Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryNeuroscience

depressed-woman-sitting-on-bed-and-holding-head-in-hands-through-window-with-raindrops-stockpack-adobe-stock
depressed woman sitting on bed and holding head in hands through window with raindrops
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post
Author
News
Date
October 19, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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Study: Depressed Patients’ Brains Can Rewire, Lifting the Gloom

The paper will be presented at as conference of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
News
October 19, 2022
3
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

We are always learning new, mostly hopeful, things about the human brain. This one may help medics treat depression: Scientists believe that the structure of the adult brain is generally rigid and incapable of rapid changes; now new work has shown that this is not true. German researchers have shown that in-patient treatment for depression can lead to an increase in brain connectivity, and those patients who respond well to this treatment show a greater increase in connectivity than those who don’t. European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, “Scientists discover structure of adult brain — previously thought to be fixed — is changed by treatment” at Eurekalert (October 17, 2022) The paper will be presented at the 35th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Read More ›

senior in coma.jpg
side view of senior man in coma on bed in hospital
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post
Author
News
Date
October 19, 2022
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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Researchers: Comatose People Can Have “Covert Consciousness”

Claassen and Edlow found that the brain patterns of a woman who could not respond physically to commands showed that she recognized them
News
October 19, 2022
5
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Columbia University neurologist Jan Claassen and Harvard medical school neurologist Brian L. Edlow introduce us to a vital new concept in consciousness: “covert consciousness,” which is experienced by 15–20% of people who are in a coma: Thirty-year-old New York City resident Maria Murkevich, for example, suffered a ruptured blood vessel in her brain and was comatose. Conventional tests (wiggle your toes, etc.) produced no response but her loved ones still believed she was “in there.”: They were right. But it took a high-tech method to demonstrate that: The medical team gave her an EEG — placing sensors on her head to monitor her brain’s electrical activity — while they asked her to “keep opening and closing your right hand.” Then Read More ›

colorful-abstract-iridescent-space-art-swirl-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
colorful abstract iridescent space art swirl background
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post
Author
Michael Egnor
Date
October 17, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Is Consciousness a “Controlled Brain Hallucination”? No.

Anil Seth explains away consciousness away using fashionable terms like that. As a pediatric neurosurgeon, I know from clinical experience that he is wrong
Michael Egnor
October 17, 2022
6
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Philosopher David Chalmers famously divided the problem of understanding how consciousness is related to the brain by distinguishing between the easy and hard problems of consciousness. The easy problem of consciousness is typically faced by working neuroscientists — i.e., what parts of the brain are metabolically active when we’re awake? What kinds of neurons are involved in memory? These problems are “easy” only in the sense that they are tractable. The neuroscience necessary to answer them is challenging but, with enough skill and perseverance, it can be done. The hard problem of consciousness is another matter entirely. It is this: How can first-person subjective experience arise from brain matter? How do we get an ‘I’ from an ‘it’? Compared with Read More ›

glowing-lightbulb-with-virtual-brain-and-orange-light-creative-new-business-idea-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Glowing lightbulb with virtual brain and orange light . Creative new business idea concept.
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post
Author
News
Date
October 16, 2022
Categorized
Creativity, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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How Can We Tell a Genius From a Really Smart Person?

Members of Mensa, a club for people with high IQ, think that the difference is exceptional creativity
News
October 16, 2022
5
Creativity, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

A few years ago, Claire Cameron, Nautilus’s Social Media & News Editor asked five present or former members of Mensa, an international high-IQ society, founded in 1946. To qualify as members, they had to score above the 98th percentile on an IQ test or another standardized one. Her conversation with Richard Hunter, a retired finance director at a drinks distributor; journalist Jack Williams; Bikram Rana, a director at a business consulting firm; LaRae Bakerink, a business consultant; and clinical hypnotist John Sheehan brings into sharp relief the difference between high intelligence and genius — a fact that the high-IQ scorers were happy to admit. Some snippets from the conversation (participants are identified by their initials): RH: You can have a Read More ›

funny-boy-and-his-dog-looking-at-piles-of-coins-stockpack-adobe-stock
Funny boy and his dog looking at piles of coins
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post
Author
News
Date
October 14, 2022
Categorized
Mathematics, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Researchers Are Zeroing In on Animal Number Sense

