This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with Dr. Stephen Fleming , author of "Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness." We explore the concept of metacognition and learn that while explicit metacognition (thinking about thinking) may be unique to humans, it is built on building blocks shared with other species. We also explore what can go wrong and why it matters. Special Offer: sign up for free newsletter and get a Free Gift Links and References: Know Thyself: The Science of S...
Jun 25, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 15Ep. 185
In this month's episode of Brain Science , neuroscientist Mark Solms talks about his new book "The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Origins of Consciousness ." Solms was inspired by the pioneering work of Jaak Panksepp who argued that the origins of consciousness can be traced to the brainstem. In his new book Solms presents the evidence for this viewpoint and explains how the work of computational neuroscientist Karl Friston has provided additional support. We consider the implications for our u...
May 28, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 15Ep. 184
Jeff Hawkins has spent nearly twenty years on a quest to discover how the brain's cortex generates intelligence. In this episode he talks about his new book A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence , which describes some of his most recent research in a way that is accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Links and References: A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins Detailed References on Numenta website Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additonal re...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 15Ep. 183
This month's episode of Brain Science features Iris Berent , author of " The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature ." We explore how our deeply entrenched biases toward dualism and essentialism impact our attitudes toward neuroscience and toward problems like mental illness. Links and References: The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature by Iris Berent A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind: What Neuroscience Can and Can not Tell Us About Ourselves by Robert Burton In BS 96 Dr...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 15Ep. 182
This month's episode of Brain Science features Sir Simon Baron-Cohen , one of the world's leading researchers on the neuroscience of autism. We discuss his latest book " The Pattern Seekers: How Autism Drives Human Invention ." This book reminds us that many different kinds of science can enrich our lives and our understanding of what it means to be human. Sir Baron-Cohen explores the overlap between the human ability to invent and experiment and the condition that is currently called autism. Au...
Feb 26, 2021•45 min•Season 15Ep. 181
This month's episode of Brain Science is an interview with neuroscientists E. Bruce Goldstein, author of "The Mind: Consciousness, Prediction, and the Brain." We review some key ideas about how the brain creates the Mind, the important role of unconscious processes and prediction. It is a great starter episode for new listeners and a concise review for longtime fans. Links and References: The Mind: Consciousness, Prediction, and the Brain by E. Bruce Goldstein Author website Please visit http://...
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr•Season 15Ep. 180
It's time for our 14th Annual Review Episode! Despite the challenges of 2020, it has been an outstanding year for Brain Science: the show passed 11 million downloads and Dr. Campbell released of second edition of Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty. This episode is also a great introduction for new listeners. It can be enjoyed even if you haven't listened to the episodes being discussed. A free transcript is also available for this episode. Here is a list of this year's episodes: ...
Dec 25, 2020•52 min•Season 14Ep. 179
This month's episode of Brain Science features neuroscientist Peter Sterling sharing the key ideas for his new book What Is Health? Allostasis and the Evolution of Human Design . In recent years neuroscientists have developed a growing appreciation of the predictive functions of the brain. Sterling takes this principle to the next level by asking what this means for human health. He argues that medicine's traditional focus on homeostasis ignores the much larger role of what he calls allostasis, ...
Nov 27, 2020•22 min•Season 14Ep. 178
Bernard Baars is a pioneer in the neuroscience of consciousness. He first proposed Global Workspace Theory back in 1980, which was before consciousness was considered an acceptable topic of scientific research. His approach inspired others including the current Global Neuronal Workspace Theory, which I discussed briefly in episode 160 . This episode is an interview with Dr. Baars that focuses on his most recent book On Consciousness . He is joined by his colleague David Edelman . Links and Refer...
Oct 23, 2020•58 min•Season 14Ep. 177
This is my fifth interview with molecular biologist and neuroscientist Dr. Seth Grant from The University of Edinburgh. Dr. Grant was recently recognized for his pioneering work by the Federation of European Neuroscientists. He continues to make fundamental discoveries about the structure and function of the synapse and this month we discuss the discovery that synapse complexity and diversity is greater than expected, along with the implications of these discoveries. Links and References: Seth G...
Sep 25, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Season 14Ep. 176
This is the transcript of BS 175 with Carol Tavris co-author of "Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me) Third Edition: Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts." Scroll up/down for free audio and shownotes © Copyright 2020 Virginia A Campbell, MD
Aug 28, 2020
This extremely timely episode of Brain Science features an interview with Dr. Carol Tavris , co-author of the newly released third edition of Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts . Cognitive Dissonance was actually discovered back in 1956 and it is one of the most well-replicated phenomena in experimental psychology. It also impacts many aspects of our lives, including politics, which is why I am grateful to have Dr. Tavris back on t...
Aug 28, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 14Ep. 175
BS 174 is an interview with neuroscientist and philosopher Georg Northoff about his fascinating book "The Spontaneous Brain: From the Mind–Body to the World–Brain Problem." We explore the significance of the growing evidence that most of the brain's activity occurs independently of external stimuli with a focus on the implications of this finding for our understanding of how the brain generates consciousness. Links and References: The Spontaneous Brain: From the Mind–Body to the World–Brain Prob...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 14Ep. 174
In this special episode of Brain Science host Dr Ginger Campbell reads an excerpt from her bestseller "Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origin of Certainty." While it might seem ironic to talk about certainty during these extremely uncertain times, understanding how our brain generates the feeling of knowing or certainty is actually more relevant than ever. Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty is based on several early episodes of Brain Science and highlights the work of retired neuro...
