Brain Science with Ginger Campbell, MD: Neuroscience for Everyone

This Premium episode was recorded on Facebook Live on November 1, 2018.

It includes a look back at BS 146, which was an interview with Alan Jasanoff, author of The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are. Our focus was on avoiding the "cerebral mystique," which includes the tendency to over emphasize neuroscience as a means of understanding the world.

Ironically, I also included the presentation I gave at Sound Education the next day called Why Neuroscience Matters in which I argue that basic neuroscience literacy is essential in the 21st Century. As citizens we need an accurate understanding of how our brains really work, but we also need to appreciate that we are more than our brains, and solutions to our most difficult problems must include a recognition of the role of our environment and our interaction with the people around us.

This is the Premium ad-free version of BS 150 with Seth Grant, the molecular biologist who has discovered surprising things about the evolution of the synapse, including the fact that vertebrates have much more complex synapses than invertebrates. In this interview we talk about his latest paper in Neuron in which his team has developed a method for mapping the synapses across the entire mouse brain. This is called a synaptome and reveals that there is surprising diversity depending on which part of the brain is examined. We discuss the implications of this discovery and how it suggests a new theory of how memory works.

Even though this is a follow up to last year's interview (BS 137), Dr. Grant provides all the background that a new listener will need to appreciate his work.

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In this month's Brain Science Live (recorded via Facebook Live) I talked about BS 145 with Dr. Maryanne Wolf who has spent her career studying what happens in the brain when we learn to read.

I got a lot of feedback about this episode and I respond to it here.

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This is the premium-ad free version of BS 149, which is an interview with Dean Burnett, author of Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From, and Why.

Please scroll (up/down) for other versions including the Premium episode transcript.

This month's Facebook Live session was a discussion of BS 144, which was about Language in the Brain.

This audio is provided for Premium and Patreon supporters to show my appreciation for your support.

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CORRECTION: during the episode I talk about releasing the 2nd Edition of Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty.

I announced September 15-30 as the time for this giveaway. Unfortunately, the book is not yet ready. I want to add a new chapter, so when its ready I will make a new announcement.

For this month's session on Facebook Live I did a brief recap of BS 143, which was an interview with Elkhonon Goldberg about his new book Creativity.

There is some listener feedback but I hope to have more next month.

Remember next month we will be talking about BS 144, which was about Language in the Brain. You have until September 1 to submit questions or comments and of course, you can join me LIVE on September 6 at 8PM Central and submit comments then.

This is the Premium ad-free version of BS 147, which is a discussion of Lessons from the Lobster: Eve Marder's Work in Neuroscience by Charlotte Nassim.

Learn more about my 2019 trip to Australia at http://brainsciencepodcast.com/australia2019.

Send me feedback at gincampell@mac.com.

This premium episode is the audio file taken from our Facebook Live session recorded on July 5, 2018.

It is a brief recap of BS 142, which was an interview with Michael Graziano about Peripersonal neurons.

The next Live recording is scheduled for August 2 at 8PM Central Time.

Please submit questions and comments about BS 143 (Elkhonon Goldberg on Creativity) by August 1, for inclusion in that session. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

This is the Premium ad-free version of BS 146 with Alan Jasanoff, author of The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are.

Please note that the transcript will be posted separately to avoid confusion.

Learn more about Premium and Patreon options at http://brainsciencepodcast.com/donations.

This is the audio of our first Facebook Live session recorded on April 5, 2018. It is a brief review of BS 141, which was a interview with Dr. Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, author of "The Forgetting Machine: Memory, Perception, and the "Jennifer Aniston Neuron."

Next month's FB Live session will be recorded on May 3rd, 2018. Please submit questions or comments about BS 142 with Michael Graziano anytime before hand and I will include them in the next effort.

Feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Just write to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.

This is the 17th Annual Review episode of Brain Science, celebrating the first episode which aired on December 15, 2006. We review the highlights of 2023, which included both new guests and the return of several favorites.

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In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the important issue of determinism, siding with those physicists who argue that the fundamental nature of our universe is NOT deterministic. These issues are crucial to how we see ourselves and others.

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This month's episode of Brain Science features Thomas Metzinger, author of "The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self." Metzinger is a philosopher with a longstanding interest in Philosophy of Mind with a focus on incorporating the findings of neuroscience. We discuss the implications of the discovery that consciousness is a biological process generated by the interaction of the brain, body, and external world. Metzinger also emphasized the importance of considering altered states including dreaming, out of body experiences, and even virtual reality.

