15 posts tagged “dr. ginger campbell”
Show Notes
This episode is an interview with Sandra Blakeslee, co-author (with her son Matthew) of The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps Help You Do (almost) Everything Better, which we discussed in episode 21.
I asked Blakeslee to tell me a little bit of her background as a science writer. She wrote for the New York Times for many years and was the co-author of both Jeff Hawkins groundbreaking book, On Intelligence and VS Ramachandran's modern class Phantoms in the Brain (1998), which was one of the first books to explore neuroplasticity.
In this interview we explored the relationship between body maps and neuroplasticity, as well as questions from listeners about out of body experiences and other oddities once considered "paranormal." We talked about how body maps are relevant to understanding why some methods of alternative healing appear to be effective.
I asked her to tell me which scientist she met made the biggest impression. Here are a few of those she mentioned:
- Marco Iacoboni at UCLA
- Atsushi Iriki-cyberspace
- Olaf Blanke in Switzerland who has discovered how the angular gyrus is involved in out-of-body experiences
- Arthur "Bud" Craig who is the pioneer of mapping the insula
- Michael Merzenich-a pioneer in the field of neuroplasticity who also helped design the first cochlear implant
Blakeslee told me about some of the pioneering work that Merzenich is doing to apply his discoveries to help people, both those with disabilities and those who just want to combat aging. You can learn more about his work at http://www.positscience.com/.
If you would like to contact Sandra Blakeslee to give her feedback or ask her questions she has a contact form on her books website at http://www.thebodyhasamindofitsown.com/. She is going to let me know when she gets the references posted on the site.
Share your comments on the Discussion Forum
Click Below to Listen to Podcasts
- Interview of Sandra Blakeslee (episode 23)
- Discussion of her latest book (episode 21)
- Brief Review of On Intelligence (episode 2)
Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
The audio files for both of my podcasts are hosted on Libsyn and they have recently changed the addresses for people's podcast audio files. Unfortunately this means that I probably have a lot of bad links floating around not just on this site, but in numerous other locations around the internet. I intend to try to fix the ones I remember posting, but that may take a while, so if you find a bad link please let me know.
Thanks to SpiritSeeker for originally bringing the problem to my attention.
If you are in a hurry to find an old episode you can go directly to my Libsyn sites:
Books and Ideas is at http://booksandideas.libsyn.com
Brain Science Podcast is at http://brainsciencepodcast.libsyn.com
I have posted episode 12 of Books and Ideas. It is my response to The Myth of Free Will (2007), which was edited by Cris Evatt.
This is a very controversial subject. I hope that you will listen and then submit your comments to the new Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum, which is at http://brainscienceforum.com.
The Brain Science Podcast #16 is a discussion of The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind (2002)
by Elkhonon Goldberg.
This episode is an introduction to the role of the pre-frontal lobes in decision-making, and the other "executive" functions of our brain. The functions of the pre-frontal lobes are not only the keys to what makes us human, but also the keys to our individual personality.
In this episode, using Dr. Goldberg's book, we discuss how the frontal lobes relate to the other structures of the brain. We also, discuss some ideas about why the left and right sides of the brain differ, as well as several important ways in which the cortex, and especially the pre-frontal lobes differ from some of the older parts of the brain.
We discuss briefly the vulnerability of the frontal lobes to damage and disease, and we consider the implications of frontal lobe dysfunction. Questions are introduced that will be considered in more detail in future podcasts.
Links:
- Phineas Gage-constructor worker who suffered severe frontal lobe injury in 1848
- Herbert Simon-won 1978 Nobel Prize in economics (short autobiography) He did pioneering work on decision-making.
- Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg:
The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.
Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
Visit the new Brain Science Podcast Forum
Show Notes
Episode #15 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Read Montague of the Baylor School of Medicine. We discuss his recent book, Why Choose this Book? How we Make Decisions (2006).
Here are some of the questions we discussed:
What is computational neuroscience?
What is the computational theory of the mind (CTOM)?
How is the objection that the CTOM doesn't account for meaning answered ?
What about choice and responsibility?
