44 posts tagged “podcast”
Episode 47 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Principles of Brain Evolution
by Georg F. Striedter. My goal is to highlight the main ideas of this
complicated, and often controversial subject. Understanding the
principles of brain evolution is an important element in our
multidisciplinary attempt to understand how our brains make us who we
are.
Listen to Episode 47 of the Brain Science Podcast
- Dragon*Con 2008
Brain Science Podcast #46 is a discussion of brain imaging with Dr. Shella Keilholz and Dr. Jason Schneiderman. The focus of our discussion is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is revolutionizing neuroscience. We talked about both the strengths and weaknesses of this technique. Both of my guests agree that mainstream coverage of this technique tends to exaggerate what we can actually tell from this kind of brain scan. An important principle is that the scan of any single individual can vary greatly from day-to-day, which means that valid conclusions require data from a large number of people.
Listen to Episode 46 of the Brain Science Podcast
Click here for links and detailed show notes
Send email feedback to Ginger Campbell, MD at docartemis at gmail.com
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.
I have posted my schedule of appearances for Dragon*Con 2008, which is being held in Atlanta, GA, August 28- September 1. Send me an email at docartemis at gmail.com if you would like to get together during the Con. Please mark your schedule for the LIVE Brain Science Podcast Sunday at 2:30 PM and my presentation “The New Brain Science” on Monday at 2:30 PM. Click here for a detailed list of my appearances.
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
Eugenie Scott, the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, was interviewed in Episode 21 of Books and Ideas.
The focus of our conversation was the importance of teaching evolution
in the public schools. Dr. Scott and the NCSE have worked for over 20
years to promote the teaching of evolution because it is an essential
component of a modern education in the life sciences. Unfortunately,
nearly 150 years after Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) many
Americans still reject this fundamental idea and much of Scott's work
is focused on trying to keep creationism and so-called Intelligent
Design out of school curriculum.
Recently the NCSE launched a very valuable site called Expelled Exposed, which focuses on exposing the many inaccuracies presented in Ben Stein's recent pro-intelligent design "documentary" Expelled. One of the things that has come out in numerous interviews is that the producers of the film mislead all the pro-evolution guests that appear in the film. We discuss this briefly near the end of the interview, but it was not the focus of our discussion. (see below for more links regarding Expelled)
Since Dr. Scott has been interviewed about Expelled and Expelled Exposed on several other podcasts, I wanted to focus our interview more on the importance of accurate science education. Also, we discussed the fact that despite the claims of right-wing fundamentalists there are many Christians and people of other faiths who accept the theory of evolution as scientifically valid. Accepting evolution does not mean one is choosing atheism. I think this is a very important distinction because while atheists are outspoken in their support of evolution they represent a small minority. I was encouraged to learn from Dr. Scott that the NCSE is working closely with religious leaders and scientists of faith to try to educate their members.
Since Books and Ideas reaches an international audience I thought that it was important that we discuss the origins of the evolution versus creationism controversy, which is unique to the United States. Scott does an excellent job of explaining how our unique religious heritage along with our locally controlled school systems combine to create a situation that most of the world find's rather mystifying. Her book Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction also provides an excellent overview of the subject from both an historical and scientific prospective.
Finally, we talk about the importance of evolution as a basic idea in modern biology. While we didn't dwell on this, I think we are both concerned about the implications for the future if a majority of young Americans are reaching college without a solid foundation in the principles of evolution. We also talked about why intelligent design fails to meet the basic definition of a scientific theory since it provides no testable hypotheses. Dr. Scott also provides a excellent review of the basic writings for those who want to learn more.
Episode 40 of the Brain Science Podcast
is a look back at the highlights from the last six months. We have
talked about numerous topics including brain plasticity, mirror
neurons, language, brain rhythms, and the sense of smell. We talked
with 9 guests
and we have also explored the practical implications of neuroscience,
including the importance of sleep and exercise to brain health. This
brief review episode is intended for both new listeners and long-time
subscribers.
For detailed show notes including links to all the resources discussed in the episode
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