We’re beginning to find out more about how animals that don’t really “think” much can keep track of numbers, when needed
News
October 14, 2022
4
Mathematics, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

University College cognitive psychology prof Brian Butterworth, author of Can fish count? (Basic Books, 2022), talks about animal number sense in a recent article in Psyche: He offers many examples of animals counting single digit numbers but then helpfully addresses the question of how they do it. We are talking here about a variety of very different types of neurological equipment — insects vs. amphibians, for example. Neuroscientists are beginning to pinpoint specific brain functions associated with counting for specific tasks: Female túngara frogs benefit by mating with the male that can produce six croaks in one breath, over the male that can manage only five, because this is an indicator of respiratory fitness. Naturally, the male will try to Read More ›

senior-depressed-african-american-man-looking-at-photo-frame-stockpack-adobe-stock
senior, depressed african american man looking at photo frame
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post
Author
News
Date
October 12, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Psychology
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New Function for Our Brains’ Cerebellum: Emotional Memory

Memory is all immaterial information. But very different types of information. Researchers found that the cerebellum handles a lot of emotional memory
News
October 12, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Psychology

We use the same word “memory” to mean very different types of things. There’s the new phone number, in which we have no emotional investment. Then there’s the smell of cinnamon buns from a long-ago home-town bakery, which is a non-shareable emotional investment. And again, there’s a colleague’s advice about addressing a difficult client’s needs… that’s a mixture of a number of different types of memory, in getting the right approach down pat. All memory is immaterial information, of very different types. And a team of researchers finds that our brains’ cerebellum handles a lot of emotional memory: The cerebellum is known primarily for regulation of movement. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that the cerebellum also Read More ›

galapagos-giant-tortoise-head-shot-smiling-walking-slowly-on-galapagos-islands-animals-nature-and-wildlife-close-up-of-tortoise-in-the-highlands-of-galapagos-ecuador-south-america-stockpack-adobe-stock
Galapagos Giant Tortoise head shot smiling walking slowly on Galapagos Islands. Animals, nature and wildlife close up of tortoise in the highlands of Galapagos, Ecuador, South America.
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 6, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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How Can the Two-Headed Tortoise Have Different Personalities?

Many would be surprised to learn that either head had any personality, and yet…
Denyse O'Leary
October 6, 2022
4
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Recently, a “two-headed” tortoise at the Geneva Museum of Natural History reached the remarkable age of 25, thanks to constant care by his handlers: Janus also has two hearts, two pairs of lungs, and two distinct personalities. Sometimes the heads wish to go in different directions. “The right head is more curious, more awake, it has a much stronger personality,” Angelica Bourgoin, who leads the turtle’s care team, said. “The left head is more passive and loves to eat.” News, “Two-headed tortoise Janus celebrates 25th birthday” at DW (September 3, 2022) So how could the tortoise heads have two different “personalities?” Janus — despite the single name given — seems to be a set of conjoined tortoise twins. (Here’s a Read More ›

two-hands-holding-a-paper-with-human-head-and-a-puzzle-piece-finding-a-cure-to-heal-the-disease-mental-health-concept-memory-loss-and-dementia-disease-alzheimers-losing-brain-and-memory-function-stockpack-adobe-stock
Two hands holding a paper with human head and a puzzle piece. Finding a cure to heal the disease. Mental health concept, memory loss and dementia disease. Alzheimer's losing brain and memory function.
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post
Author
News
Date
October 5, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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The Human Brain Rewires Itself in Middle Age

After we hit forty, our brains integrate more and compartmentalize less
News
October 5, 2022
4
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

It seems designed to get the best of human longevity: In a systematic review recently published in the journal Psychophysiology, researchers from Monash University in Australia swept through the scientific literature, seeking to summarize how the connectivity of the human brain changes over our lifetimes. The gathered evidence suggests that in the fifth decade of life (that is, after a person turns 40), the brain starts to undergo a radical “rewiring” that results in diverse networks becoming more integrated and connected over the ensuing decades, with accompanying effects on cognition. Ross Pomeroy, “The brain undergoes a great “rewiring” after age 40” at Big Think (September 24, 2022) According to the researchers, when we are young, our brains are modular, suited Read More ›

young-attractive-handicapped-beauty-blogger-is-filming-video-with-smartphone-at-home-stockpack-adobe-stock
Young attractive handicapped beauty blogger is filming video with smartphone at home.
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post
Author
News
Date
September 26, 2022
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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Reality Check: Can Bionic Hands Really Compete With Nature?

