Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryNeuroscience

Machine learning , artificial intelligence , ai, deep learning blockchain neural network concept. Brain made with shining wireframe above multiple blockchain cpu on circuit board 3d render.
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
July 24, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Programming
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Artificial neural networks can show that the mind isn’t the brain

Because artificial neural networks are a better version of the brain, whatever neural networks cannot do, the brain cannot do.
Eric Holloway
July 24, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Programming

What is the human mind? AI pioneer Marvin Minsky (1927–2016) said in 1987 that essentially “Minds are what brains do.” That is, the mind is the result of electrical waves cycling through the brain, as neurons spike and synapses transmit signals. But is that true? Can we test this idea? We can indeed, using artificial neural networks. One of the most popular approaches to artificial intelligence is artificial neural networks. These networks, inspired by an early model of how neurons fire (the McCulloch–Pitts model), consist of nodes, where each node is similar to a neuron. A node receives signals and then sends them to its linked nodes based on an activation function. There are, of course, differences between neural networks Read More ›

organoids-in-petri-dish-few-distributed-on-growing-medium-3d-illustration-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Organoids in petri dish . Few distributed on growing medium. 3d illustration rendering
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post
Author
News
Date
July 22, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Human exceptionalism, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Lab-Grown Brains Are Closer Now. Should They Have Rights?

News
July 22, 2022
6
Ethics, Human exceptionalism, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

A new neuroscience research area raises as much concern as excitement: growing mini “human brains” in a lab. The excitement is the prospect of better understanding and treatment of dementia, autism, and motor neuron disease (ALS). The concern is that they will become sentient, capable of feeling. Then what? Starting in 2008, researchers learned that they could coax human stem cells to self-organize into “brainlike structures with electrically active neurons.” Although the cell clusters behave, to some extent, like human embryos, they are not human embryos but skin cells from an adult. That limits the ethical conflict in that the research does not depend on the abortion industry. But ethical issues crop up anyway as groups of cells become more Read More ›

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post
Author
News
Date
July 20, 2022
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Neuroscientists: We hear when we are asleep — but we don’t listen

The new finding may help determine whether an apparently unconscious or demented person can actually understand what is said to him
News
July 20, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Earlier this week, we talked about the fact that the human nose is much more sensitive than we sometimes think. Our sense of smell gets ignored in favor of visual, auditory, or symbolic information — but it’s still there. The same goes with our hearing when we are asleep, researchers say: The researchers were surprised to discover that the brain’s response to sound remains powerful during sleep in all parameters but one: the level of alpha-beta waves associated with attention to the auditory input and related expectations. This means that during sleep, the brain analyzes the auditory input but is unable to focus on the sound or identify it, and therefore no conscious awareness ensues. Tel-Aviv University, “During sleep the Read More ›

brain-stroke-concept-migraine-and-headache-conceptual-image-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Brain stroke concept. Migraine and headache conceptual image, 3D illustration
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post
Author
News
Date
July 20, 2022
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Thrones Star Can Speak While Lacking “Quite a Bit” of Brain. How?

Yes, Emilia Clarke is lucky her aneurysms weren’t worse but, given our brains’ complexity, how do our mental abilities survive?
News
July 20, 2022
5
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Game of Thrones (2011–2019) star Emilia Clarke, who suffered two aneurysms in her twenties, told BBC News that “‘quite a bit’ of her brain no longer functions” after the extensive bleeding and surgeries: “There’s quite a bit missing, which always makes me laugh,” Clarke said, speaking about her brain. “Strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone. So, the blood finds a different route to get around, but then whatever bit is missing is therefore gone.” … Clarke said at the time that the surgery left her with “a deep paranoia” over whether it would prevent her from continuing a career as an actor. But she went on to star Read More ›

coconut-octopus-underwater-macro-portrait-on-sand-stockpack-adobe-stock
coconut octopus underwater macro portrait on sand
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post
Author
News
Date
July 19, 2022
Categorized
Biology, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Jumping Genes … A New Clue to Octopus Intelligence?