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This episode of Brain Science features the return of molecular biologist Seth Grant. We briefly review his decades of research into the complexity of the protein structure of the synapse and then we focus on his most recent paper, which describes how the life-span of synapse proteins appears to change as animals age. Grant reflects of the significance of this finding both for animal research and human medicine.

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Seth Grant has previously appeared on Brain Science several times including BSP 51, BSP 101, BS 137, BSP 150 and BS 176.

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This episode is our first review of neurotransmitters since episode 8 way back in 2007. We start with some basics of neuron function and brain anatomy, but the meat of the episode is a discussion of neurotransmitters and how they work. The key idea is that a simple molecule, such as dopamine, can have a wide variety of effects because of the existence of multiple receptors.

This episode is appropriate for listeners of all backgrounds, but might be a little challenging for new listeners. It will be a review episode for longtime listeners and those with backgrounds in neuroscience.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Luiz Pessoa, author of The Entangled Brain: How Perception, Cognition, and Emotion Are Woven Together.

This is Pessoa's first book aimed at a general audience and it provides a concise overview of our current understanding of basic brain function. However, he also explains the limitations of the traditional modular view of the brain. A key take home point is that emotion and cognition are deeply intertwined at every level.

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This month's episode is an interview with Cambridge Psychology professor Sander van der Linden, author of "Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity." We discuss the important topic of how techniques like appealing to emotion contribute to the spread of misinformation. Dr. Campbell reflects on why this topic is important.

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This month's episode is an encore presentation of an interview with neuroscientist Luiz Pessoa discussing his fascinating book "The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration." We explored the surprising role of the amygdala in decision making and learned that cognition and emotion are deeply intertwined at every level.

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This month we have an intriguing interview with Dr. Paco Calvo from the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Mercia in Spain. We talk with him about his new book Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Intelligence.

We discuss the scientific evidence for plant intelligence while acknowledging that intelligence and consciousness are not the same. It is interesting to think of plants as demonstrating embodied cognition in contrast to the "intelligence" demonstrated by computer software. We also consider the pioneering work of Charles Darwin, who actually studied plant behavior before the invention of time lapse photography.

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In this follow-up interview with molecular biologist Dr. Guy Caldwell we learn more about how the tools of molecular biology are used to unravel questions in neurobiology and provide hope for better treatments for problems like Parkinson's Disease.

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This month's episode is an encore presentation of an interview with Dr. Guy Caldwell from the University of Alabama. Dr. Caldwell explains how tools from molecular biology make it possible to use the famous C. Elegans roundworm to improve our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Caldwell will return to Brain Science next month to give us an update on his work.

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This month's episode (BS 203) celebrates the 16th Anniversary of Brain Science with the annual review episode. This is a listener favorite providing highlights and key ideas from the episodes of Brain Science that were posted in 2022. Topics included hearing, grief, emotion, embodied cognition, consciousness and more.

Note: This month's episode transcript is FREE.

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BS 192 Nina Kraus, author of Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World

BS 193 The Embodied Mind: exploring the implications of embodied cognition

BS 194 Mary-Frances O'Connor, author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss

BS 195 David J Anderson, author of The Nature of the Beast: How Emotions Guide Us

BS 196 Hakwan Lau, author of In Consciousness we Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience

BS 197 Frank Amthor, author of Neuroscience for Dummies and Neurobiology for Dummies

BS 198 Evan Thompson, author of Mind in Life: Biology. Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind

BS 199 Batja Mesquita, author of Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions

BS 200 Jennifer Fugate and Sheila Macrine, editors of Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning

BS 201 Bill Harris, author of Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built

BS 202 Evan Thompson, on meditation and embodied cognition

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The idea that meditation is a "mind science" is popular, but in this interview Canadian philosopher Evan Thompson argues that this claim does not stand up to either scientific or philosophical scrutiny. As one of the pioneers of the Embodied Cognition movement Thompson reminds us that the Mind is not restricted to the Brain and we must also consider how other recent discoveries in neuroscience fail to support the claim that meditation provides neutral scientific insight into how the Mind really works.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with WA (Bill) Harris, author of Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built. We explore how the human brain develops from the fertilized egg up until birth. There are some surprises along the way, including the fact that we actually have more neurons before we are born than we will ever have again!

