31 posts tagged “neuroscience”
Have you ever wondered why a child with ADD can play videos games for hours but can’t concentrate on his homework for a few minutes? This is one of the paradoxes of attention-deficit disorder that John J Ratey, MD, co-author of Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood, explains in Episode 45 of the Brain Science Podcast.
During this interview Dr. Ratey discusses the latest findings about the biological basis of what he calls “attention variability disorder.” He also offers practical advice for patients and parents dealing with ADD/ADHD. One very important, and somewhat surprising, fact that he shares is that patients who are treated with medications during adolescence have a significantly lower risk of developing problems with addiction and drug abuse later on compared to those who are not treated. Also, successful “ADDers” like Michael Phelps show that “having a mission” makes a huge difference.
Dr. Ratey’s most recent book is Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, which he discussed with me (Dr. Campbell) in Episode 33.
In Episode 44 of the Brain Science Podcast I talk with Daniel Siegel, MD about meditation and the brain. Dr. Siegel is the author of several books including The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. In this interview we review the scientific evidence about how mindfulness meditation changes the brain, both in terms of short term activity and in terms of long-term structural changes. The evidence is convincing that a regular mindfulness practice can be an important element of brain health.
Listen to Episode 44 of the Brain Science Podcast
Click here for detailed show notes and links
Episode 43 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Robert A Burton, MD, author of On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not, which I discussed in Episode 42.
Dr. Burton tells us what inspired him to write this book and we explore
some of the implications of the fact that what he calls the “feeling of
knowing” comes from our unconscious, including the fact that it is not
as reliable as it feels.
Listen to Episode 43 of the Brain Science Podcast
Click Here for Links, Show Notes, and information about subscribing to the Brain Science Podcast
Episode 42 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not
by Robert Burton, MD. This part 1 of a two part discussion of the
unconscious origins of what Dr. Burton calls "the feeling of knowing."
In Episode 43 I will interview Dr. Burton. Today's episode provides an
overview of Dr. Burton's key ideas.
In past episodes I have discussed the role of unconscious decision-making. On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not by Robert Burton, MD takes this topic to a new level. First, Dr. Burton discusses the evidence that the "feeling of knowing" arises from parts of our brain that we can neither access or control. Then he discusses the implications of this finding, including the fact that it challenges long-held assumptions about the possibility of purely rational thought.
Listen to Episode 42 of the Brain Science Podcast
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.
Listen to the Brain Science Podcast
Related Episodes:
- Brain Science Podcast #7: A discussion of bonobos with Stuart Shanker, PhD
- Brain Science Podcast #30: a discussion of language evolution including my thoughts on Chomsky
- Brain Science Podcast #35: a detailed discussion of Mirrors in the Brain by Giacomo Rizzolatti
Click here for detailed show notes including links and references
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.
Listen to Episode 37 now (left click to listen, right click to download mp3).
Art Glenberg, PhDEpisode 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.
Listen to Dr. Glenberg's Interview (left click to listen, right click to download)
Links and References:
- email: arthur.glenberg@asu.edu
- Laboratory for Embodied Cognition
- Havas, D.A., Glenberg, A.M., and Rink, M. (2007) Emotion simulation during language comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14 (3), 436-441
- Numerous references available as PDF
- Thinking With the Body: blog post of March 3, 2008
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 (more papers)
- 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:
- Havas, D.A., Glenberg, A.M., and Rink, M. (2007) Emotion simulation during language comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14 (3), 436-441
- more publications by Arthur Glenberg
- Sommerville, J.A., Woodard, A.L., and Needham, A., Action experience alters 3-month-old infants’ perception of others’ actions, Cognition 96 (2005) B1-B11.
- Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 54, 768-777.
- Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things (1987) by George Lakoff
- recent essays by George Lakoff written for the Rockridge Institute
Listen to Dr. Glenberg's Interview (left click to listen, right click to download)
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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 1990's 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 neuroimaging 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. Listen Now.
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.
Listen to Brain Science Podcast Episode 35 (mirror neurons) NOW.
Links:
Giacomo Rizzolatti- University of Parma
Mirror neurons (wikipedia entry)
Mirror neurons (Scholarpedia entry written by Dr. Rizzolatti)
Listen to Brain Science Podcast #35 (mirror neurons) Now
Share your comments on the Discussion Forum
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Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
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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.
Listen to the Rachel Herz interview now. (Right click to download.)
Links and References:
Rachel Herz
- Brown Medical School faculty page
- Wikipedia: a good source for further references
- RachelHerz.com
- thescentofdesire.com
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 ScienceNOW Daily News 27 March 2008
The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell (2007) by Rachel Herz
Listen to Episode 34 (Right click to download)
Share your comments on the Discussion Forum
Subscribe in a reader or podcatcher
Subscribe to Brain Science Podcast with Dr. Ginger Campbell by Email
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Episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language
by Christine Kenneally. We focus mostly on the first part of the book,
which tells the story of how the study of language evolution has grown
from almost a banned subject to a new field of inquiry called
evolutionary linguistics. We also reflect on how recent findings in
neuroscience like the importance of plasticity are influencing the
field.
Scientists Discussed in the Episode:
- Noam Chomsky
- Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
- Stuart Shanker
- Steven Jay Gould
- Steven Pinker and Paul Bloom
- Philip Leiberman
*References:
Pinker, Steven, and Paul Bloom, "Natural Language and Natural Selection," Behavioral and Brains Sciences 13 (1990): 707-84.
Marc D. Hauser, Noam Chomsky, and W. Tecumseh Fitch (2002). "The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?" Science 298:1569-1579.
Christine Kenneally, The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language (2007).
Stanley I. Greenspan and Stuart G. Shanker, The First Idea: How Symbols, Language, and Intelligence Evolved from our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans (2004).
*Additional references can be found in Kenneally's book and at the websites of the scientists listed above.
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