We Didn’t Start the Scanner

- Exactly as described: “A History of Cognitive Neuroscience…in Three Minutes.” Set to the melody of Billy Joel’s classic song “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” new lyrics highlight significant scientists and advances in the field over the years, interspersed with comedy bits reminiscent of silent films. A lively and fun history lesson, this student video won the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience Brains on Film Competition 2012 at University College London. Full lyrics are available here in the video’s description. Hat tip: contest organizer Sophie Scott.

Iain McGilchrist: The Divided Brain

Psychiatrist McGilchist debunks myths of split brain functioning and explains how the left and right hemispheres of the brain always work together, yet still have different specializations. He posits that their strengths (and physical size) have evolved with the demands of modern life, and that although the left hemisphere may be useful for more concrete tasks, the right brain is equally valuable, ending with this quote from Albert Einstein: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant but has forgotten the gift.” A cool illustrated RSA Animate video, created with an audio clip from a longer lecture on western civilization and the divided brain available here. Hat tip: an excellent blog post by Lapidarium notes.

Milgram’s Obedience to Authority Experiment

Morality and responsibility for violence are explored in a re-enactment of Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram’s famous experiment on obedience to authority. Under the close supervision and direction of a professor, participants are told to administer increasingly dangerous electric shocks to a person in another room, under the pretense that it’s an experiment about learning and memory. They hear screams and protests from the “learner” pretending to be receiving shocks, but when the professor tells them to continue, most do, even after believing the “learner” may have died as a result. In Milgram’s first study, 65 percent went on to deliver the maximum 450 volt shock. Variations were conducted over the years with similar results. In the BBC experiment, only three people (of 12) refused to continue. 2011 is the 50th anniversary of Milgram’s original experiment, which began as a study of mutual morality after Nazi atrocities and was controversial due to ethical concerns. To learn more click here, check out the article “Identifying Systematic Disobedience in Milgram’s Obedience Experiments: A Meta-Analytic Review,” Dominic J. Packer, Perspectives on Psychological Science (subscription required), and read a 1974 interview with Stanley Milgram.

[Image by neurollero.]

Science Face To Face

Nobel laureate Eric Kandel talks about neuroscience history and his career in this intimate interview conducted for radio and webcast by Ira Flatow.

COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AT McGILL: A HISTORY

Dr. Brenda Milner was the first person to study famous memory patient H.M., and is a Companion of the Order of Canada among many other prestigious positions and honours. She recounts her memories of his case along with her developing field as a pioneering clinical neuropsychologist.

How Does Experience Influence the Brain?

Neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and how life experience affects the structure of the mammalian brain.

The Neurocritic shares two epic, provocative posts.

Is CBT Worthless? “A meta-analysis of published studies on cognitive behavioral therapy concluded that this method of psychotherapy is not helpful for those with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and any improvements seen in major depression are rather small. Articles to rebut this claim are currently in preparation.”

• Video: if CBT is worthless for treating schizophrenia, ACT does have worth. Mary Ann Test details the history of the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) model. (00:29:18).

Myth of the Depression Gene. “Another meta-analysis found that a variant of the serotonin transporter gene is not linked to an increased risk of depression after all, either alone or in combination with stressful life events. However, no one really thinks that depression is caused by a single gene, so this finding doesn’t negate the possibility of a genetic contribution to major depression.”

• Video: in Catalyst: Nature Nurture a reporter is tested for a potential depression gene (00:10:35).

Mo Costandi of Neurophilosophy sends two posts. Enhanced attention and self-monitoring are among the Brain Mechanisms of Hypnotic Paralysis.

• Video: The far less serious Hypnosis Party Tricks #1 by Wendi Friesen (00:05:31).

Mo also writes about a neuroimaging study on correlates of thinking about past and future, in Mental time travel.

• Video: Memory Map is a vintage art video exploring time and memory perception (00:03:00).

The group blog Brain Blogger had two submissions. First, a well-researched blog post about preventing depression in youth at risk of developing it: Prevention of Adolescent Depression by Jennifer Gibson, PharmD.

• Video: More Than Sad: Teen Depression, a good educational video produced by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (00:26:00).

The Brain Blogger post Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome sampled comments from users left at Dirk Hanson’s blog Addiction Inbox.

• Video: Going through marijuana withdrawal: Day 5. In which a vlogger describes his symptoms (00:02:23).

The forward-looking Brain Stimulant blog tells us that researchers plan to model the drosophila brain, and outlines some challenges in Virtual Fly Brain Computer Model.