Despite being very different, the human brain and the octopus brain share the same sort of jumping genes
News
July 19, 2022
4
Biology, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

The fact that octopuses are unusually intelligent (like mammals) — even though they are solitary invertebrates — means that they now receive some protection against cruelty. Protection that no one bothers about for, say, clams and oysters. But the science puzzle remains. How did octopuses and some of their close kin among the cephalopods get so smart? Theories about how mammals and birds got to be smart may not work here. A recent paper adds a little more information to the controversy. Studying the common octopus and the California octopus, researchers found that the same “jumping genes” are active in the octopus brain as in the human one — even though the two types of brain are very different. Jumping Read More ›

group-of-cute-smart-dolphins-in-the-ocean-stockpack-adobe-stock
Group of cute smart dolphins in the ocean
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post
Author
News
Date
July 14, 2022
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Biology, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Why Some Life Forms Are Smarter Than Others Is Still a Mystery

Brains are not simple so many “just common sense” theories have fallen by the wayside
News
July 14, 2022
5
Biology, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

As biologist John Timmer notes at Ars Technica, some life forms appear much more intelligent than others despite having brains of roughly the same size: Animals with very different brains from ours—a species of octopus and various birds—engage with tools, to give just one example. It seems intuitive that a brain needs a certain level of size and sophistication to enable intelligence. But figuring out why some species seem to have intelligence while closely related ones don’t has proven difficult—so difficult that we don’t really understand it. John Timmer, “Brain size vs. body size and the roots of intelligence” at Ars Technica (July 12, 2022) As he points out, some things we might expect to be true — puzzlingly — Read More ›

a-classy-and-gorgeous-mestiza-woman-in-a-student-uniform-with-bow-tie-serious-pensive-look-in-her-eyes-outdoor-scene-stockpack-adobe-stock
A classy and gorgeous mestiza woman in a student uniform with bow tie. Serious pensive look in her eyes. Outdoor scene.
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post
Author
News
Date
July 14, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience
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Neuroscientists: Our Brains May Detect Deepfakes When Minds Don’t

Using electroencephalography, researchers found that brains may be spotting something that minds miss
News
July 14, 2022
2
Neuroscience

In an interesting series of experiments using electroencephalography (EEG), University of Sydney neuroscientists found that our brains are sometimes alerted to computer-generated fakes when our minds really don’t know: When looking at participants’ brain activity, the University of Sydney researchers found deepfakes could be identified 54 percent of the time. However, when participants were asked to verbally identify the deepfakes, they could only do this 37 percent of the time. “Although the brain accuracy rate in this study is low – 54 percent – it is statistically reliable,” said senior researcher Associate Professor Thomas Carlson, from the University of Sydney’s School of Psychology. “That tells us the brain can spot the difference between deepfakes and authentic images.” University of Sydney, Read More ›

young-woman-having-knee-pain-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young woman having knee pain
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post
Author
News
Date
July 11, 2022
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Study: Brain Scans Show That Mindfulness Reduces Acute Pain

The volunteers who meditated during a controlled pain experiment reported a 32% reduction in severity
News
July 11, 2022
5
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Recently, neuroscientists at the University of California – San Diego studied whether mindfulness meditation can reduce the perception of pain. That, of course, meant actually causing the volunteers to experience pain. What’s at stake is a central claim of mindfulness meditation: “One of the central tenets of mindfulness is the principle that you are not your experiences,” said senior author Fadel Zeidan, PhD, associate professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “You train yourself to experience thoughts and sensations without attaching your ego or sense of self to them, and we’re now finally seeing how this plays out in the brain during the experience of acute pain.” University of California – San Diego, “Mindfulness meditation reduces pain Read More ›

baby-chimpanzee-ape-at-the-zoo-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
baby chimpanzee ape at the zoo.
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post
Author
News
Date
July 6, 2022
Categorized
Language, Neuroscience
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Human Brain Has Many More Language Connections Than Chimp Brain

That finding isn’t surprising in principle but the researchers pinned down specific areas of greater connectivity
News
July 6, 2022
3
Language, Neuroscience

In a study of brain scans from 50 humans and 29 chimpanzees, researchers discovered an interesting difference: The connections between language areas in the human brain are much larger than previously thought and quite different from those of the chimpanzee brain. That’s, of course, consistent with the relative complexity of human thought and language but the question had not really been examined before with a focus on one specific area. The researchers were interested in a nerve tract that connects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the arcuate fasciculus. Chimpanzee brain connectivity seems to involve mainly the temporal lobe but in humans there is a connection towards the frontal and parietal lobes via the arcuate fasciculus. “Our findings Read More ›

nerve-cell-3d-neurons-stockpack-adobe-stock
Nerve Cell. 3D. Neurons
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post
Author
News
Date
June 29, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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The Human Brain Has Neural Networks Not Found in Lab Mice

They are complex special networks whose purpose is silencing other neurons
News
June 29, 2022
3
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Assuming that human brains and lab mouse brains work roughly the same is fine for many purposes. Even though the human brain has a thousand times more neurons, it must does many of the same basic things for the body as a mouse brain. But studying mouse brains won’t tell us what human brains do besides that. Moritz Helmstaedter of the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, asks a telling question: “So, is it primarily the fact that our brains are 1,000-fold larger, house 1000-fold more nerve cells that allows us to play chess and write children’s books, which mice arguably cannot do?” In a just-published study that he led, the researchers examined human tissue removed by neurosurgeons Read More ›

two heads different directions
Bipolar disorder mind mental concept. Change of mood. Emotions. Split personality. Dual personality. Head silhouette of man
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post
Author
News
Date
June 26, 2022
Categorized
Information Theory, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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The Battle Over the Human Mind Split Two Great Thinkers