Is there room for free will in this model?
I also announced that because of the recent technical problems, the new discussion Forum will probably not be up and running for a few more weeks, but I hope that many of you will participate.
The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.
Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
Don't forget to join the Brain Science Podcast Community on Flickr.com
This episode of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of memory based on the book, Memory: From Mind to Molecules (2000), by Larry R. Squire, and Eric R. Kandel.
The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.
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Show Notes
I highly recommend you get this book for yourself if you want to read the details of the experiments. The book contains excellent illustrations.
Some of the experimental animals mentioned in this episode include Aplysia (giant sea snails), Drosophila (fruit flies), and mice.
Mechanisms of memory formation and storage seem to be shared from the simplest non-vertebrates up through humans.
Types of Memory: declarative and non-declarative. Non-declarative memory is generally NOT subject to conscious awareness or control.
There are many different types of non-declarative memory including:
- motor skills
- habituation and sensitization
- classical and operant conditioning
- priming
- perceptual skills
Declarative memory, which seems to be unique to animals that have a hippocampus and cerebral cortex, includes short-term (immediate and working memory) and long-term memory. Much research has been devoted to discovering how and where long-term memory occurs. The answer may surprise you.
This episode includes a discussion of some of the unanswered questions in memory research.
by Dylan EvansEmotion: The Science of Sentiment by Dylan Evans is the featured book for this episode of the Brain Science Podcast. Thanks to Kate from the UK for suggesting this book.
The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.
Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
Show Notes
This episode is a short introduction to the idea that our emotions are an essential part of our intellligence.
- We discuss the Basic Emotions based on the work of anthropologist Paul Eckman.
- We learn about culturally learned emotions such as "being a wild pig," which is observed among the Gurumba people of New Guinea
- Paul Griffiths introduced the idea of "higher cognitive emotions"
- Emotions seem to exist on a continuum from the highly innate basic emotions to the culturally specific emotions
- The work of Joseph Ledoux and Antonio Damasio reveal that our emotions are an important element of normal intelligence
- We consider how fear actually follows two pathways in the brain
- We consider the role of the limbic system including the amygdala
- We consider the relationship between emotions and mood
- We consider how mood effects memory and decision making
- This includes Robert Zajonc's discovery of the "mere exposure" effect
- We briefly consider the question of whether computers could ever display emotions
Further Reading
The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness (2000)
by Antonio Damasio
This episode is a discussion of The Future of the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's Neuroscience by British neuroscientist, Steven Rose. Unlike most episodes of the Brain Science Podcast, the emphasis of this episode is on asking what kind of ethical dilemmas might be posed by our increased knowledge of how the brain works.
For detailed show notes go to the Brain Science Podcast website.
The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.
Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
Quantum mechanics can't explain consciousness and I am going to explore why.
The reason I bring this up is that many people seem to be worried that the mounting evidence that the brain generates the mind implies that free will can not exist. Of course, most of us feel strongly that we do have free will. Various arguments are put forth to "save" free will. (I am not going to tackle the claim that it needs saving in this post.) One recent approach has been to use the uncertainty inherent in quantum mechanics as a potential location for free will. John Searle has observed that this only gives us randomness, not free will, but that doesn't seem to reduce the appeal of such an approach.
Today I wish to argue against using quantum mechanics to explain any aspect of consciousness by considering and entirely different point of view. My argument is simple: I think trying to use quantum mechanics is taking the argument in the wrong direction.
Consciousness is clearly an emergent property. The latest evidence is that there is no master site of consciousness or control in the brain. If that is the case, then looking to the subatomic level is clearly a move in the wrong direction. It makes as much sense as trying to understand the properties of water by studying hydrogen and oxygen. Because water emerges from the combination of the two, studying its components tells us little about water.
Just a brief thought to keep in mind the next time someone tells you how much they enjoyed "what the Bleep to we know?" Personally, I turned it off with disgust but we have to realize how vulnerable non-scientists are to pseudo-science masquerading as science.
This item has been cross-posted at Scientific Blogging and at the Brain Science Podcast site.