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This month's episode is a discussion with the editors of a fascinating new book Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning. We explore how embodied cognition challenges long standing dualist approaches to both cognition and learning. Sheila Macrine and Jennifer Fugate also share some of the innovative approaches that improve both how we teach and how we learn.

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This month's episode is an interview with Batja Mesquita, author of "Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions." This is an important book because it describes the evidence that Emotions are not just something people experience "from the inside out," but they also occur between people, which means that culture plays a critical role. We also explore why it is important to appreciate why people from from different cultures may experience emotions in surprisingly different ways.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is a free encore playing of my interview with Evan Thompson about his book Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind. We discuss how the enactive approach to embodied cognition offers potential clues to the mystery of how the brain can generate Consciousness. A free episode transcript is also available.

This is the 2nd of two free encore episodes that are being shared to give listeners a taste of the diverse content available to Premium subscribers. Premium subscribers have access to over 100 additional episodes of Brain Science along with episode transcripts.

The embodied cognition movement is an approach within cognitive neuroscience that includes philosophers, neuroscientists, psychologists and computer scientists. The key idea is that cognition, which includes thinking and decision-making, is inseparable from embodiment. This is not just because it requires sensory inputs to the brain, but also because moving in the world is a key component. Thus embodied cognition does not see this as a passive input/output process, but as something that requires constant interaction with the world via the body.

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This month's episode of Brain Science features an encore playing of my interview with Dr. Frank Amthor, author of Neuroscience for Dummies and Neurobiology for Dummies. It is a great episode for newbies and will be a good review for longtime listeners.

This is a FREE sample of my Premium content and the episode transcript is also FREE.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Hakwan Lau, author of In Consciousness we Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience. Lau talks about shortcomings in current theories about how the brain generates consciousness, but he also introduces something he calls perceptual reality monitoring.

Although this is a somewhat technical discussion it is accessible to listeners who are new to the neuroscience of consciousness.

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This month's episode is an interview with David J Anderson from Cal Tech. We talk about his new book The Nature of the Beast: How Emotions Guide US. We talk about how emotion CAN be studied in animals by using methods that focus on brain states rather than verbal descriptions. Dr. Anderson also explains why this experimental work is essential to developing more effective treatment of mental illnesses.

This episode is a follow up to my discussion of The Neuroscience of Emotion: A New Synthesis by Ralph Adolphs and David J. Anderson in BS 151 (2018)

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The neuroscience of grief and grieving is a relatively new field, but one that offers practical discoveries for people of all backgrounds. This month we talk with Mary-Frances O'Connor, author of The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How we Learn from Love and Loss.

We talk about what has been learned from a variety of approaches, including both brain imaging and, surprisingly even from animal studies. We learn why it is so hard for our brains to accept the loss of a loved one and this work offers hope for helping those who struggle with prolonged or complicated grief.

The incredible loss of life cause by the COVID pandemic makes this work especially timely.

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In this month's episode of Brain Science I explore two big picture questions: What does it mean to claim that the Mind is "embodied?" and How does this change our understanding of our place in the world? The conversation was inspired by the book "Out of the Cave: A Natural Philosophy of Mind and Knowing" by Mark L Johnson and Donald M Tucker.

This episode builds on several previous discussions of "embodied cognition" so it might be challenging to newer listeners. I have included a list of these earlier episodes below.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Nina Kraus, author of "Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World." Dr. Kraus has spent 30 years exploring how the brain processes sound. We explore why sound processing involves much more that just the auditory cortex as well how the sounds we experience change our brains, both for better and for worse.

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This is our 15th annual review episode, which highlights the guests and key ideas we have shared in 2021. Interviews included return visits from Jeff Hawkins and David Eagleman. New guests including Anil Seth and Antonio Damasio, who both emphasized the importance of our bodies (not just our brains) in understanding Consciousness.

Available soon: Free Transcript!

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BS 180 Bruce Goldstein, author of The Mind: Consciousness, Prediction, and the Brain

BS 181 Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, author of The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention

BS 182 Iris Berent, author of The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature

BS 183 Jeff Hawkins, author A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence

BS 184 Mark Solms, author The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Origins of Consciousness

BS 185 Stephen Fleming, author of Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness

BS 186 Mark Humphries, author of The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds

BS 187 David Eagleman, author of Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

BS 188 Anil Seth, author of Being You: A New Science of Consciousness

BS 189 Antonio Damasio, author of Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious

BS 190 David Badre, author of On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done

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This month's episode of Brain Science features David Badre, author of "On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done." He gives us an overview of recent research in the field of cognitive control, which has has actually overturned some popular assumptions about things like willpower. Our focus is on the practical implications of this research.