Charles Darwin opted for a materialist model; his co-theorist Alfred Russel Wallace insisted that the mind was not just the brain
News
June 26, 2022
6
Information Theory, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–2013) share the credit, technically, for the theory of evolution by natural selection but Darwin became the icon. One reason they parted ways was that Wallace did not agree with Darwin that the human mind was simply an organ that evolved naturally, like any other. There had to be something more to it. Philosopher Neil Thomas explains: In his older years Wallace came to reject natural selection as an explanation for the unfurling of all human and even animal life. By then he had transitioned towards the espousal of a form of natural theology; but his initial and gravest misgiving in the 1860s was focused four-square on the mystery of how the human Read More ›

social-media-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Social media concept.
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post
Author
News
Date
June 24, 2022
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Addiction, Neuroscience, Social Media
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Should Kids Under 16 Be Banned From Social Media?

An internal study by Instagram found that using the platform made fully one-third of teenage girls feel worse — but they couldn’t stop
News
June 24, 2022
7
Addiction, Neuroscience, Social Media

(This article by Texas State University engineering prof Karl D. Stephan originally appeared at Engineering Ethics Blog (June 20, 2022) under the title “Social Media: For adults only?” and is reprinted with permission.) Writing in National Review, cultural critic Christine Rosen recently proposed a total ban on social media for everyone under the age of 16.  One can imagine all sorts of problems with this idea, ranging from enforcement issues to what it would be like living in a country where nearly all the teenagers start screaming at the same time.  But let’s step back from the immediate issues and effects, and ask what the ethics of such a ban would be.  Rosen cites a number of other things that we don’t let Read More ›

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post
Author
News
Date
June 23, 2022
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Neuroscience
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Ever Wish You Had Total Recall? Ask People Who Do…

Recall of every detail of one’s past works out better for some people than for others
News
June 23, 2022
7
Neuroscience

Marilu Henner who played Elaine Nardo in the sitcom Taxi (1978–1983), has total recall: She can recall, off the top of her head, the exact day she got the part. “It was June 4 of 1978. It was a Sunday and I found out at the ‘Grease’ premiere party,” Henner said. “‘Taxi’ is so vivid to my mind. The very first rehearsal was July the 5 th of 1978. That was a Wednesday and our first show was shot the 14 th, a Friday.” The actress, who has also starred in “L.A. Story” (1991) and “Man on the Moon” (1999), is one of only 12 people in the world diagnosed with hyperthymesia, also known as Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. David Read More ›

a-german-train-passes-a-train-station-stockpack-adobe-stock
a german train passes a train station
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post
Author
News
Date
June 22, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience
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The “My Train Is Moving Too!” Illusion

Special neurons help us study the motion of others when we are moving too — but they can sometimes be fooled
News
June 22, 2022
3
Neuroscience

Do you recall that odd feeling when — sitting on a train that you know is standing still — you suddenly feel that it is moving (!)? It happens when you are watching a moving train right beside you and there is no other reference point. There’s a name for that: vection, “the sensation of movement of the body in space produced purely by visual stimulation.” It is a staple, of course, of IMAX films and virtual reality displays. And it’s a fairly easy illusion to produce: It turns out that vection can be induced with any sufficiently decent screen and some scenery. Experimenters can put make people believe they’re spinning in a circle, zipping back and forth, and even Read More ›

healthy-lifestyle-choice-fresh-vegetables-and-fruit-shaped-as-human-head-stockpack-adobe-stock
Healthy lifestyle choice. Fresh vegetables and fruit shaped as human head
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post
Author
News
Date
June 17, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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Yes, Our Brains — Like Computers — Have a Low-Power Mode

Sure they do. It makes a lot of sense to conserve power when food supplies are low
News
June 17, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Neuroscientists have often wondered if the high-metabolism human brain had a power conservation mode and a recent open-access paper in Neuron finds that brains use an energy-saving strategy to cope with shortages. Cognitive neuroscientist Allison Whitten explains: Now, in a paper published in Neuron in January, neuroscientists in Nathalie Rochefort’s lab at the University of Edinburgh have revealed an energy-saving strategy in the visual systems of mice. They found that when mice were deprived of sufficient food for weeks at a time — long enough for them to lose 15%-20% of their typical healthy weight — neurons in the visual cortex reduced the amount of ATP used at their synapses by a sizable 29%. But the new mode of processing Read More ›

mind brain external.jpg
3D male figure depicting mental health problems
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post
Author
News
Date
June 12, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Neuroscientist: The Mind Is More Than a Machine — or Is It?

