Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryNeuroscience

the-concept-of-the-human-brain-the-right-creative-hemisphere-579439991-stockpack-adobe_stock
The concept of the human brain. The right creative hemisphere versus the left logical hemisphere. Education, science and medical concept, illustration.

The Left Brain Delusion: Are We Steamrolling Human Agency?

The two hemispheres of our brain really do see the world differently

Techno-futurists love to dream up visions of the future. Invariably, these are worlds where everything is under control—where every problem has a solution, and the future unfolds exactly as planned. We do seem to be moving toward some sort of centralized loss of agency. But what’s distinctive about the techno-futurist vision is the belief that this is not only inevitable but wonderful. Self-driving cars eliminate wasted time in traffic; smart cities like Songdo or Masdar City adjust every streetlight and service in real-time to optimize efficiency. AI-driven healthcare, like the tools developed by Google’s DeepMind, promises to  pinpoint diagnoses. Automated finance uses algorithms to manage our money and secure our futures. Everything works, all the time. But doomsday visions flip Read More ›

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

FDA Lists Neuralink’s Blindsight as a Breakthrough Device

Researchers hope to restore human vision by bypassing damaged optic nerves to directly stimulate the visual cortex with microelectrodes
Although the optimism is contagious, it is early days yet and many obstacles lie between proof of concept and practical usefulness. Read More ›
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Alien hand syndrome. Mature man trying to control his hand.

Alien Hand Syndrome? Relax. There Is No Alien Mind

The syndrome has been used to argue for the idea that split brain patients really have two separate minds and maybe wills afterward
Split minds doesn't make sense as a concept. To simultaneously pursue two abstract thought processes or moral choices is not a meaningful idea. Read More ›
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A stunning visual of a brain split into two halves, showcasing electric energy in contrasting colors, symbolizing creativity and logic.

Do all of us really have two minds inside our brains?

The truth is even more remarkable. When the brain is split in half, the mind remains a unity
Unity of the mind underlines the actual existence of the mind, a concept that many fashionable neuroscientists would very much like to refute. Read More ›
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portrait of smiling african american mother and daughter looking at family photo album at home

Our Brains Store Memories Three Times, Just To Be Sure

During our development as embryos, at least three different systems are laid down, researchers say
The researchers don't say that there are only three groups of neurons in embryos, associated with memory; rather, they have *identified* three separate groups. Read More ›
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Comatose male patient in hospital.

Covert Consciousness: When “Brain Dead” Doesn’t Mean Unconscious

Now that brain scan studies have established that at least 25% of people classed as brain dead can respond, doctors ask what to do for them?
New brain implant technology may help covertly conscious people make contact because neurons can interface with electrical systems. Read More ›
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Back View of a Primitive Prehistoric Neanderthal Child in Animal Skin Draws Animals and Abstracts on the Walls at Night. Creating First Cave Art with Petroglyphs, Rock Paintings Illuminated by Fire.

The Hard Problem of Consciousness Remains Inescapable

Neuroscientist Francisco Aboitiz starts by offering to tell us how consciousness evolved but then makes a critical concession
Aboitiz concludes, “In the end, the dualistic dilemma between subjective experience and mechanistic explanations seems to me inescapable.” Read More ›
what will you choose? Fresh healthy berries come out from the bowl or junk potato fries from paper box

Michael Egnor: The Neuroscience Evidence for Free Will

You ask a hundred neuroscientists about Libet's work and 95% will say he disproved free will, when he did exactly the opposite
Egnor talks about the demand for materialist conformity: “If I were a basic scientist and I relied on grants to live, I'd be toast.” Read More ›
a-stunning-visual-of-a-brain-split-into-two-halves-showcasing-electric-energy-in-contrasting-colors-symbolizing-creativity-and-logic-stockpack-adobe-stock
A stunning visual of a brain split into two halves, showcasing electric energy in contrasting colors, symbolizing creativity and logic.

What Did Splitting Human Brains in Half Tell Us About the Mind?

How did split brain study subjects compare things when no part of their brains saw both things?
As Michael Egnor told Pat Flynn, research of this sort — where split brains provide united perceptions — is an unacknowledged problem for materialism. Read More ›
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Epilepsy awareness concept: human face with copy space. epilepsy or seizure disorder.

