Latest Brain Science Podcast looks at Brain-Machine Interfaces

In his book Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines---and How It Will Change Our Lives neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis puts his recent work with brain machine interfaces into historical context and explains why this work should change the way we understand how brains work. Nicolelis challenges several long-standing assumptions including the primacy of the single neuron and strict localization, which is the idea that each area of the brain has a relatively fixed function.

Episode 78 of the Brain Science Podcast is a brief discussion of the key ideas presented in Beyond Boundaries, including a look at the implications of experiments such as the wide publicized work that culminated in demonstrating that a monkey in Nicolelis' lab at Duke (North Carolina, USA) could control a robot arm in Japan using only its brain. 

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Neurobiology of Placebos with Fabrizio Benedetti (BSP 77)

Fabrizio Benedetti, MD (click for audio)Dr. Fabrizio Benedetti is one of the world's leading researchers of the neurobiology of placebos. In a recent interview (BSP 77) he explained to me that he believes that "today we are in a very good position to describe, from a biological and from an evolutionary approach, the doctor-patient relationship, and the placebo effect, itself."

To appreciate Dr. Benedetti's work one must first realize that his approach differs from that of the typical clinical trial. As he observed, "To the clinical trialist, a placebo effect means any improvement which may take place after placebo administration.  To the neurobiologist, a placebo response, or placebo effect means only something active in the brain happening after placebo administration: learning, anxiety reduction, activation of reward mechanisms."

In contrast, he explains "The real placebo response, the real placebo effect is a psychobiological phenomenon.  It is something active happening in the brain after placebo administration: like learning, like anxiety reduction, and such like." Brain Science Podcast 77 provides an introduction to this complex, but fascinating topic.

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How to Avoid Choking with Sian Beilock (BSP 76)

Sian Beilock, PhDIn her book Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To, University of Chicago psychologist Sian Beilock explores the dreaded phenomena of choking (ie. the failure to perform as expected under pressure). More importantly she provides practical suggestions for preventing poor performance.

In the latest episode of the Brain Science Podcast (BSP 76) I talk with her about the different types of choking; it turns out that the failure mechanisms between blowing the big test and missing the key shot in sports are significantly different. Understanding both how they differ and what they have in common is the key to better performance.

Learn more by listening to BSP 76 (right click to download)

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David Eagleman talks about "the secret lives of the brain" (BSP 75)

In his new book Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain neuroscientist David Eagleman describes consciousness as "the smallest player in the operations of the brain" (page 5) because most of what the brain does is outside conscious awareness (and control). In a recent interview (BSP 75) Dr. Eagleman reviews some of the evidence for this startling position as well as the implications both for the average person and for social policy.

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Why Neuroscience Matters (Books and Ideas #42)

On May 11, 2011 Ginger Campbell, MD gave a talk entitled "Why Neuroscience Matters" at the London Skeptics in the Pub. Episode 42 of Books and Ideas is an edited version of that talk, including the lively Q and A with the audience.

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References 

• Bayes, A., Grant, S., et al. "Characterization of the proteome, diseases and evolution of the human postsynaptic density." Nature Neuroscience 14, 19–21 (2011) (Published online 12/23/2010).
• Libet, B. "Do We Have Free Will?" Journal of Consciousness Studies, 6. No. 8-9, 1999, pp. 47-57.
• On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not (2008) by Robert Burton; p 127.
• Philosophy in the Flesh : The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought (1999) by George Lakoff, Mark Johnson; p 4.
• Brain Waves Module 2: Report on Education and Neuroscience from the Royal Society (2011). 

From the Brain Science Podcast

• BSP 25: Rolf Pfeifer, PhD, author How the Body Shapes the Mind.
• BSP 26: Norman Doidge, MD, author of The Brain That Changes Itself
• BSP 42: On Being Certain and BSP 43: Interview with Robert Burton, MD
• BSP 51: Evolution of the Synapse with Seth Grant, PhD
• BSP 59: Use of C. Elegans in Neuroscience with Guy Caldwell, PhD
• BSP 65: Subcortical Origins of Basic Emotions with Jaak Panksepp, PhD

Announcements:

• Dr. Campbell will be a speaker at The Amazing Meeting 9, which is coming up in Las Vegas, Nevada July 14-17.

Please send your feedback to Dr. Campbell at gincampbel at mac dot com, or post a comment on the Facebook Fan Page.

Don't forget to sign up for Ginger Campbell's Newsletter so you can get show notes for every podcast.

Brain Networks with Olaf Sporns (BSP 74)

Olaf Sporns, PhDNetworks of the Brain by Olaf Sporns is an excellent comprehensive introduction to the use of Network Theory to study both the brain and the nervous systems of invertebrates. In Episode 74 of the Brain Science Podcast I interviewed Dr. Sporns (Indiana University) about some of the key ideas in his book. Network Theory is becoming increasingly important as a tool for dealing with the massive amaounts of data being generated by current techniques, such as brain imaging. It is also a valuable tool with dealing with the fact that nervous systems consist of multiple scales (from the molecular level up to billions of neurons), which can not be reduced to a single scale.

While Networks of the Brain will be of greatest interest to those working in neuroscience and to those with a background in fields like engineering, mathematics, and computer science, this interview provides an introduction for listeners of all backgrounds.

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BSP 73: Lawrence Shapiro on Embodied Cognition

In his new book Embodied Cognition, Dr. Lawrence Shapiro provides a balanced introduction to an approach which attempts to challenge standard cognitive science. His interview in Episode 73 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of a few of his book's key ideas. It also continues our ongoing exploration of the role of embodiment.

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Magic and the Brain (BSP 72)

Neuroscientists Dr. Stephen Macknik and Dr. Susana Martinez-Conde have an unusual hobby: Magic! Actually, it is more than a hobby since for the last several years they have been working with leading magicians from around the world to create a new field: the neuroscience of magic. In Episode 72 of the Brain Science Podcast I talked with them about their new book Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions, which is the first book to explore the neuroscience of magic.

With the help of their co-author Sandra Blakeslee, Macknik and Martinez-Conde provide an excellent overview of this new and exciting field. Their book also provides an excellent review of many of the principles that I have introduced in the last 4 years.

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