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Neurologist and best-selling author Antonio Damasio is one of our most requested guests. This month we finally had the opportunity to talk about his newest book "Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious," which he explained is somewhat different from his previous efforts. His goal was to write something "briefer" and more accessible. Thus it is definitely a book that requires no background in neuroscience.

The key theme is that feelings and emotions are foundational aspects of Consciousness.

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BS 188 features neuroscientist Anil Seth discussing his new book "Being You: A New Science of Consciousness." We have had many guests talk about consciousness, but Seth represents the newer generation who have actually been able to devote their careers to this fundamental question: How does the brain generate conscious experience. His perspective is both practical and illuminating.

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BS 187 features bestselling author and neuroscientist David Eagleman. We talk about his latest book "Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain." It is a great overview of the current science of brain plasticity appropriate for both new listeners and longtime fans.

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This month's episode features Mark Humphries, author of "The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds." We explore how the brain uses electrical signaling in surprising ways, beginning with a look at how an action potential (aka. "the spike") is produced. Then we consider what Humphries calls "the dark neurons," which are neurons that rarely generate spikes. We explore their role and also how it relates to the brain's spontaneous activity. One of the more surprising recent discoveries in neuroscience is that most of the brain's activity does not appear to be caused by external stimuli. It is not a passive receiver of information and this has profound implications for our understanding of things like how the brain generates conscious experience.

This episode is for listeners of all backgrounds.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Dr. Stephen Fleming, author of "Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness." We explore the concept of metacognition and learn that while explicit metacognition (thinking about thinking) may be unique to humans, it is built on building blocks shared with other species. We also explore what can go wrong and why it matters.

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In this month's episode of Brain Science, neuroscientist Mark Solms talks about his new book "The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Origins of Consciousness." Solms was inspired by the pioneering work of Jaak Panksepp who argued that the origins of consciousness can be traced to the brainstem. In his new book Solms presents the evidence for this viewpoint and explains how the work of computational neuroscientist Karl Friston has provided additional support. We consider the implications for our understanding of both human consciousness and our appreciation for the consciousness of other animals.

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Jeff Hawkins has spent nearly twenty years on a quest to discover how the brain's cortex generates intelligence. In this episode he talks about his new book A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence, which describes some of his most recent research in a way that is accessible to readers of all backgrounds.

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This month's episode of Brain Science features Iris Berent, author of "The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature." We explore how our deeply entrenched biases toward dualism and essentialism impact our attitudes toward neuroscience and toward problems like mental illness.

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This month's episode of Brain Science features Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, one of the world's leading researchers on the neuroscience of autism. We discuss his latest book "The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention." This book reminds us that many different kinds of science can enrich our lives and our understanding of what it means to be human.

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Greenberg DM, Warrier V, Allison C, Baron-Cohen S. Testing the Empathizing-Systemizing theory of sex differences and the Extreme Male Brain theory of autism in half a million people. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Nov 27;115(48):12152-12157. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1811032115. Epub 2018 Nov 12. PMID: 30420503; PMCID: PMC6275492.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with neuroscientists E. Bruce Goldstein, author of "The Mind: Consciousness, Prediction, and the Brain."

We review some key ideas about how the brain creates the Mind, the important role of unconscious processes and prediction. It is a great starter episode for new listeners and a concise review for longtime fans.

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It's time for our 14th Annual Review Episode! Despite the challenges of 2020, it has been an outstanding year for Brain Science:the show passed 11 million downloads and Dr. Campbell released of second edition of Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty.

This episode is also a great introduction for new listeners. It can be enjoyed even if you haven't listened to the episodes being discussed. A free transcript is also available for this episode.

Here is a list of this year's episodes:

Note: the transcript for this episode is Free. Additional show notes and more episode transcripts are available at brainsciencepodcast.com.

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This month's episode of Brain Science features neuroscientist Peter Sterling sharing the key ideas for his new book What Is Health? Allostasis and the Evolution of Human Design.In recent years neuroscientists have developed a growing appreciation of the predictive functions of the brain. Sterling takes this principle to the next level by asking what this means for human health. He argues that medicine's traditional focus on homeostasis ignores the much larger role of what he calls allostasis, which is a word he actually coined many years ago to capture the idea that the brain's predictive function is critical to health.

