss the challenges of incorporating accurate science into fiction writing. (Listen to the end to get a coupon code for his book The Rookie.)
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Episode 58 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with philosopher, Alva Noë, whose book, Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness, argues persuasively that our minds are MORE than just our brains. He says that "the brain is necessary but not sufficient" to create the mind.
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Alva Noe (University of California, Berkeley).
Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness, by Alva Noé.
Paul Bach-y-Rita: pioneering studies in sensory substitution using tactile stimuli to substitute for vision.
Held and Hein: experiments with cats showing that development of normal vision requires motor-sensory feedback.
Brain Mechanisms in Sensory Substitution by Paul Bach-y-Rita, 1972.
Bach-y-Rita, P "Tactile-Vision Substitution: past and future", International Journal of Neuroscience 19, nos. 1-4, 29-36, 1983.
Held, R and Hein, "Movement-produced stimulation in the development of visually guided behavior." Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. 56(5), 872-876, 1963.
Held, R. "Plasticity in sensory-motor systems." Scientific American. 213(5) 84-91, 1965.
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Episode 27 is a look back on the first 26 episodes of the Brain Science Podcast.
I look back on some of the main topics that we have explored including memory, consciousness, emotions, decision-making, body maps, and plasticity. Then I talk a little about what I hope to do in the covering year. This episode is a little more personal than most, and will mainly be of interest to regular listeners. It includes some ideas about how you can help the Brain Science Podcast grow and prosper.
However, in preparing this episode, I went back over the past year's episodes, and I have prepared a list of all the episodes so far and the main topics. This should help both new listeners and regulars to find episodes that pertain to particular topics.
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Brain Science Podcast #22 is an interview with Dr. Christof Koch of Cal Tech, one of the pioneers in the neurobiological study of consciousness. About two decades ago, when Koch and Francis Crick began looking for what they called the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), such a quest was considered controversial; but now the field is increasing in popularity. In our interview, we talked a little about his book,The Quest for Consciousness, as well as his on-going research and his thoughts about what the future might bring.
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New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE. All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free. See the individual show notes for links the audio files.
Why Francis Crick was an outstanding mentor and colleague.
A Working definition of consciousness.
How consciousness relates to awareness.
What are neural correlates of consciousness.
Why vision is the focus of Koch's research.
The search for the "footprints" of consciousness.
The role of functional imaging and the use of monkeys.
Neurons-"the atoms of perception".
Why we need a theory of consciousness.
The role of the frontal lobes in consciousness.
Is consciousness an emergent property?
What about zombies?
Why do we need consciousness?
Will artificial intelligence become conscious?
The hard problem: how does the brain generate subjective experience (qualia).
Update on 2012-05-03 15:42 by Ginger Campbell, MD
Christof Koch returned to the Brain Science Podcast in Episode 84.
Until the last few decades the question of consciousness fascinated philosophers, but was considered off-limits to science; but the discoveries of the last few decades have brought consciousness into the realm of neuroscience. Scientists such as Nobel Prize Winner, Francis Crick, have proposed that the brain has “neural correlates of consciousness.” (Francis Crick, Astonishing Hypothesis, 1994.) This episode is an introduction to the topic.
After considering the definition of consciousness, I introduce some of the classical questions of the philosophy of the mind:
I also introduce several famous thought experiments:
Philosopher Daniel Dennett rejects the existence of both qualia and zombies, and argues that the hard problem does not exist. To me, the interesting question is whether these arguments will be answered or made obsolete by scientific discoveries.
Perhaps the hard problem will disappear. I consider how the discovery of neurotransmitters has changed our understanding of the role of emotions in consciousness. We now know that neurotransmitters provide two-way signaling between our brains and the rest of our bodies, producing our experiences of emotions and feelings. Though there is still a tendency to regard logic as superior to emotion, researchers like Antonio Damasio are showing that emotions play an essential part in decision-making and other aspects of intelligence.
Philosophers are not the only ones unwilling to let go the idea that consciousness is a mystery that can’t be explained; but those philosophers who keep up with the science can help science ask new questions.
I will continue to introduce books about consciousness on future podcasts. Susan Blackmore writes books for general audiences, so I have listed a few of hers below.
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Copyright 2013 - 2023 | Virginia Campbell, MD. All Rights Reserved.
