Category: Neuroscience | Page 18

Double exposure. A curly-haired brunette is standing in the doorway of the theater. Poster events, personality psychology. Cloak and reincarnation. Fasting alcoholic fears. Bifurcation. Made in camera

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post

News
Date
May 27, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Angus Menuge, Consciousness, Consciousness as unity, Featured, Michael Egnor, Richard Swinburne, Robert J. Marks}

Why Do We Stay the Same Person Over Time? Why Not Split Up?

_{It would be a total fluke if all the different clouds of atoms that produce your brain would always produce the same consciousness. But they do} _{News
May 27, 2021

6

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In the third podcast of the series, “Unity of Consciousness,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews Angus Menuge, professor and chair of philosophy at Concordia University, on unique features of human consciousness, including the fact that our experiences are a unity, despite being scattered across many brain regions and even if our brains are split in half: But now let’s do some thought experiments, as proposed by Oxford philosopher Richard Swinburne: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Angus-Menuge-Episode-3-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at 04:55 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Angus Menuge: There’s another problem raised by [philosopher] Richard Swinburne: He imagines that he’s going to have an operation where each of his cerebral hemispheres is placed in another person. So Read More ›

Human brain model for education in laboratory.

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News
Date
May 27, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Henry Markram, human brain, Jeff Hawkins, Neocortex, Paul D. MacLean, Triune brain concept}

Intelligence: A Thousand Brains — or a Thousand Theories?

_{What does the iconic mammalian neocortex do that equivalent systems in birds and octopuses can’t do? That’s not clear} _{News
May 27, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Jeff Hawkins, inventor of PalmPilot (a smartphone predecessor) and co-founder of Numenta (2005), does not lack confidence. After an interview with him in connection with his new book, A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence (Basic Books 2021), Will Douglas Heaven tells us at MIT Review, “Neuroscientist and tech entrepreneur Jeff Hawkins claims he’s figured out how intelligence works—and he wants every AI lab in the world to know about it”: He’s not the first Silicon Valley entrepreneur to think he has all the answers—and not everyone is likely to agree with his conclusions. But his ideas could shake up AI. Will Douglas Heaven, ““We’ll never have true AI without first understanding the brain”” at MIT Technology Review (March Read More ›

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News
Date
May 26, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Angus Menuge, Michael Egnor, Robert J. Marks, split-brain surgery, Sybil (1976 film)}

How Split-Brain Surgery Underlines the Unity of Consciousness

_{At one time, some thought that if the brain were split, consciousness would be too, but that did not turn out to be true} _{News
May 26, 2021

6

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In the third podcast of a series, “Unity of Consciousness,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews Angus Menuge, professor and chair of philosophy at Concordia University, on unique features of human consciousness. They started with the fact that our experiences are a unity despite being scattered across many brain regions. But it’s a remarkable fact that our consciousness remains single even when our brains are split in half: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Angus-Menuge-Episode-3-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at 03:04 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: Let’s talk about the split brain operation where a neurosurgeon goes in and separates the right and left hemispheres. As I understand it, the signal for the epileptic fits starts on Read More ›

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News
Date
May 25, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Angus Menuge, Consciousness (unity), Featured, Robert J. Marks}

Mystery: Our Brains Divide Up Events But We Experience Them Whole

_{That’s one of the conundrums of consciousness} _{News
May 25, 2021

3

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In the third podcast of the series, “Unity of Consciousness,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews Angus Menuge, professor and chair of philosophy at Concordia University, on some of the unique features of human consciousness, starting with its unity. https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Angus-Menuge-Episode-3-rev1.mp3 This portion begins at 01:04 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: We hear of “Dr. Jekyll–Mr. Hyde” dual personalities but most of us only have one consciousness. What is the so-called unity of consciousness? It’s an area in philosophy, is that right? Angus Menuge (pictured): Going back a very long way. It’s mentioned by Plato and Aristotle, and later on by Kant… We can have many experiences concurrently. So when you Read More ›

Light rays through the black window. Toned photo

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Michael Egnor
Date
May 23, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Aldous Huxley, Dualism, Featured, Idealism, LSD, Mysticism, Near-death experiences (recall), Psychedelics, William James}

Can LSD Help Us Understand the Mind–Brain Relationship?