A geographer born without a left forearm offers an honest assessment of the “bionic hand” arms race
News
September 26, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

The author of a recent article in IEEE Spectrum was born without a left forearm so she can talk about the tech reality of prostheses from the front lines: Today, the people who design prostheses tend to be well-intentioned engineers rather than amputees themselves. The fleshy stumps of the world act as repositories for these designers’ dreams of a high-tech, superhuman future. I know this because throughout my life I have been fitted with some of the most cutting-edge prosthetic devices on the market. After being born missing my left forearm, I was one of the first cohorts of infants in the United States to be fitted with a myoelectric prosthetic hand, an electronic device controlled by the wearer’s muscles Read More ›

split self glasses
Multiple personality disorder concept
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 7, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Another Philosopher Argues That the Unified Self Is an Illusion

At Closer to Truth, Lawrence Kuhn interviews Julian Baggini, who claims, in terms reminiscent of Thomas Metzinger, that a unified self is an illusion
Denyse O'Leary
September 7, 2022
7
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

University of Kent philosopher Julian Baggini, author of The Great Guide: What David Hume can teach us about being human and living well (2021), was interviewed recently by Robert Lawrence Kuhn at Closer to Truth (September 1, 2022). In the interview, Dr. Baggini asserted that, while consciousness is not an illusion, a unified self that persists through time is: Here is a partial transcript, interspersed with questions that arise from the discussion: Robert Lawrence Kuhn: Julian, my own internal feeling of awareness my consciousness seems like the most obvious fundamental thing in the world. You tell me it’s an illusion Why? Julian Baggini: (0:11) To be honest, consciousness isn’t an illusion. I mean clearly there’s awareness of the world. I Read More ›

ultrasound-examination-of-the-head-examination-of-a-month-old-baby-stockpack-adobe-stock
Ultrasound examination of the head. Examination of a month old baby
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post
Author
News
Date
September 7, 2022
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Woman Missing Her Brain’s Language Lobe Pens New York Times Piece

Helen Santoro’s parents were told she would “never speak and would need to be institutionalized.” She became a science writer instead
News
September 7, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Children who suffer perinatal strokes may be left with large holes or lesions where brain regions should be. Many are severely disabled. But some are not disabled at all. One woman, Helen Santoro, was so little affected by the lack of a left temporal lobe that she got dropped from a research study of the aftermath. Now a science writer, she published an article last week in the New York Times about her efforts to understand and unravel the mystery. Perinatal stroke is often discovered, as in her case, when the newborn child has trouble with breathing or sucking reflexes. A brain scan showed “a huge hole’ where her left temporal lobe should have been, just above the ear. Because Read More ›

close-up-flying-small-lesser-horseshoe-bat-rhinolophus-hipposideros-hunting-night-moths-insect-pest-catching-in-darkness-via-ultrasound-echolocation-dark-background-detail-wildlife-animal-portrait-stockpack-adobe-stock
Close up flying small lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) hunting night moths insect pest catching in darkness via ultrasound echolocation. Dark background detail wildlife animal portrait.
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post
Author
News
Date
September 3, 2022
Categorized
Human exceptionalism, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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There Really Is a “Batman” and He Isn’t in the Comics