Jun 26, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 14Ep. 173
In this episode I talk with neuroscientist György Buzsáki about his new book The Brain from Inside Out . We explore how abandoning what he calls the "Outside In" approach to understanding the brain can lead to surprising new insights. Links and References: Buzsaki's Lab The Brain from Inside Out by György Buzsáki MD PhD Rhythms of the Brain by György Buzsáki ( BSP 31 ) Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional references and episode transcripts. Please Visit Our Sponsors: The Gr...
May 22, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 14Ep. 172
This is the Premium episode transcript for BS 171 with Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience . Scroll to find audio mp3.
Apr 24, 2020
This episode of Brain Science is an interview with neuroscientist Matthew Cobb author of "The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience." Cobb approaches the history of neuroscience from a different perspective than previous writers. He writes from the perspective of a working scientist with a deep interest in the history of ideas and the interaction between science and culture. This approach makes for a fascinating discussion. Through out history assumptions about the brain have be...
Apr 24, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 14Ep. 171
BS 170 is an interview with Andreas Nieder, author of "A Brain for Numbers: The Biology of the Number Instinct." We talk about the surprising discovery that a wide variety of animals have a number instinct, which is called the approximate number system. This appears to provide the basis for the more abstract mathematical abilities that are seen in humans. We also explore the relationship between mathematics and language. Links and References: A Brain for Numbers: The Biology of the Number Instin...
Mar 27, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 14Ep. 170
This episode is an exploration of glial cells with R Douglas Fields, author of " The Other Brain: The Scientific and Medical Breakthroughs That Will Heal Our Brains and Revolutionize Our Health ." Glial Cells outnumber the neurons in our nervous system, but until the last few years they were thought to merely support cells. Dr. Fields takes us through the discovery that they have their own signaling methods and are much more important than we ever imagined. This interview first aired in 2010, bu...
Mar 13, 2020•59 min•Season 14Ep. 169
BS 168 is an interview with psychologist Cecilia Heyes from Oxford University in the UK. We talk about her fascinating book " Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking ." Our focus is on exploring the evidence that several cognitive skills that appear to be unique to humans are learned from other people rather than being inherited genetically as is often assumed. The proposal that language is a cognitive gadget NOT a cognitive instinct is controversial and has very important implicat...
Feb 28, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 14Ep. 168
This is an interview with Stanislas Dehaene about his new book How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine . . . for Now . According to neuroscientist Dehaene neuroscience has revealed that human babies are incredible "learning machines" whose abilities exceed those of the best current artificial intelligence. We explore why this is so and how this information could be used to help learners (and teachers) of all ages. Links and References: How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than An...
Feb 14, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 14Ep. 167
Brain Science 166 features the return of neuroscientist Stephen Macknik. We talk about his recent work that is focused on developing a new visual prosthesis based on recent discoveries and techniques like optogenetics. This episode is more technical than usual but Dr. Macknik makes the material accessible to all listeners. Links and References: http://macknik.neuralcorrelate.com YouTube video: https://youtu.be/TiA1W1OnU9c Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional references and ...
Jan 24, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Season 14Ep. 166
This episode is an encore presentation of an interview with neuroscientists Stephen L. Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde. We talk about their international bestseller "Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions." Macknik and Martinez-Conde are neuroscientists who study vision, but several years ago they had the innovative idea of collaborating with magicians to explore how their use of both visual and cognitive illusions reveals secrets about how our b...
Jan 10, 2020•39 min•Season 14Ep. 165
I am including the transcript of this episode for free because it is an encore presentation of an interview that originally aired as BSP 72. It features Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, authors of Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions .
Jan 06, 2020
Brain Science is entering its 14th year and for the first time since 2008 I will be producing two episodes a month. They will come out on the 2nd and 4th Friday every month. This trailer provides a brief introduction to new listeners and a few announcements. The next full episode will be released on January 10, 2020.
Jan 03, 2020•4 min
This is our 13th annual review episode. I share a few highlights from episodes 153-163 and include a few extra reflections on the recent 4-part series about the neuroscience of Consciousness. This month's episode transcript is included for FREE. Partial list of Books/Authors featured in 2019: Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behavior to Cognition by John E. Dowling ( BS 153 ) Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging by Alan D. Castel ( BS 154 ) Brain Inspired (podcast) with Paul...
Dec 20, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Season 13Ep. 164
This episode of Books and Ideas is an interview with Susan Schneider , author of a fascinating new book called Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind . Schneider's book goes beyond the question of whether AI might become conscious to issues that might affect us on a more personal level. I am cross posting this in the feed for Brain Science because there is an obvious overlap with the issue of consciousness, which we often discuss on Brain Science. Links and References: Susan Schneider (p...
Dec 15, 2019•Season 13Ep. 73
Christof Koch returns to Brain Science for the 3rd time and in this episode he shares his new book The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness Is Widespread but Can't Be Computed . He tells us why he doesn't think the Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC) are enough to explain subjective experience and he gives us a brief overview of the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of Consciousness. Links and References: Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for references and episode transcri...
Nov 22, 2019•59 min•Season 13Ep. 163
This episode is an interview with Dr. Michael Graziano, author of Rethinking Consciousness: A Scientific Theory of Subjective Experience . We discuss how his Attention Schema Theory compliments several current theories and how it answers the question of how the brain generates subjective experience ("qualia"). Links and References: Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for references and episode transcripts. Announcements: Please complete a brief audience survey. Send email to brainscience...
Oct 25, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Season 13Ep. 162
This is the Premium Episode Transcript for BS 161 with Joseph Ledoux, author of "The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion-Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains." Please scroll down to find the audio.
Sep 27, 2019
