Mirror Neurons with Michael Arbib (BSP 39)

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Episode 39 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Michael Arbib from the University of Southern California.  Dr. Arbib's work with functional brain imaging has established the presence of mirror neurons in the human brain.  In our interview, we focused on the role of mirror neurons in imitation and language.  In particular, I questioned Dr. Arbib about the Mirror System Hypothesis (MSH) of Language Evolution that he proposed in 1998 with Giacomo Rizzolatti.  We also explored how this hypothesis diverges from the universal grammar proposed by Noam Chomsky.  Dr. Arbib also shared his enthusiasm for future research and we talked about the special challenges caused by the interdisciplinary nature of modern neuroscience.

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Related Episodes:

Scientists mentioned in the interview:

  • Giacomo Rizzolatti: His team discovered mirror neurons at the University of Parma, Italy. Other team members: Vittorio Gallese, Luciano Fadiga, and Leo Fogassi.

  • Ursula Bellugi (Salk Institute): pioneered the neurobiology of sign language.

  • Richard Byrne (University of St. Andrews): studies how gorillas learn in the wild.

  • Michael Tomasello (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Anthropology): studies social behavior of primates, including how communicative gestures vary between groups.

  • Noam Chomsky (MIT): famous linguist who has proposed an inborn universal grammar.

  • DL Cheney and RM Seyfarth:  research about primate vocal behavior, especially the use of calls in the wild.

References:

Other Links:

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Interview with Jeff Hawkins "On Intelligence" (BSP 38)

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Episode 38 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Jeff Hawkins, author of On Intelligence.  Hawkins is well-known for founding Palm Computing and Handspring.  He invented the Grafitti handwriting recognition system and helped develop the Palm Trio SmartPhone.  Since he published his bestseller On Intelligence, he has devoted his work to his passion for neuroscience.  His current company, Numenta, is developing software that models the hierarchical structure of the neocortex.  In this interview we talk about the ideas in Hawkins book and how he is applying them to develop a computer model of cortical function.  This is a follow-up to Episode 2, which first aired in December of 2006.

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Links and References:

Vernon Montcastle: pioneer who proposed that all parts of the brain's cortex work the same way.

  • Vernon Mountcastle (1978), "An Organizing Principle for Cerebral Function: The Unit Model and the Distributed System", The Mindful Brain (Gerald M. Edelman and Vernon B. Mountcastle, eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (Please let me know if you find this paper on-line!)

Redwood Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience (UC-Berkeley) founded by Jeff Hawkins.

Numenta: company website includes extensive educational information about hierarchical temporal memory system (HTM).  The company's focus is practical implementation of HTM Theory.

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"Brain Rules" with John Medina (BSP 37)

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John Medina, PhD

Episode 37 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School.  We talk about how exercise, sleep, and stress effect our brains, with an emphasis on practical advice for healthier brain function.  We also look at how research on memory, vision, and the brain's attention system suggests how we can improve our ability to learn and our ability to share ideas with others.

Dr. Medina's focus is on considering real world examples of how our schools and work environments could be reformed to utilize the growing knowledge of neuroscience.  But he also stresses the importance of compiling sufficient experimental data before embarking on new programs.

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Links and References:

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"All in the Mind" Looks at Nicotine and the Brain

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The May 10th episode of All in the Mind is an excellent discussion of the latest research about nicotine addiction.  It includes a very balanced look at the controversy over the new smoking cessation drug, varenicline, which is sold in the US as Chantix.  Nicotine has a unique effect on certain neurotransmitter receptors in the brain.  Varenicline works as a partial agonist, which means it mimics some of the effects of nicotine, but it also blocks the receptor so that when a person smokes the experience is not rewarding.  However, since the receptors involved also have other functions (they aren't there to respond to the nicotine in cigarettes just like the opiate receptors are not there to respond to man-made narcotics), using the drug can lead to a wide variety of side effects. Balancing the risks and benefits of the drug is one of the topics discussed in the podcast.

I have to admit that addiction is a subject in which I have little personal interest, but obviously addiction to smoking effects millions of people. I highly recommend this podcast to everyone who smokes or loves some who does.

Be sure to go to the site for both the show's transcript and links to everyone featured on the show.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2008/2235816.htm

Embodied Cognition with Art Glenberg (BSP 36)

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Episode 36 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Arthur Glenberg, PhD, about embodied cognition.  Dr. Glenberg recently moved to Arizona State University, after over 30 years at the University of Wisconsin's Laboratory of Embodied Cognition.  His research focuses on the relationship between embodiment and language.  In this interview, we explore the experimental evidence for a theory of language that embraces the concept that our language abilities are actually rooted in our perceptual and motor abilities.  Dr. Glenberg also explains how his work has practical implications in helping children learn how to read.

