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 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 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.
Episode Transcript [Buy for $2]
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New episodes of Brain Science are ALWAYS FREE. The most recent 50 episodes are also free. See the individual show notes for links to the audio files.
Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp by John Medina (Audible link)
The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress by John D. Teasdale, et. al. (Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn)
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina (BS 37)
Dr. Campbell will be in Washington, DC November 11-15, 2017 for the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Please email brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com if you will be there too.
Dr. Campbell is also planning a trip to Australia in 2018. Email us to learn more.
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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.
FREE: audio mp3 (click to stream, right click to download)
Episode Transcript [Buy for $2]
Premium Subscribers have unlimited access to ALL old episodes and transcripts.
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 to the audio files.
Uttal, W. R. (2011) Mind and Brain: A Critical Appraisal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Uttal, W. R. (2009) Neuroscience in the Courtroom: What Every Lawyer Should Know About the Mind and the Brain.
Ihnen, S. K. Z., Church, J. A.. Petersen, S. E., & Schlaggar, B.L. (2009) Lack of generalizability of sex difference in the fMRI Bold Activity associated with language processes in adults. NeuroImage, 45, 1020-1032.
Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2005). "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False". PLoS Medicine 2 (8): e124.
BSP 46: How fMRI works.
You can now record your voice feedback at http://speakpipe.com/docartemis.
Brain Science is now 100% listener supported. You can support the show via direction donations, Premium Subscription, or Patreon.
I am planning to attend this year's Society of Neuroscience Meeting, which is being held in Washington DC November 11-15, 2017. Please email at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com if you are going to be in Washington during those dates. If there is enough interest I will arrange a listener meet-up.
I am also in the early stages of planning a trip to Australia in 2018 and would love to hear from Australian listeners for ideas and advice, including leads on speaking opportunities.
In part 2 or our 10 Anniversary Retrospective we consider the question What is Mind? I reflect back on books and guests who have appeared in the last 5 years, and consider how my take on this question has evolved over the 10 years I have been creating Brain Science (formerly called the Brain Science Podcast.) Listener feedback is also included.
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In this very special episode, we begin a two part celebration of the 10 year anniversary for Brain Science. The podcast began in December 2006, which makes it one of the longest running shows since the first podcasts were launched in 2004.
Ten years is a lot of ground to cover, so for this episode we are only focusing on the early years from 2006 to 2011. Learn why the podcast began and get a peek into the format changes the show has had over the years. This episode contains something that you rarely see in the show - listener feedback! You'll get to hear what listeners think about the show, how they use the show to help them with their work, and you'll even get to hear from a critic! So many of you have reached out over the years, and although there isn't room for all our feedback in this episode, please know that each and every email that has been received is appreciated!
In today's episode Dr. Campbell discusses:
how the brain makes us human is an endlessly fascinating topic
favorite shows from the first 5 years of Brain Science
BSP 47 provides the best summary of what we know about brain evolution
favorite guests from the first 5 years
some of the decisions about the podcast frequency and the reasons beind them
the book review that got the show started
the best way to access past episodes of the show
shows mentioned are tagged with the term Embodied Cognition, so search for them that way
In this show, we mentioned the best ways to listen to episodes from our first 5 years. Our episode archive is available to Premium subscribers for only $5/month. The best way to access these episodes is via the FREE Brain Science mobile app, which is available for iOS, Android, and Windows phone.
You can also support the show via Patreon.
FREE: audio mp3 (click to stream, right click to download)
Episode Transcript [Buy PDF for $1]
Premium Subscribers have unlimited access to ALL old episodes and transcripts.
New episodes of Brain Science are ALWAYS FREE. All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free. See the individual show notes for links to the audio files.
Dr Great Art (podcast) hosted by Mark Staff Brandl
This Week in Science with Dr. Kiki Sanford
Astronomy Cast with Dr. Pamela Gay
Bibliography of all books features on Brain Science (with Amazon and Audible links)
Full list of first 129 episodes of Brain Science
Full list of Guests who have appeared on Brain Science
Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty by Ginger Campbell (buy PDF)
On Being Certain: Believing You’re Right, Even When You’re Not by Dr. Robert Burton
Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
Part 2 of our 10th Anniversary will be posted in January 2017
Please send your feedback to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.
BS 129 features pioneering neuroscientist Brenda Milner. Dr. Milner is best known for work work on memory including key discoveries she made while working with the famous patient HM. She also made important discoveries about the differences between the brain's hemispheres by studying the so-called "split brain" patients. This interview was recorded in 2008 when Dr. Milner was 90, but I am glad to report that she is still going strong at age 98.
Read MoreBSP 127 marks the return of placebo researcher Fabrizio Benedetti, author of Placebo Effects: Understanding the mechanisms in health and disease. We talk about some of Dr. Benedetti's most recent research into placebo effects in pain relief and in high altitude headaches. We also talk about some of the ethical issues about using placebos.
Read MoreBSP 126 is an interview with Andy Clark about his latest book Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind.
Read MoreBSP 124 is an interview with Dr. Michael Anderson, author of After Phrenology: Neural Reuse and the Interactive Brain. We also continue our ongoing discussion of Embodied Cognitive Science.
Read MoreLearn about the neurobiology of placebos from Italy's Fabrizio Benedetti, author of Placebo Effects: Understanding the mechanisms in health and disease.
Read MoreBSP 121 is an interview with AD (Bud) Craig, author of How Do You Feel?: An Interoceptive Moment with Your Neurobiological Self. Even though his book is quite technical he does a great job of describing his discoveries in a way that is accessible for listeners of all backgrounds.
Read MoreAny amount is appreciated.
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Copyright 2013 - 2023 | Virginia Campbell, MD. All Rights Reserved.