_{Is the mind generated by the brain or does the brain merely focus the mind on the current scene? An experiment sheds some light} _{Michael Egnor
May 23, 2021

5

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

In a fascinating article inThe Guardian titled “Acid test: scientists show how LSD opens doors of perception,” science editor Ian Sample discusses recent research on the mechanism by which LSD alters the brain and the mind. He begins by quoting Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) who noted that LSD “lowers the efficiency of the brain as an instrument for focusing the mind on the problems of life.” Remarkably, recent work in neuroscience supports Huxley’s view. The research, conducted at Cornell University, confirms what has been called the Rebus model of psychedelics. Rebus is a rough acronym for “relaxed beliefs under psychedelics”; the model proposes that the brain is essentially a prediction engine for daily life. In this model, the brain processes information Read More ›

Illustration of spiral arrangement in nature. Golden Ratio concept

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News
Date
May 20, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Christof Koch, Emergence (philosophy), Galen Strawson, Giulio Tononi, Global Workspace Theory (GWT), Golden Ratio, Hive mind, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), J. Scott Turner, Panpsychism (vs. materialism), Stanislas Dehaene}

Quick Facts on IIT (the Leading Theory of Consciousness)

_{IIT may be part of a trend in science in which emergence and panpsychist theories are slowly replacing materialist and physicalist ones} _{News
May 20, 2021

5

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Consciousness, as a concept, is so easy to experience and so hard to define. Or explain. The most popular current theory of consciousness is Integrated Information Theory (IIT), pioneered by neuroscientist Giulio Tononi and championed by Allen Institute neuroscientist Christof Koch. For the purpose of discussing IIT, science writer Mike Hogan works with this definition: Consciousness for purposes of this theory is defined as ‘self-awareness’ or the Central-Identity; the inner-voice that allows your brain to talk to itself, an awareness that ‘you’ exist, the rationalization of your own relevance to that existence, and an awareness of the cause and effect of your actions in regard to yourself and your environment. Mike Hogan, “The Best Available Story of Human Consciousness” at Read More ›

double exposure of the Passion of the Christ

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Michael Egnor
Date
May 16, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Religion

Tagged
Andrew Newberg, Featured, Neurotheology, Spirituality (mind vs. brain)}

The Brain Prosperity Gospel: Can “Neurotheology” Be Real Science?

_{The study of the neuroscience of mental states, including religious belief, is a reasonable pursuit but neurotheology, as a science, faces huge obstacles} _{Michael Egnor
May 16, 2021

5

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Religion}

Neurotheology is the study of the neuroscience associated with spiritual experience. It is a growing field. In a recent essay, Andrew Newberg, a prominent researcher, discusses recent advances: The field of neurotheology continues to expand from its early origins several decades ago to the present day. In its simplest definition, neurotheology refers to the field of scholarship that seeks to understand the relationship between the brain and our religious and spiritual selves. As I always like to say, it is important to consider both sides of neurotheology very broadly. Thus, the “neuro” side includes brain imaging, psychology, neurology, medicine, and even anthropology. And the “theology” side includes theology itself, but also various aspects related to religious beliefs, attitudes, practices, and Read More ›

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News
Date
May 5, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience

Tagged
epilepsy, Neurons}

Human Neurons Are Different From Animal Ones, Researchers Say

_{A Canadian research team got a rare chance to compare live brain tissue from donors undergoing surgery with that of rodents} _{News
May 5, 2021

2

Neuroscience}

Most neuroscience studies on live neurons depend on animal neurons. But a group of researchers in Canada got the opportunity to study live neurons from 66 human donors undergoing brain surgery for epilepsy and tumors. So they had a chance to compare human with rodent neurons: “The goal of this study was to understand what makes human brain cells ‘human,’ and how human neuron circuitry functions as it does,” says Dr. Taufik Valiante, neurosurgeon, scientist at the Krembil Brain Institute at UHN and co-senior author on the paper. University Health Network, “Researchers Identify Unique Characteristics of Human Neurons” at Neuroscience News (May 3, 2021) Looking specifically at live human cortical pyramidal cells, they found “notable and unexpected differences between their Read More ›

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News
Date
May 5, 2021

Categorized
Education, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Left brain vs. right brain concept, Roger Sperry}

Are You Left-Brained? Right-Brained? That’s Nice. Now Forget It.

_{The rise and fall of a really Cool myth about the brain} _{News
May 5, 2021

6

Education, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

If you have a few minutes waiting in line, you can try various tests on the internet to help you “figure out the huge dilemma”: Are you left- or right-brained? Or, at least, “Which side of your brain is more dominant?” (in 30 seconds). Buzzfeed, more elaborately, offers a Triangle Test to reveal the dominant side. This stuff is fun (maybe). But should we take it seriously? No. Many of us have heard one version or another of the pop psych myth that the brain functions as two separate departments, logic (left) vs. creativity (right). The myth carries conversations and sells workshops, books and TV shows. In reality, the brain’s two hemispheres work together for most jobs, the degree of Read More ›

Closeup of hand female caregiver holding oxygen mask with cute child patient in hospital bed or home,little girl putting inhalation,doctor or nurse intensive care,health care,support,help concept

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Elizabeth Whately
Date
May 3, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Tagged
Coma, Consciousness}

A Short Film Explores the Dreamscape of a Child in a Coma

_{While her faithful father waits and tries to connect with her…} _{Elizabeth Whately
May 3, 2021