• Video: Low-res animation of the Blue Brain Project, simulating 10,000 neurons in a rat’s neocortical column (00:00:40).

Kylie Sturgess of PodBlack answers a reader question with etymology and history in Ask PodBlack – ‘What Does Supernatural Mean?’. She’s set up a new Twitter account so you can ask a question too.

• Video: a clip from a mockumentary on the supernatural, Look Around You: Ghosts! (00:09:03).

Art Kilner of AK’s Rambling Thoughts explains his submissions: “These continue my discussion in Nerve Cells and Glial Cells: Redefining the Foundation of Intelligence, which was already featured in Scientia Pro Publica. While somewhat technical, IMO they discuss very important points and will be welcome to anybody interested in the brain’s function(s).”

Monoamine neuroreceptors in Drugs, Receptors, and the Brain. ”Less technical than my usual, but it makes an important point.”

• Video: Glutamatergic Agents for Schizophrenia: Looking Beyond Dopamine, a lecture on newer directions in psychopharmacology research (00:58:20).

Glial membranes and more, in Beyond the Synapse.

• Video extra: The NIH brings us Neuron-glia interactions : their mechanisms and their roles in development and disease, a lecture by Gabriel Corfas (00:50:03).

The Analog Axon. Self-explanatory.

• Video: Claws of Axon is not self-explanatory (00:10:09).

Sharp Brains champions Public Libraries as Community-Based Health Clubs for the Brain in a nice article. An update features more resources, including the newly published book Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness.

• Video: New Strategies for Cognitive Vitality and Brain Health, a lecture at UCLA’s Psychiatry Grand Rounds by Gary W. Small, M.D. (00:57:14).

Faith Martin, writing for Highlight HEALTH: “A recent study shows that group programmes and self-directed programmes have remarkably different effects with respect to outcome.” Tackling Heart Disease Together or Alone: The Behavioural Science of Self-Management.

• Video: Learn coping skills in Health Matters: Stress and Pain Management with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (00:28:00), and in another video with Steve Hickman, Managing the Role of Stress in Our Lives. Struggling With What It Is (00:58:00).

In Providentia, Romeo Vitelli shares “a strange story about a brain pioneer [Emmanuel Swedenborg] who may have become his own case study.” The Visionary.

• Video: a 1716 Swedenborg hovercraft design (00:00:14).

The August edition will be hosted by Neuronarrative, then Encephalon returns to a biweekly schedule in the fall. Follow Encephalon via email or RSS feed (thanks Highlight HEALTH). Now on Twitter too: @encephalon_ Please send submissions to encephalon.host@gmail.com.

Conference on Alternative Strategies for Alcoholism Treatment

Alcoholism treatment strategies and ethical challenges, with video archives in three parts. Part one features David Musto on temperance history, and starting at 00:40:15 Charles O’Brien details modern pharmacological treatments. Part two has Kathleen Carroll in an animated talk about trials of behavioural therapies and combined approaches, then at 00:57:35 Arthur Caplan speaks about ethical issues around why drug treatment for alcoholism feels threatening to some and their sense of autonomy. Part three is a fascinating panel discussion on legal and ethical issues in specific case reports (includes problems with the grossly inadequate Canadian mental health system and war-on-drugs US Customs bullies: Canadians who seek treatment in the US will get banned for life). Accompanying pdfs here. Unfortunately the slides are mostly not visible, but it’s still a cool event worth watching.

title Enter the “i of the vortex”
description Rodolfo Llinás discusses his youth and education in Bogota, Colombia, and aspects of motricity, neurophysiology, and consciousness investigated in his career as a “founding father of brain science.” Part of The Science Studio interview series on the exquisite yet underexposed Science Network. A PDF transcript is available.
producer The Science Network
featuring Rodolfo Llinás, Roger Bingham
format Flash
date 17/04/07
length 01:12:00
link http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/the-science-studio/enter-the-i-of-the-vortex

Tags: brain video interview neuroscience history education neurophysiology consciousness neurostimulation free_will nanotechnology

title Stephen Murdoch Discusses IQ
description Author Stephen Murdoch discusses the history of IQ tests, including abuses, and why it’s a surprisingly emotional topic.
producer The Commonwealth Club of California and FORA.tv
featuring Stephen Murdoch
format Flash, mp3, mp4
date 16/04/08
length 00:44:43
link http://fora.tv/2008/04/16/Stephen_Murdoch_Discusses_IQ

Tags: brain video vodcast IQ intelligence neuroethics cog_sci history psychology law eugenics education tests