Since Dr. Glenberg has had a long career as a working research scientist, this interview also provided an opportunity to explore how scientific hypotheses are formed and how experiments are designed to test these hypothesis.  I think this interview will give you a fascinating look into the real world of cognitive psychology.

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Links and References:

Arthur Glenberg, PhD

Other scientists mentioned in the Episode:

  • George Lakoff: pioneering linguist.

  • James Gibson: known for his ideas about affordances.William Epstein-emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin.

  • Joseph Campos: University of California (Berkelely).

  • Amy Needham and Amanda Woodard-experiments with velcro mits and infant cognition.

  • David A Havas: graduate student and co-author with Dr. Glenberg.

  • Mike Kashak: Florida State University.

  • Mike Rinck: German co-author-see paper under Glenberg.

  • Vittorio Gallese, Dept of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Italy (where mirror neurons were discovered): extensive experimental with motor neurons in monkeys.

  • Fritz Stack (Germany): experiments showing that facial experiments affect mood and cognition.

References:

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A Closer Look at Mirror Neurons (BSP 35)

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Brain Science Podcast #35 is a discussion of Mirrors in the Brain: How Our Minds Share Actions, Emotions, and Experience, by Giacomo Rizzolatti and Corrado Sinigaglia.  Mirror neurons were discovered in Rizzolatti's lab in Parma, Italy, in the early 1990s, and his book is a detailed to discussion of the experimental evidence in both monkeys and humans.  Direct single neuron recordings have been made in monkeys.  The evidence in humans is indirect, since it is based on mainly on neuro-imaging studies like PET scans and fMRI scans.  Even so, mirror neurons appear to be essential to our ability to understand both the actions and emotions of others. 

In this episode, we also explore the evidence that there are other neurons in the motor areas of the brain that have sensory properties and that the areas of the brain traditionally thought to be devoted to sensory functions also contain neurons with motor properties.  Another fascinating discovery is the fact that there are neurons that respond not only to somatosensory inputs (such as being touched) but also to visual or auditory inputs from objects within our peri-personal space.  For background on these body maps, I recommend listening to Episode 21 and Episode 23.  If you are new to the Brain Science Podcast, you may want to listen to those episodes first, because this week's episode is a little more technical than most.

I will be exploring the importance of these discoveries in future episodes.

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Links:

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Dan Rather's Reports on Neuroplasticity

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Today HDNet™ is re-showing an episode of Dan Rather Reports called "Mind Science."  It is an excellent review of neuroplasticity. It includes interviews with several leading scientists in the field.  I especially enjoyed seeing Nobel Laureate, Eric Kandel, talk about his work with memory.  (I talked about Kandel's work on the Brain Science Podcastin Episode 3 and Episode 12.)

"Mind Science" also features the Dalai Llama and scientist, Richard Davidson, talking about the evidence that meditation can change the brain.  Rather interviews Sharon Begley about her book, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves  (which I discussed in detail in Episode 10 of the Brain Science Podcast).  Other scientists featured in the episode include Michael Merzenich on improving brain function as we age, and Dr. Edward Taub on his revolutionary approach to stroke rehabilitation.  (My show notes for Episode 10 include links for all the scientists interviewed by Rather.)

It was particulary gratifying to see Dr. Kandel endorse Ed Taub's Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy.  Dr. Taub was interviewed in Episode 28 of the Brain Science Podcast.  If you don't get HDNet™, you can watch Dan Rather Reports on-line, via podcast or on Facebook.

Summary of relevant episodes of the Brain Science Podcast::

More on BDNF: "Miracle Grow" for the Brain

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In Episode 33 of the Brain Science Podcast, Harvard's Dr. John Ratey introduced us to brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), which he described as "Miracle Grow for the Brain" because it actually stimulates the grow of new neurons in the brain.  The emphasis in our discussion was on the importance of exercise in stimulating the release of BDNF.

If you are interested in checking out some further references on BDNF, you may want to check out Charles Daney's Science and Reason Blog.  Daney also does a good job of explaining exactly what a neurotropic factor is and does.

Treating Vets with Mirrors

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Jamie Davis of MedicCast sent me a link to an interesting article from the CNN website.  It describes how mirror box therapy is being used to help veterans who have suffered amputations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Those of you who heard Sandra Blakeslee's interview about body maps back in Episode 23 will remember that she described how her son built the first mirror box for VS Ramachandran several years ago, while working as a graduate student.