Daniel Kish lost both eyes to cancer as a baby. With nothing to lose, he discovered human echolocation
News
September 3, 2022
4
Human exceptionalism, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Perhaps one should not really say that Daniel Kish “discovered” human echolocation. Yet, having no other options as a blind infant cancer survivor, he discovered early on — and began to publicize — a sense that few sighted persons would even think of: He calls his method FlashSonar or SonarVision. He elaborated for the BBC: Do people need to be blind to do it? Not necessarily: In 2021, a small study led by researchers at Durham University showed that blind and sighted people alike could learn to effectively use flash sonar in just 10 weeks, amounting to something like 40 to 60 hours of total training. By the end of it, some of them were even better at specific tests Read More ›

the-little-chimpanzee-monkey-put-his-human-friends-hand-on-his-head-hugged-him-made-a-grimace-sits-in-a-green-stroller-wearing-blue-shorts-walk-down-the-street-in-the-background-palms-stockpack-adobe-stock
The little chimpanzee monkey put his human friend's hand on his head, hugged him. made a grimace. Sits in a green stroller, wearing blue shorts. Walk down the street. in the background palms,
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post
Author
News
Date
August 31, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Researchers Find More Ways That Human and Ape Brains Differ

Underlying the significant differences in brain — to say nothing of the vast difference in mind — is a genetic mystery…
News
August 31, 2022
4
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Yale University researchers have identified more specific ways the human brain differs from the brains of all other primates. Using “hundreds of thousands of cells collected from the dlPFC of adult humans, chimpanzees, macaque, and marmoset monkeys,” they found After grouping cells with similar expression profiles they revealed 109 shared primate cell types but also five that were not common to all species. These included a type of microglia, or brain-specific immune cell, that was present only in humans and a second type shared by only humans and chimpanzees. The human-specific microglia type exists throughout development and adulthood, the researchers found, suggesting the cells play a role in maintenance of the brain upkeep rather than combatting disease… An analysis of Read More ›

a-brazilian-wandering-spider-phoneutria-sp-waits-in-ambush-on-a-leaf-at-night-in-costa-rica-stockpack-adobe-stock
A brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria sp.) waits in ambush on a leaf at night in Costa Rica.
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
August 19, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Can Life Forms Like Spiders, That Lack a Neocortex, Really Dream?

Paleontologist Günter Bechly argues that it’s highly unlikely. Michael Egnor sides with Aristotle; they dream about what they can perceive
Denyse O'Leary
August 19, 2022
5
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Recently, paleontologist Günter Bechly took issue with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor on the question of whether spiders dream. Egnor was willing to accept the possibility, noting that spiders can dream only about things they can think about: “If spiders and bacteria dream, they dream of flies or chemical gradients, but not of philosophy.” Bechly, on the other hand, thinks it’s a filament too far for the spider (never mind the bacteria) to dream at all: … I tend to concur with those neuroscientists who doubt any organisms possess phenomenal consciousness that lack a neocortex (found only in mammals) or a comparable structure (in birds and maybe cephalopods). Rapid eye movement may indicate neural activity, but the concept of dreaming for me Read More ›

brain anatomy
Real human half brain anatomy isolated on black background
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post
Author
News
Date
August 19, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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A Neurosurgeon on Why Some People Function With Only Half a Brain

The study results are reassuring and they point to two larger truths
News
August 19, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Yesterday, we ran a story about a recent study in which 40 people who had half of their brains removed (hemispherectomy) as children — due to intractable epilepsy — did unexpectedly well on psychological tests. Some say that it’s easy to explain because the brain has so many redundant elements. But is that all we need to know? We asked pediatric neurosurgeon Michael Egnor for some thoughts on that approach and he replied: The means by which people with major parts of their brains removed maintain function are not understood. It’s nonsense to say, as some do, that “The brain is massively parallel and recursive and functions under network rules and laws.” That’s typical neuroscience gibberish. The fact is that Read More ›

brain waves test
Brain model on human brain wave background
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post
Author
News
Date
August 18, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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People With Half Their Brains Removed Do Well on Psych Tests

In a recent study, adults who had had hemispherectomies as children — to combat severe epilepsy — performed within 10% of other study subjects on face and word recognition
News
August 18, 2022
4
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

At Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Institute, researchers recently found that people who had had half their brains removed as children (due to serious epilepsy) “scored surprisingly well on face and word recognition tests”: The researchers expected that those volunteers who had only their right hemisphere would do well at face recognition but not as well at word recognition, since the right hemisphere is generally used to process images while the left hemisphere processes words; they expected the opposite results for those who still had just their left hemisphere. Instead, the researchers found that both groups performed nearly equally well and both were on average 86% accurate on the tests compared to a control group consisting of Read More ›

old-human-skeleton-in-ancient-tomb-at-archaeological-excavation-stockpack-adobe-stock
Old human skeleton in ancient tomb at archaeological excavation
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post
Author
News
Date
August 5, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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Human Brain Shape Hardly Changed in 160,000 Years

Faces changed, yes, and researchers think diet may have played a role
News
August 5, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

The changes in human heads over the past 160,000 years were not driven by a changing brain, researchers say. It was the human face that changed, according to a recent article at New Scientist: Comparing the braincases of early modern human children with adults for the first time allowed the researchers to isolate the brain’s role in the evolution of the skull. The team was surprised to find that while the size and proportions of the skulls of H. sapiens children from 160,000 years ago were largely comparable to children today, the adults looked remarkably different to those of modern adults, with much longer faces and more pronounced features. Human faces continue to grow until the age of around 20, Read More ›

3d-illustration-embossed-mesh-representing-internet-connections-cloud-computing-and-neural-network-stockpack-adobe-stock
3D illustration, embossed mesh representing internet connections, cloud computing and neural network.
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post
Author
Eric Holloway
Date
August 2, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Can Computer Neural Networks Learn Better Than Human Neurons?

They can and do; when artificial intelligence programmers stopped trying to copy the human neuron, they made much better progress
Eric Holloway
August 2, 2022
5
Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience

Neural networks are all the rage in computing these days. Many engineers think that, with enough computer power and fancy tweaks, they will become as smart as people. Recent successes playing games and predicting protein folds pour gasoline on the AI fire. We could be on the edge of the mystical Singularity, when humans and computers will merge and we become immortal gods. Or not. Let’s wind the clock back to the beginning of neural networks. In computer science terms, they are actually a very old technology. The earliest version, called a perceptron, (a single-layer neural network) was invented in the 1960s, inspired by McCulloch and Pitt’s early model of brain neurons. But, the perceptron was ignored for decades because Read More ›

foreign-languages-translation-or-learning-languages-online-mobile-phone-or-smartphone-with-dictionary-app-on-the-screen-stockpack-adobe-stock
Foreign languages translation or learning languages online. Mobile phone or smartphone with dictionary app on the screen.
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post
Author
News
Date
July 29, 2022
Categorized
Language, Neuroscience
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Six Brain Regions Control Language — But We’re Not Sure How

We’re learning more about human language but it remains, in its way, mysterious
News
July 29, 2022
5
Language, Neuroscience

Neuroscientist Saima Malik-Moraleda told The Scientist, recently that six main regions of the brain respond to language tasks but not to, say, math tasks. Using fMRI data, a recent comprehensive survey — of which she is a co-author — examined two native speakers of each of 45 languages while the speaker was performing either a linguistic or non-linguistic specific task. From the interview, SM-M: But the variability that we saw across languages was lower than the variability that we see across participants, meaning that the language network seems to be incredibly stable and similar across languages. One of the questions that cognitive neuroscientists who particularly study language wonder is: “Why do we have six areas? What does each area do?” Read More ›

pileated-woodpecker-nest-in-florida-stockpack-adobe-stock
Pileated woodpecker nest in Florida
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post
Author
News
Date
July 28, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Woodpeckers: There Are Advantages to Having a Small Brain

Woodpeckers absorb 1200 to 1400 g shock driving their beaks into wood — but a shock absorbing skull doesn’t explain the absence of damage
News
July 28, 2022
3
Medicine and Health, Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

How do woodpeckers absorb a remarkable amount of shock to the head — 1200 to 1400 g — for each hit on a tree? A football player might absorb 120 g — without damaging their brains? The answers could help minimize brain damage in humans and suggested explanations include a surplus of tau proteins (2017), an unusual bone in the tongue, and head movements that minimize brain damage. A new research team challenges such explanations saying that their data show that woodpecker heads” act more like stiff hammers” and that “any shock absorbance would hinder the woodpeckers’ pecking abilities.” But then what about the bird’s brain? While the deceleration shock with each peck exceeds the known threshold for a concussion Read More ›