His book explores the ancient origins of both allostasis and homeostasis with an emphasis on why recent changes in the human life style contribute to the health problems of modern life.

One goal of this episode is to remind listeners that understanding how the brain works may be the key to our future survival.

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Bernard Baars is a pioneer in the neuroscience of consciousness. He first proposed Global Workspace Theory back in 1980, which was before consciousness was considered an acceptable topic of scientific research. His approach inspired others including the current Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, which I discussed briefly in episode 160. This episode is an interview with Dr. Baars that focuses on his most recent book On Consciousness. He is joined by his colleague David Edelman.

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This is my fifth interview with molecular biologist and neuroscientist Dr. Seth Grant from The University of Edinburgh. Dr. Grant was recently recognized for his pioneering work by the Federation of European Neuroscientists. He continues to make fundamental discoveries about the structure and function of the synapse and this month we discuss the discovery that synapse complexity and diversity is greater than expected, along with the implications of these discoveries.

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This extremely timely episode of Brain Science features an interview with Dr. Carol Tavris, co-author of the newly released third edition of Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. Cognitive Dissonance was actually discovered back in 1956 and it is one of the most well-replicated phenomena in experimental psychology. It also impacts many aspects of our lives, including politics, which is why I am grateful to have Dr. Tavris back on the podcast to help us explore this fascinating, but also disturbing topic.

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BS 174 is an interview with neuroscientist and philosopher Georg Northoff about his fascinating book "The Spontaneous Brain: From the Mind–Body to the World–Brain Problem." We explore the significance of the growing evidence that most of the brain's activity occurs independently of external stimuli with a focus on the implications of this finding for our understanding of how the brain generates consciousness.

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In this special episode of Brain Science host Dr Ginger Campbell reads an excerpt from her bestseller "Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origin of Certainty." While it might seem ironic to talk about certainty during these extremely uncertain times, understanding how our brain generates the feeling of knowing or certainty is actually more relevant than ever.

Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty is based on several early episodes of Brain Science and highlights the work of retired neurologist Dr. Robert Burton. Both physicians are fascinated by the surprising discovery that most of what our brain does is outside conscious awareness. They explore the evidence behind this claim as well as its implications. Ultimately they agree that this discovery could encourage us all to have more compassion and tolerance for both ourselves and others.

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In this episode I talk with neuroscientist György Buzsáki about his new book The Brain from Inside Out. We explore how abandoning what he calls the "Outside In" approach to understanding the brain can lead to surprising new insights.

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This episode of Brain Science is an interview with neuroscientist Matthew Cobb author of "The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience."

Cobb approaches the history of neuroscience from a different perspective than previous writers. He writes from the perspective of a working scientist with a deep interest in the history of ideas and the interaction between science and culture. This approach makes for a fascinating discussion.

Through out history assumptions about the brain have been influenced by both culture and contemporary science. For example, before the discovery of electricity it was impossible to image that the brain uses both chemical and electrical signals to communicate. Similarly, our current understanding is heavily influenced by the computer metaphor, which actually misses much about how real brains function.

Another aspect of our discussion involves several ongoing debates with neuroscience such as the importance of localization versus network properties. We also touch on the tendency toward neuromythology, which is the tendency to think that understanding the brain is the only tool for understanding what it means to be human. Dr. Cobb reminds of the importance of being aware of the work in a wide varieties of fields include science and the humanities.

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BS 170 is an interview with Andreas Nieder, author of "A Brain for Numbers: The Biology of the Number Instinct." We talk about the surprising discovery that a wide variety of animals have a number instinct, which is called the approximate number system. This appears to provide the basis for the more abstract mathematical abilities that are seen in humans. We also explore the relationship between mathematics and language.

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This episode is an exploration of glial cells with R Douglas Fields, author of "The Other Brain: The Scientific and Medical Breakthroughs That Will Heal Our Brains and Revolutionize Our Health." Glial Cells outnumber the neurons in our nervous system, but until the last few years they were thought to merely support cells. Dr. Fields takes us through the discovery that they have their own signaling methods and are much more important than we ever imagined.

This interview first aired in 2010, but Dr. Fields reviewed the original transcript and made no significant corrections. What was once controversial is now mainstream. I recorded a new introduction and summary and I have included some more recent references below.

