#51 Brain Science Podcast: Dr. Seth Grant on Synapse Evolution

BSP 67: Thomas Metzinger explores Consciousness  play >

BSP 67: Thomas Metzinger explores Consciousness

3/9/2010 | Download File (31.91 MB) - right click to download

Brain Science Podcast 67 is an interview with German philosopher Thomas Metzinger, author of The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self and Being No One. Dr. Metzinger argues that any credible model for how the brain generates the mind must incorporate unusual human experiences, such as so-called out of body experiences (OBE), and psychiatric conditions. In this interview we explore how OBE and virtual reality experiments shed light on how the brain generates the sense of self that characterizes normal human experience. Detailed show notes and episode transcripts are available at http://brainsciencepodcast.com/. Send feedback to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Announcements for March 2010  play >

Announcements for March 2010

3/2/2010 | Download File (3.84 MB) - right click to download

The next free episode of the Brain Science Podcast will appear on March 10, 2010. Today's short podcast includes some advice for new listeners and information about the new premium versions of the Brain Science Podcast, which are available at http://brainsciencepodcast.com. Episode 67 is now available both as a CD and as MP3 download. From now on new episodes will appear as premium content at the beginning of the month, while the free podcast will continue to come out the second week of the month.

BSP 66: Randy Gallistel on Memory and Computation  play >

BSP 66: Randy Gallistel on Memory and Computation

2/10/2010 | Download File (37.14 MB) - right click to download

Episode 66 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Randy Gallistel, PhD, co-author (with Adam Philip King) of "Memory and the Computational Brain: Why Cognitive Science will Transform Neuroscience." We discuss why read/write memory is an essential element of computation with an emphasis on the animal experiments that support the claim that brains must possess read/write memory. This is significant because current models, such as neural nets, DO NOT incorporate read/write memory in their assumptions about how brains work. It is not necessary to have any background in information theory or computation to appreciate the experiments that are discussed in this episode. Go to http://brainsciencepodcast.com for detailed show notes and transcripts. A premium version of this episode contains additional content. Send feedback to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Extra: Books and Ideas #34: Bruce Hood  play >

Extra: Books and Ideas #34: Bruce Hood

1/29/2010 | Download File (18.46 MB) - right click to download

Extra Content: Episode 34 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Bruce Hood, author of "SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable." Dr. Hood is a developmental psychologist with a long-standing interest in why people believe weird things. In "Supersense" he argues that innate cognitive structures (how we think without being taught) give people a natural tendency toward belief in the supernatural. Our intuitive sense of how the world works is often at odds with the findings of modern science. In this interview we discuss the evidence for these conclusions and their implications. For shownotes and transcripts go to http://booksandideas.com/. Send Dr. Campbell feedback at gincampbell at mac dot com.

BSP 65: Affective Neuroscience with Jaak Panksepp  play >

BSP 65: Affective Neuroscience with Jaak Panksepp

1/13/2010 | Download File (31.82 MB) - right click to download

Episode 65 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Jaak Panksepp, PhD, author of "Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions."For links, complete show notes and episode transcripts go to http://brainsciencepodcast.com.Send Dr. Campbell feedback at gincampbell at mac dot com.

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