It is good to see that military physicians are beginning to apply some of the recent findings of neuroscience to helping injured vets, but you may also recall that when we talked with Dr. Edward Taub about stroke rehab, he reported the difficulty of getting new methods of head injury treatment into the VA clinics.

link to article about mirrors: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/19/mirror.therapy/index.html

Rachel Herz Talks About Smell (BSP 34)

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Episode 34 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Rachel Herz, author of The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell (2007).  Dr. Herz teaches at Brown University, and she is a leading authority on the psychology of smell.  We talk about the how smell works, its role in emotion and memory, why it is so vulnerable, and why smell is much more important than most of us realize.  We also consider some of the questions that remain unanswered.

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Links and References:

Rachel Herz:

The 2004 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology was awarded to Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck for their discoveries of "odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system."

BuckL, Axel R.: "A novel multigene family may encode odorant receptors: a molecular basis for odor recognition."

Cell. 1991 Apr 5;65(1):175-87.

"The (Shocked) Nose Knows" by Gisela Telis Science NOW Daily News 27 March 2008.

The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell (2007), by Rachel Herz

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Sex Differences in the Brain: A New Book Worth Considering

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This post is a little overdue!

Sex Differences in the Brain: From Genes to Behavior (2007) by Jill Becker, Karen Berkley, Nori Geary, James Herman, and Elizabeth Young, is a book from Oxford University Press that is attracting quite a bit of attention.  It was reviewed in the March 21st issue of Science, but before that my friend Nancy Yanes-Hoffman sent me her review to share with you.

Evan Balaban writing in Science concluded:

All readers will learn something of value from this book, even if they don't agree with the views of particular authors.  Information content is high, references are ample, and the continuity between different chapters has been skillfully coordinated. Science 21 March 2008:Vol. 319. no. 5870, pp. 1619 - 1620

Nancy Yanes-Hoffman offers a detailed review on her blog and while she has some criticisms she also concludes:

While scientists and researchers have long needed a book like Sex Differences, its readership should not be limited to academia.  The questing student of any age will find answers to many thorny questions—as well as more challenges to his or her perspectives and relationships.      Why Can't a Women be More Like a Man? Nancy Yanes-Hoffman, March 19, 2008

She also suggests sources for further reading.

Both reviewers agree that Sex Differences in the Brain: From Genes to Behavior addresses an area that has been underrepresented in the literature.

Exercise and the Brain (BSP 33)

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John J. Ratey, M.D.

Episode 33 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Harvard physician, Dr. John Ratey, about his new book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

We explore the exciting evidence about how exercise helps the brain.  It stimulates the release of a number of different neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, but probably more importantly, it helps keeps these compounds balanced.  We consider why exercise is so important in dealing with stress, in treating a wide range of mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder.  There is also evidence that exercise improves our ability to learn and our ability to avoid the loss of mental agility associated with aging.

We explore the exciting evidence about how exercise helps the brain.  It stimulates the release of a number of different neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, but probably more importantly, it helps keeps these compounds balanced.  We consider why exercise is so important in dealing with stress, in treating a wide range of mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder.  There is also evidence that exercise improves our ability to learn and our ability to avoid the loss of mental agility associated with aging.

How to get this episode:

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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.

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This episode contains information that everyone can use.  I hope you will share it with your friends and family.

Links and References:

Some Recent Research About Embodied Cognition

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There is an ongoing debate on the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum about whether the importance of embodiment is an essential obstacle to trying to simulate human cognition with computers.  Meanwhile, the role of embodiment in cognition continues to be a growing area of research.  I enjoyed a recent post on the Scientific American Community website entitled, Thinking with the Body, by Art Glenberg from Arizona State University.  He reviews recent research by Holt and Bellock.  The bottom line is that even when people are involved in verbal tasks, like reading sentences, their comprehension is influenced by their body knowledge of what is being described.

You can read more at Mind Matters: Neuroscience, Psychology, Psychiatry, and More.

Brain Science Podcast #32: A Brief Introduction to Brain Anatomy

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Episode 32 of the Brain Science Podcast is a whirlwind (55 minute) tour of brain anatomy.  It is based on David Bainbridge's new book: Beyond the Zonules of Zinn: A Fantastic Journey Through Your Brain (2008).  Click here for some of the key illustrations from the book.  I want to thank David for sharing these images, and I encourage everyone to read the book.

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Journey to Perplexity: "The Mind Is Not a Computer"

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The blog, Journey to Perplexity, notes that Gerald Edelman's book, Second Nature: Brain Science and Human Knowledge, offers some valuable insights into why "the mind is not a computer."   I am not sure who writes this blog, but he seems to be writing from a philosophical background.

It has been a while since I read Edelman's book.  Edelman won the Nobel Prize in 1972 for important discoveries about the structure of antibodies, but he has devoted the last several decades to studying neuroscience.  His two most well-known contributions are his theory of so-called 'neural Darwinism,' and his study of the importance of redundancy and feedback loops within the brain.  He has written quite a few books on the subject including, Wider Than the Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness (2005).

