A Brief Introduction to the Default Mode Network

Good animation, narration, and music (by Ehma, available for free) in this short but comprehensive description of the brain’s default mode network. Made for the 2010 Society for Neuroscience People’s Choice Awards Contest, it’s an excellent entry and an enriching way to spend two minutes.

Why Do We Dream?

People who study dreaming to find out why we dream have found several potential answers: they help keep us asleep, they contribute to good mental health, and they help us find answers to questions we seek. But what do they mean, and can we control them? This excellent documentary interviews scientists, dreamers, and people with sleep and dream disorders to find out more about this always fascinating subject.

Cordelia Fine: Delusions of Gender

Sex differences in the brain are sexist, argues this psychologist, in a rousing talk on neuroscience and sexism. Theories involving fetal testosterone, multitasking, and other science standbys are criticized. An appearance at the 2010 Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House. See also: a debate on science and gender between Elizabeth Spelke and Stephen Pinker.

The Brain and the Law

An overview of neuroethics and neurolaw that covers a lot of ground, from Phineas Gage to comas. Ways that the brain controls behaviour, issues of responsibility and accountability in the legal system, decision making, recidivism and rehabilitation, predicting violence, the hype and reality of fMRI lie detectors and the implicit association test (IAT), and more. Fast-paced and accessible talk, from the @RSAevents Vision lectures.

Love Story

Winner of the University College London’s 2011 Brains on Film festival. Fun short film depicts love and neurotransmission as film noir romance.

The Empathic Civilization

A wide-ranging talk on empathy: a description of mirror neurons, empathy and early childhood development, and the role of empathy in civilizations. A specially animated clip from a longer lecture on empathy here.

The Neuroscience of Emotions

Emotion, psychology and neurophysiology; how the brain processes emotion and their function in our functioning. A good talk for a lay audience as part of the Google Tech Talks series.

The Neuroethics of Neurocriminology: New Challenges

Is it possible to predict criminal violence with brain scans, and prevent it with biological interventions? Part of the excellent Neuroethics Learning Collaborative video series.

A Longitudinal Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Recovery from PTSD

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), described as both a psychiatric and memory issue, was investigated using fMRI neuroimaging. Why do some people recover after a trauma while others have persistent symptoms and seek treatment? Study participants were examined soon after a trauma and then 6 to 9 months later, looking at early neural predictors of recovery and later neural correlates of recovery after cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Grey matter volume in areas of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex appeared to be predictors of recovery. Slightly confusing talk, not for beginners, but interesting findings.

Lust, Romance & Attachment: The Science of Love and Whom We Choose

As part of the Girls Night Out series at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), neuroanthropologist Fisher talks about romantic love, misconceptions about love, its effects on the brain, and why we choose one mate over another. She discusses her early research as well as recent work with Chemistry.com. Slides are not visible, but still a fascinating lecture with 27 minutes of Q&A. A Valentine’s fave here at Channel N, see also this Stonybrook lecture, another 2006 lecture, an interview, and a New York Times interview.