Bobby Azarian hopes that self-organization theory can account for consciousness and possibly enable sentient, conscious computers
News
June 12, 2022
3
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Cognitive neuroscientist Bobby Azarian, author of The Romance of Reality: How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity (2022), offers a self-organization theory approach to the reality of the mind: Most neuroscientists believe that consciousness arises when harmonized global activity emerges from the coordinated interactions of billions of neurons. This is because the synchronized firing of brain cells integrates information from multiple processing streams into a unified field of experience. This global activity is made possible by loops in the form of feedback. When feedback is present in a system, it means there is some form of self-reference at work, and in nervous systems, it can be a sign of self-modeling. Feedback loops running from one Read More ›

laboratory-mouse-in-the-experiment-test-stockpack-adobe-stock
Laboratory mouse in the experiment test.
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post
Author
News
Date
June 8, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Researchers: Our Brains Use Data Compression To Get Things Right

A recent experiment with mice showed data compression at work when the mice were making decisions about how to get a reward
News
June 8, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

We are used to thinking of data compression in connection with computers but a recent study with mice shows that brains compress data too. The researchers ask us to imagine a dilemma from anearly video game: If you were a kid in the 80s, or are a fan of retro video games, then you must know Frogger. The game can be quite a challenge. To win, you must first survive a stream of heavy traffic, only to then narrowly escape oblivion by zig-zagging across speeding wooden logs. How does the brain know what to focus on within all this mess? Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, “The brain applies data compression for decision-making” at Eurekalert (June 6, 2022) Driving in snarled, Read More ›

group-of-burning-candles-against-blue-background-close-up-stockpack-adobe-stock
Group of burning candles against blue background, close up
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post
Author
News
Date
June 5, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Spirituality
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Neuroscientist: Spirituality Helps Health Directly and Indirectly

Andrew Newberg has spent thirty years studying the effects of spirituality using the techniques of neuroscience
News
June 5, 2022
4
Neuroscience, Spirituality

Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg, co-author with Daniel A. Monti, M.D., of Brain Weaver: Creating the Fabric for a Healthy Mind through Integrative Medicine (Kales Press, 2021), reflected recently on what studies on the mental health benefits of spirituality can teach us. Some of the benefits of spirituality are due to the lifestyle changes it promotes: For example, going to church or other social events that are part of a religious tradition can be beneficial because social support, in and of itself, is beneficial to our mental health. The more people that we have in our social support network, the better we are at coping with various life stressors including problems with jobs, relationships, or health. Most religions also teach people to Read More ›

crinkle-cut-psychedelic-pulse-stockpack-adobe-stock
Crinkle Cut Psychedelic Pulse
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post
Author
News
Date
June 3, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience
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Optical Illusions: What Causes Them? Try Some Out!

Illusions can be literal, physiological, or cognitive, depending on which aspect of your brain is the object of a con job on your vision
News
June 3, 2022
3
Neuroscience

Abigail Howell, a biomedical student at ArizonaState University, explains that there are three different types of optical illusion, in which the brain incorrectly interprets what the eyes are seeing: Literal optical illusions are often produced by putting together a collection of multiple images. Each individual image may be easy to see, but the images together may look very different than the originals. This is accomplished through what is known as the “filling-in phenomena.” When the eye sends visual information to the brain, the brain chooses what parts to focus on. Depending on the focus, different layers of the image may be seen. Abigail Howell, “Ask a biologist: What causes optical illusions?” at ArizonaState University She offers as an example of Read More ›

brain-network-of-astrocytes-glial-cells-that-support-neurons-stockpack-adobe-stock
Brain: network of astrocytes (glial cells that support neurons).
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post
Author
News
Date
June 2, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience
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The Zombie Genes That Survive Our Deaths

News
June 2, 2022
4
Neuroscience

Death is an event that is more like a process. Some brain cells even become more active after we die. Neuroscientist Jeffrey A. Loeb explains: “Most studies assume that everything in the brain stops when the heart stops beating, but this is not so,” says the study’s corresponding author Jeffrey Loeb, the John S. Garvin Professor and head of neurology and rehabilitation at the UIC’s College of Medicine. Robby Berman, “‘Zombie’ genes in the brain get to work after you die” at Big Think (March 26, 2021) He and colleagues discovered gene expression in tissue from brain surgery that did not jive with the expressions observed in living humans, whether or not those humans had any neurological disorders. Because he Read More ›