Second Nature is Edelman's attempt to address some of the philosophical issues about consciousness, while Wider than the Sky introduces some of his theories about how the brain generates consciousness.

What Do We Know about the Evolution of Human Thought?

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In a recent blog post I objected to Richard Lewontin's claim that we know nothing about the evolution of the human brain.  Apparently my reaction was shared by quite a few researchers in the field.  Michael Balter describes their reaction at an interdisciplinary panel that was also held at this year's AAAS annual meeting.

One thing that seems to drive some of these discussions is a difference of opinion about whether their is an insurmountable gap between human intelligence and what other animals can do.  This connects with the ongoing debate about the importance of genetic factors.  But there seems to be no doubt that this is an extremely fruitful area of research.

"How Human Intelligence Evolved--Is It Science or 'Paleofantasy'?" by Michael Balter. Science 22 February 2008: Vol. 319. no. 5866, p. 1028

Brain Science Podcast #31: Brain Rhythms with György Buzsáki

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György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain  (OUP 2006), is a professor of neuroscience at Rutgers University.  His book is a comprehensive review of the current state of research in the field of brain oscillations.  It includes the role of these oscillations in sleep and memory.  In Episode 31 of the Brain Science Podcast, Dr. Buzáki explains why the rhythms of the brain are important and reflects on why this field has been neglected by some neuroscientists.  I think he makes a convincing case for the position that these rhythms are an essential component of brain function.

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Scientists and References:

  • Stephen Strogatz: known for his discovery of "small world" architecture.: His 2003 bestseller Sync: The emerging science of spontaneous order is aimed at a general audience

  • Nancy Kopell: mathematician: Buzsaki recommends her review of the analytical approaches to neuronal oscillators: We got Rhythm: Dynamical Systems of the Nervous System. N Am Math Soc 47: 6-16 (2000).

  • Zoltán Néda (Bebes-Bolyai University Romania): the spontaneous synchronization of hand clapping

  • Hermann Haken: German laser physicist who studies bidirectional causation.

  • The Science of Structure: Synergetics (1984).

  • John O'Keefe (University College,  London): along with Lynn Nadel he discovered how the hippocampus forms a cognitive map of the world. He has shown how the timing of oscillations in the hippocampus are important.

  • "Independent rate and temporal coding in hippocampal pyramidal cells," by John Huxter, Neil Burgess, and John O'Keefe. Nature 425, 828-832 (23 October 2003).

  • David McCormick (Yale University): showed that neurons from the thalamus of a ferret can oscillate spontaneously.  He has also studied the oscillations of place cells in the hippocampus.

  • David Hubel and Thorston Wiesel: along with Vernon Montcastle, they pioneered the use of single neuron recordings in the neocortex of casts and monkeys.

  • Montcastle, VB (1997), "The Columnar Organization of the Neocortex." Brain 102:01-722.

  • Claude Shannon: founder of Information Theory.

  • Jan Born (University of Lübeck, Germany): experiments with how sleep improves both memory and problem solving.

Topics and questions:

  • Basics of oscillations and synchrony.

  • What functions are accomplished by brain rhythms?

  • The role of hippocampal ripples in memory.

  • What happens to our brain rhythms while we sleep.

  • The importance of synchrony in saving energy in the brain.

This episode will appeal to listeners with a background in math or engineering, but Dr. Buzsáki provides numerous everyday examples that make the material accessible to everyone.

Lewontin Claims We Know Nothing About Brain Evolution

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Episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast was devoted to the subject of language evolution.  In that episode, I mentioned Steven Jay Gould's claim that language was a spandrel, an incidental by-product of evolution.  Gould's co-author on his famous 1970's paper about spandrels was Richard Lewontin, who is well-known for disagreeing with prevailing opinions in evolution.  At the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he reportedly gave a talk that discounted all the current theories about brain evolution.

I have not read the transcript of his lecture, but I just finished reading Georg Striedter's comprehensive textbook, Principles of Brain Evolution  (2005).  This text is highly regarded by leaders in neuroscience research like Michael S Gazzaniga.  It does an excellent job of describing both the challenges and progress in the field, as well as exploring the pros and cons of alternative theories.  I can't help wondering what Lewontin's comments contribute to the field.  Of course, it is reasonable to point out how limited our knowledge is, but to  dismiss the work of so many scientists seems rather arrogant. If anyone has access to the transcript I would like to read it.

From AAAS: The Evolution of Morality

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The Science magazine podcast is providing highlights from this year's AAAS meeting in Boston.

So far, I found the discussion of the evolution of morality with Marc Hauser and several other scientists to very interesting.  One issue that was raised was whether the utility of a theory depends on its ability to generate testable hypotheses.  Listen and let me know what you think.