6

Arts & Culture, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience}

Last week, five animated short films competed for Oscar gold, with the top prize going to the emotionally charged “If Anything Happens I Love You.” The short is a bold examination of bereavement as two parents grapple with the violent loss of their young daughter. It’s a worthy winner. However, my own pick didn’t make the shortlist. WiNDUP (2020), written and directed by young creative Yibing Jiang, is also a poignant meditation on parenthood and grief — in this case, for a child in a possibly irreversible coma — as well as a technical gem. Jiang’s company, Unity, uses custom-built software to create shorts in “real-time 3D” on standard computers. Doing without certain tools that animators take for granted today, Read More ›

Woman experiencing sad emotions and evaluate their emotions from the side. Emotional Intelligence Concept

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News
Date
May 1, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, mind}

Neuroscientist: We Are Closing In On the Secret of Self-Awareness

_{But then he turns around and admits that we are frustratingly far from understanding how it all works. His frustration is understandable.} _{News
May 1, 2021

4

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Cognitive neuroscientist Stephen M. Fleming, author of Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness (2021), offers an excerpt at Slate in which he implies that we have made some headway in understanding self-awareness. Size alone is not the key to intellectual capacity, he says, but rather the “brain soup,” the number of neurons that can be packed into the brain. Primates of all types (monkeys, apes, and humans) are much more efficient at packing neurons into the brain than rodents are: “Regardless of their position on the tree, it seems that primates are evolutionary outliers—but, relative to other primates, humans are not.” He points to a portion of the prefrontal cortex, the “association cortex” which is “particularly well-developed” in humans, relative Read More ›

Neural networks of the human brain. 3d illustration of abstract nerve centers. Electrical impulses in brain. Bright full color

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News
Date
April 30, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Media, Neuroscience

Tagged
brain, Henry Markram, In Silico (documentary), Noah Hutton, Sebastian Seung}

Young Filmmaker Tackles the Hype About Computing the Brain

_{In Silico, in which Noah Hutton sorts hope from hype, goes livestream today} _{News
April 30, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Media, Neuroscience}

Twelve years ago Noah Hutton (pictured), who had some background in neuroscience, heard prominent neuroscientist Henry Markram tell viewers in a TED talk that he had determined how to simulate a complete human brain, via supercomputers, within a decade. At the time, Hutton didn’t question that and he started to document the Blue Brain project that Markham directed, which started with a mouse brain. But then things stalled: As Hutton recounted in Scientific American yesterday, “there were magnificent fly-through visualizations of the first square millimeter of simulated rat brain set to The Blue Danube available in a visitor’s screening room, but a definite lack of progress along the road map towards a human brain.” There was, however, the recognition that Read More ›

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News
Date
April 8, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Abortion, brain, Hydrocephalus}

Boy Born With 2% of Brain “Does Maths, He Loves Science”

_{Noah Wall’s story raises intriguing questions about the relationship between the brain and the mind} _{News
April 8, 2021

4

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Well before Noah Wall was born, his odds did not look very good. Scans showed he had developed a cyst which was destroying his brain, along with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Doctors predicted he would likely never talk, walk, or eat on his own. Five times his parents, Michelle (Shelly) and Rob, were pressed to abort him. Shelly recalls, “It wasn’t until around the 12 week scan that they knew something just wasn’t quite right,” Shelly told The Epoch Times in a video interview. “I said, ‘Does the baby have a heartbeat?’ And they said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s all that matters to us.’” Shelly and Rob were referred to the RVI Hospital in Newcastle, where their baby Read More ›

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Michael Egnor
Date
April 5, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
brain, Featured, fMRI, functional MRI (fMRI), mind, phrenology}

Why a “Budding” Neuroscientist Is Skeptical of Brain Scans

_{After reading her perceptive essay about the problems in fMRI imaging in neuroscience, I’m sad that a gifted student has doubts about a career in the field} _{Michael Egnor
April 5, 2021

8

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Kelsey Ichikawa has just published a superb essay about the pitfalls of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain. Ms. Ichikawa (pictured), who describes herself as a ”budding” neuroscientist who graduated last year from Harvard, discusses the snares into which misinterpretation can lead us. fMRI brain scanning is a relatively new technology in which researchers and clinicians use magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the brain to detect brain activity almost as it happens. The technique is widely used, both for clinical care of patients (neurosurgeons use it to map sensitive parts of the brain prior to surgery) and for research purposes. A major thrust of neuroscience research in the last couple of decades has been the use of fMRI Read More ›

Young blind man with white cane and guide dog sitting in park in city.