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BS 168 is an interview with psychologist Cecilia Heyes from Oxford University in the UK. We talk about her fascinating book "Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking." Our focus is on exploring the evidence that several cognitive skills that appear to be unique to humans are learned from other people rather than being inherited genetically as is often assumed. The proposal that language is a cognitive gadget NOT a cognitive instinct is controversial and has very important implications.

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This is an interview with Stanislas Dehaene about his new book How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now. According to neuroscientist Dehaene neuroscience has revealed that human babies are incredible "learning machines" whose abilities exceed those of the best current artificial intelligence. We explore why this is so and how this information could be used to help learners (and teachers) of all ages.

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Brain Science 166 features the return of neuroscientist Stephen Macknik. We talk about his recent work that is focused on developing a new visual prosthesis based on recent discoveries and techniques like optogenetics.

This episode is more technical than usual but Dr. Macknik makes the material accessible to all listeners.

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This episode is an encore presentation of an interview with neuroscientists Stephen L. Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde. We talk about their international bestseller "Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions." Macknik and Martinez-Conde are neuroscientists who study vision, but several years ago they had the innovative idea of collaborating with magicians to explore how their use of both visual and cognitive illusions reveals secrets about how our brains work.

This may sound esoteric, but it has practical consequences, especially for making sound decisions in our complex world.

I will be back in 2 weeks with a new interview with Stephen Macknik.

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Brain Science is entering its 14th year and for the first time since 2008 I will be producing two episodes a month. They will come out on the 2nd and 4th Friday every month.

This trailer provides a brief introduction to new listeners and a few announcements. The next full episode will be released on January 10, 2020.

This is our 13th annual review episode. I share a few highlights from episodes 153-163 and include a few extra reflections on the recent 4-part series about the neuroscience of Consciousness.

This month's episode transcript is included for FREE.

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This episode of Books and Ideas is an interview with Susan Schneider, author of a fascinating new book called Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind. Schneider's book goes beyond the question of whether AI might become conscious to issues that might affect us on a more personal level. I am cross posting this in the feed for Brain Science because there is an obvious overlap with the issue of consciousness, which we often discuss on Brain Science. Links and References:

Christof Koch returns to Brain Science for the 3rd time and in this episode he shares his new book The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness Is Widespread but Can't Be Computed. He tells us why he doesn't think the Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) are enough to explain subjective experience and he gives us a brief overview of the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of Consciousness.

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This episode is an interview with Dr. Michael Graziano, author of Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience. We discuss how his Attention Schema Theory compliments several current theories and how it answers the question of how the brain generates subjective experience ("qualia"). Links and References:

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Respected neuroscientist Dr. Joseph Ledoux's new book is The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains. In this episode we discuss Dr. Ledoux's ideas about the relationship between emotion and consciousness. His conclusions are controversial, but thought provoking.

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This month's episode is the beginning a four part series about the Neuroscience of Consciousness. This month I am discussing and comparing the ideas from several recent books on the subject in preparation for several upcoming interviews on the subject. Many people consider consciousness to be the biggest mystery of all, but in this episode we explore how progress has been made in unraveling the ultimate "mystery of how our brain makes us human."

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BS 159 is an interview with Dr. Kevin Mitchell, author of Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are. We discuss the fact that our brain-based behavior is actually more innate than is commonly realized. Even identical twins are innately different despite having nearly identical genomes. This is because of events that occur during brain development. Listen now to learn more about what science is revealing about this fascinating topic. (PS: we also talk about the role of brain plasticity.)

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This month marks the return of popular Brain Science guest Dr. Patricia Churchland (BS 55 and BS 81). We talk about her new book, Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition. This book is a great combination of up to date neuroscience and critical thinking. It is recommended for listeners of all backgrounds.

Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for detailed show notes and episode transcripts.

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This episode of Brain Science features Dr. Donald MacKay, author of Remembering: What 50 Years of Research with Famous Amnesia Patient H.M. Can Teach Us about Memory and How It Works. H.M. may have been the most studied patient in history, but Mackay's work uncovers some surprising discoveries about the role of the hippocampus in language, as well as important implications for the aging brain.