What Brain Surgery for Epilepsy Taught Us About the Human Mind

Michael Egnor continues his discussion with Pat Flynn, noting that neither seizures nor Penfield’s brain stimulation provoked abstract thought
The claim that we will find a materialist explanation some day, no date specified, means that we never reckon with failure to do so. Read More ›
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Dilapidated sign reads

Is Materialism Slowly Losing Its Death Grip on Science?

If it is, neuroscience discoveries will play a key role, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor tells podcaster Pat Flynn, in a recent interview
Materialism is a totalistic claim. If the human mind is not simply the physical processes of the brain, with no remainder, then materialism is disproven. Read More ›
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Upset senior man visiting wife in coma in hospital

Study: 25% of Coma Patients Showed Consciousness When Tested

Making contact with patients via brain scanning technology is a first step toward treatment of those who may now be deemed hopeless cases
Comatose patients who are aware but cannot communicate in usual ways might be helped by new brain–computer interface (BCI) technologies. Read More ›
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3d white room with opened door. Brick wall

Trying To Refute Free Will Without Being Sure What It Is…

Stephen Barr offers some thoughts on neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky’s Determined, which argues against free will
Human reason could not be open abstract truths, physicist Barr notes, if it were under the complete control of physical factors, as Sapolsky believes. Read More ›
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Old computers from the 80s in an abandoned computing center

When materialist assumptions about the mind begin to sound dated…

A 2017 profile of Roger Penrose and his consciousness theory was penned before slow changes and major tumults rocked the discipline — and it shows
Paulson’s Penrose profile is written as if materialism is going to prevail but that seems much less likely now than it perhaps did in 2017. Read More ›
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placebo

How Believing You’ll Get Better May Affect Your Brain

A placebo effect experiment in mice pinpointed a change in an area of the brain not previously known to be involved in pain control
With humans, it is likely more complex but identifying the neural correlates of expectation may help produce more effective pain relief in humans and animals. Read More ›
creative-brain-stimulation-concept-half-a-human-brain-with-half-a-coffee-bean-on-a-blue-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Creative brain stimulation concept. Half a human brain with half a coffee bean on a blue background.

Do We Need the Right Half of the Human Brain?

Generally, we do. Yet what happened when one woman lost the right half of her brain as an adult was unexpected

A little-reported 2021 case study published in Neurology Clinical Practice shows how resilient the human brain can be. A 29-year-old woman, CB, with no neurological or psychiatric history had a stroke, possibly due to medication issues. The damage was serious enough that a decision was made, with her consent, to remove almost all of the right side of her brain (hemispherectomy). As the study authors put it, “only a small disconnected right occipital pole was retained.” What impact would that have on her mind? The right hemisphere of the brain is thought by neuroscientists to play a specific role in “nonverbal” cognitive abilities. From Simply Psychology, we learn, Left hemisphere function The left hemisphere controls the right-hand side of the Read More ›

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Neural landscape with densely packed neurons, selective focus on a synapse releasing neurotransmitters, vibrant blue and white colors, high-resolution digital illustration

Is Panpsychism Putting Francis Crick’s Pack of Neurons to Flight?

Science writer John Horgan remembers Crick in the ‘90s when reductionism was riding high in neuroscience. What’s happened since?
As the years wear on, consciousness will likely remain irreducible and the neuroscientists may end up having to address plausible claims for dualism soon too. Read More ›
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white mouse

Sleeping Mice Show How the Brain Lays Down Memories

Studies of mice running mazes have shed light on the sharp waves of neurons that assist in forming memories
As we learn more about memory, it takes a while to even process what we are learning but the research may help treat memory-related disorders. Read More ›
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Colorful wooden puzzle brain model. Neurodiversity concept, human mind complexity. Creativity, brainstorming and emotional intelligence.

Neuroscientist: The Mind Is Just the Brain

He cites studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation, which caused subjects to see flashing lights
The fatal flaw in identity theory, as his view is called, is that there is no point of contact between the laws of logic and those of electrochemistry. Read More ›