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post

Michael Egnor
Date
April 4, 2021

Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Blindsight, Brain Injury, Consciousness, Featured, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Maxwell Bennett, Peter Hacker, Soul (concept)}

The Mystery of Blindsight Helps Us Understand the Mind Better

_{How can a blind person demonstrate awareness of an object in his visual field — and yet not be conscious of it?} _{Michael Egnor
April 4, 2021

8

Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

Blindsight is the remarkable ability of some blind people to sense objects that they cannot actually see. It occurs when the blindness is caused by damage to the main part of the brain that processes visual information (the striate cortex). But the eyes themselves are intact. The eyes continue to see (sensation) but nothing is receiving the messages (perception). Or so we would think, except for this: One of the most contentious discussions in philosophy of mind and neuroscience is the nature of perception as opposed to sensation. How can we perceive objects in our environment? On a deeper level, what do we mean by “perception”? In what ways does perception differ from sensation, if at all? The neurobiology of Read More ›

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post

News
Date
April 4, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Christof Koch, Feeling of Life Itself (book), Giulio Tononi, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), New Scientist, Panpsychism, Thomas Nagel}

Why Would a Neuroscientist Choose Panpsychism Over Materialism?

_{It seems to have come down to a choice between “nothing is conscious” and “everything is conscious”} _{News
April 4, 2021

7

Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind}

Materialism becomes incoherent when it requires us to believe that we only imagine we are conscious — that’s a basic error in logic.

Researchers: We Learn Better Using Paper Than Laptops and Phones

_{Writing on paper involves more of our whole minds and even more of our bodies — and that aids retention} _{News
March 25, 2021

6

Education, Neuroscience}

It doesn’t sound like good news in a digital society but at least hear the reasoning: A study of Japanese university students and recent graduates has revealed that writing on physical paper can lead to more brain activity when remembering the information an hour later. Researchers say that the complex, spatial and tactile information associated with writing by hand on physical paper is likely what leads to improved memory. “Actually, paper is more advanced and useful compared to electronic documents because paper contains more one-of-a-kind information for stronger memory recall,” said Professor Kuniyoshi L. Sakai, a neuroscientist at the University of Tokyo and corresponding author of the research recently published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. The research was completed with Read More ›

Labrador Welpe und junge Frau geben sich ein High Five

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Denyse O'Leary
Date
March 25, 2021

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Tagged
Dogs, Eye contact (and communication)}

Researchers: Dogs Are Hardwired To Understand Us

_{Recent research on nearly 400 Labrador puppies reveals a genetic basis for a tendency to look to humans for guidance} _{Denyse O'Leary
March 25, 2021

5

Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience}

Considerable mystery surrounds the question of why dogs achieve a close emotional relationship with humans. Chimpanzees are genetically very much closer to us but few of us bond with them. So the ability is not obviously genetic — but recent findings point to at least one genetic component: Puppies seem naturally adapted to learn the significance of a common human communication method, pointing: Scientists have known for more than 2 decades that dogs understand the logic behind a surprisingly complex gesture: When we point at something, we want them to look at it. That insight eludes even our closest relatives, chimpanzees, and helps our canine companions bond with us. But it’s been unclear whether pooches acquire this ability simply by Read More ›

SpaceX Concept Spacecraft in orbit of the Earth. SpaceX Elon Musk Mars programm 3d render

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post

News
Date
March 21, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Programming

Tagged
Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Computer sim universe, Creativity, Elon Musk, Featured, Gregory Chaitin, Kurt Gödel, Neuralink, Robert J. Marks}

Why Elon Musk and Other Geniuses Can’t Afford To Follow Rules

_{Mathematician Gregory Chaitin explains why Elon Musk is, perhaps unexpectedly, his hero} _{News
March 21, 2021

12

Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Programming}

In last week’s podcast, “The Chaitin Interview III: The Changing Landscape for Mathematics,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed mathematician and computer scientist Gregory Chaitin on many things mathematical, including why great books on math, advancing new theorems, aren’t written much any more. This week, we look at why geniuses like Musk (whose proposed Mars Orbiter is our featured image above) simply can’t just follow the rules, for better or worse: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-126-Gregory-Chaitin.mp3 This portion begins at 7:57 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Gregory Chaitin: Look at Elon Musk (pictured). He’s my great hero. He’s a wonderful engineer and he’s a wonderful entrepreneur and he doesn’t follow the rules. Robert J. Marks: He doesn’t, Read More ›

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post

News
Date
March 19, 2021

Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Tagged
Connectome, Consciousness, Death, hard problem of consciousness, Near-death experiences, Robert McIntyre, Sebastian Seung}

Does Freezing the Brain’s “Connectome” Offer Hope of Immortality?

_{Some cryogenics researchers are looking at methods of freezing the brain’s memory apparatus in the hope of reviving it one day and saving it as an artificial intelligence} _{News
March 19, 2021

7

Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind}

The question cryogenics raises is, can we freeze and then recover consciousness itself as opposed to simply saving imprints of a person’s memories as an AI?