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This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Stanford psychologist, Dr Russell A. Poldrack, author of The New Mind Readers: What Neuroimaging Can and Cannot Reveal about Our Thoughts.We discuss a brief history of the use of fMRI brain imaging with an emphasis on how to avoid the mistakes that plagued the field early on. Listeners will come away with an appreciation of both the promise and limitations of brain imaging, including an understanding of why it is NOT ready for use as a lie detector.

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BS 155 is an interview with neuroscientist Paul Middlebrooks, host of the Brain-Inspired podcast. We explore the main theme of his show, which is the intersection between neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

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BS 154 is an interview with Dr. Alan Castel, author of Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging. In the past we have discussed how our brain changes as we age, but it turns out successful aging requires more than "good genes." Our attitudes and our behaviors have a huge impact. More importantly, it is never too early to begin preparing for successful aging.

For detailed show notes and episode transcripts please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

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Episode 153 of Brain Science is an interview with Harvard neuroscientist John Dowling. We talk about his latest book Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behavior to Cognition with a special focus on Vision.

If you listen to this episode in the Free Brain Science mobile app you can also listen to BSP 4, which featured one of Dowling's earlier books, The Great Brain Debate: Nature Or Nurture?. Just look under Extras.

For complete show notes and episode transcripts please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

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BS 151 is a discussion of The Neuroscience of Emotion: A New Synthesis by Ralph Adolphs and David J. Anderson. We talk about key ideas from the book and relate them to several previous episodes about emotion including interviews with Jaak Panksepp, Lisa Feldman Barrett and Luis Pessoa.

Details show notes and episode transcripts will be available in a few days.

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BS 150 is my 4th interview with Dr. Seth Grant, the molecular biologist who has discovered surprising things about the evolution of the synapse, including the fact that vertebrates have much more complex synapses than invertebrates. In this interview we talk about his latest paper in Neuron in which his team has developed a method for mapping the synapses across the entire mouse brain. This is called a synaptome and reveals that there is surprising diversity depending on which part of the brain is examined. We discuss the implications of this discovery and how it suggests a new theory of how memory works.

Even though this is a follow up to last year's interview (BS 137), Dr. Grant provides all the background that a new listener will need to appreciate his work.

For complete show notes and episode transcripts please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

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This brief announcement is to correct a mistake I made in BS 148.

For several months I have been talking about my trip to Australia in 2019. I have posted this brief audio to clarify that October 1 was the first day to put down your deposit for the trip (not the deadline).

The dates in Australia will be May 20-30, 2018 and I have included the PDF with details with this announcement. There is room for 16 listeners. Please write to a brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com for more details.

Also, I will be in Boston November 1-3 for the Sound Education event at Harvard. If you would like to get together just drop me an email.

Brain Science 149 is an episode for listeners of all backgrounds. It is an interview with Dr. Dean Burnett, author of Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From, and Why. We look beyond the hype about dopamine and consider how our social nature impacts our happiness.

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BS 148 is the interview with pioneering neuroscientist Dr. Eve Marder, which I originally recorded back in 2009. I am reposting it now as a follow-up to last month's review of Charlotte Nassim's excellent biography Lessons from the Lobster: Eve Marder's Work in Neuroscience. The topics discussed in this interview are just as relevant as they were back then. A highlight of this interview is Dr. Marder's insights into what it was like to be part of the first large cohort of women entering science back in the sixties and seventies.

Send feedback about this episode to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com. Feedback received before December 1, 2018 may be included in the December episode of Brain Science Live on Facebook. Brain Science Live is on Facebook Live the first Thursday of every month at 8PM Central Time, but the audio is recorded for Premium and Patreon supporters.

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BS 147 is a discussion of the new biography Lessons from the Lobster: Eve Marder's Work in Neuroscience by Charlotte Nassim. This is an intellectual biography of one of neuroscientists least know pioneers. Dr. Marder was interviewed on this podcast back in BSP 56, which is also now free to download.

In this episode I take you through some of Dr. Marder's key discoveries. Her work is unique because even as a graduate student she was challenging long held assumptions in her field. Although Nassim never mentions it, I strongly believe that Marder deserves a Nobel Prize and I explain why in this episode.

This episode is more technical than usual and will be of special interest to students and working neuroscientists.

For complete show notes and transcripts please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

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This is an interview with MIT neuroscientist, Dr. Alan Jasanoff about his book The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are. We talk about what he calls the "cerebral mystique" and why it is important to remember because the brain is embodied it is not autonomous. The Mind is the result of the interaction of the brain, body, and its environment.

Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for full show notes and episode transcripts.

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BS 145 celebrates the return of Dr. Maryanne Wolf who was featured back in BSP 29 when we talked about her bestseller Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. In this episode we talk about her recent book Tales of Literacy for the 21st Century.

Our focus is two-fold. First we consider the implications of the fact that while language is acquired naturally, reading is a cultural invention that must be taught. Second, we explore how the brain is changed by reading and consider the consequences of the shift toward digital media.

This is a thought provoking conversation that will interest listeners of all backgrounds.

For complete show notes and episode transcripts, please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

This episode of Brain Science is sponsored by Audible. Please show your support this podcast by visiting http://audible.com/ginger.

This is an interview with Dr. Angela Friederici, author of Language in Our Brain: The Origins of a Uniquely Human Capacity. Her book is an extensive review of decades of research, but this interview provides an accessible introduction to listeners of all backgrounds.

Don't miss our new monthly Facebook live sessions where listeners can submit questions about past episodes. Learn more at our Facebook Fan Page.

Full episode show notes and episode transcripts are available at brainsciencepodcast.com.

BS 143 is an interview with Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, author of Creativity: The Human Brain in the Age of Innovation. We explore the roles of both the pre-frontal lobes and the right cerebral hemisphere, and we consider how the rapid rate of change may actually be decreasing the incidence of dementia by forcing older people to learn new skills rather than getting stuck in the rut of years of "auto-pilot."

Show notes and episode transcripts are available at http:brainsciencepodcast.com.

Important new announcement: Starting on the first Thursday in April (April 5, 2018) at 8PM Central Time, Dr. Campbell will be hosting a monthly Facebook Book Live session which will be available on her profile page and the Brain Science podcast Fan Page.

Questions and comments can be submitted ahead of time or during the session. A recorded version will be available for Premium subscribers and Patreon supporters.

Send email to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.

BS 142 is an interview with neuroscientist Michael Graziano about his latest book The Spaces Between Us: A Story of Neuroscience, Evolution, and Human Nature. We explore the discovery of peripersonal neurons and discover how deeply they are imbedded in our daily lives.

For show notes and complete transcripts go to http://brainsciencepodcast.com

Send email to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com or submit audio feedback at http://speakpipe.com/docartemis.

This episode will be discussed on the Brain Science Podcast Fan Page via Facebook live on Thursday April 12 at 8PM Central Time.

BS 141 is an interview with Rodrigo Quian Quiroga, author of The Forgetting Machine: Memory, Perception, and the "Jennifer Aniston Neuron."We explore how our brains construct both perception and memory, with an emphasis on meaning over exact detail. We also explore why this is important and how it makes humans very different from artificial intelligence.

For detailed show notes and episode transcripts please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

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BS 140 is our 11th Annual Review episode. We look back at the highlights from 2017. New listeners will get a good feel for the ideas and guests that appeared, while regular listeners will have a chance to review a few key ideas. This year I also include a few highlights from the 2017 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for detailed show notes and episode transcripts.

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Send email feedback to brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com.

Jeff Hawkins founded Numenta in 2005, shortly after publishing his best seller "On Intelligence." Numenta's goal is to create a computer model of how the human cortex functions and more importantly advance our theoretical understanding of why it has the structure that it does. In BS 139 Hawkins describes some of his team's latest research and some exciting new ideas.

Complete show notes and transcripts are available at http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

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In BS 138 Dr. John Medina returns to discuss his latest book Brain Rules for Aging Well: 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp. This is a lively discussion full of useful information for listeners of all ages.

If you listen via the free Brain Science mobile app you also listen to Dr. Medina's original interview (BSP 37), which is included as Bonus content.

Full show notes and episode transcripts are available at http://brainsciencepodcast.com.

Note to Premium Subscribers: Premium content including episode transcripts is accessed via the free mobile app or by logging in at https://my.libsyn.com/auth/login/show_id/18369.

In BS 137 neuroscientist Seth Grant describes his surprising new discovery that brain complexity is controlled by a "genetic lifespan calendar" that determines the timing of brain changes through out the lifespan. We also explore the exciting implications of this discovery.

Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for detailed show notes and episode transcripts.

Our new sponsor is The Great Courses Plus. For a free month of video streaming and downloads go to http://thegreatcoursesplus.com/ginger.

Note for Premium Subscribers: The episode transcript for BS 137 will be released later this week.