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Category: neuroscience – Page 21

Precognition, Retrocausation, and the Unconscious with Eric Wargo

Eric Wargo, PhD, is author of Time Loops: Precognition, Retrocognition, and the Unconscious. He is an anthropologist and science writer. His blog is http://thenightshirt.com/.

Here he defines time loops as akin to self-fulfilling prophecies. He asserts that they could be the very basis of the creative process. He explains that retrocausation is to physics what precognition is to parapsychology. He explores the social and psychological dynamics associated with the notion of premonitions. He reviews the experiment in time of J. W. Dunne suggesting that dreams contain much information seemingly derived from the future. He applies Dunne’s methology to dreams of Sigmund Freud.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in \.

Critical Thalamocortical Coordination Dynamics Track Conscious State Transitions

Abstract Despite substantial progress in identifying neural correlates of consciousness, no unified quantitative framework currently derives a formally specified order parameter for conscious-state organisation from established neurophysiological principles, or links thalamocortical coordination dynamics to measurable state transitions across pharmacological, pathological, and perturbational conditions through a single computational formalism. We propose a neurocomputational theoretical framework in which conscious states are associated with metastable regimes of large-scale thalamocortical coordination operating near critical dynamical boundaries. The framework is formalised through a dynamic coordination functional Φ(t), defined as a surface integral over the thalamocortical interface and directly operationalisable from high-density EEG as a weighted combination of gamma-band power spectral density, thalamocortical coherence, and theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is identified as the anatomical implementation of the control parameter governing proximity to the critical point, grounded in a Wilson-Cowan model of TRN inhibitory gating whose bifurcation structure is characterised computationally. Numerical simulation of the linearised field equation on the thalamocortical boundary demonstrates internal consistency: the simulated system produces power-law recovery dynamics tau_rec proportional to | θ — θ _c|^v with nu consistent with model A universality class [0.5, 1.5], and a Kuramoto mean-field derivation establishes that Φ(t) emerges as the natural order parameter of coupled thalamocortical oscillators rather than being postulated. The joint (|Φ(t)|, Var[|Φ(t)|]) phase space correctly separates simulated waking, anaesthetic, ictal, and minimally conscious regimes without parameter fitting to empirical data. All simulation code is publicly available. Six quantitatively specific, independently falsifiable predictions are derived across five experimental domains: power-law Gamma Dip scaling in near-threshold EEG with a specific exponent range; causal disruption of thalamocortical coherence by selective TRN silencing; opposite EEG scaling exponent deviations in ASD versus schizophrenia; systematic Φ_est collapse under propofol anaesthesia correlated with PCI; Φ_est as a real-time consciousness biomarker in disorders of consciousness; and clinical validity of Φ_est in disorders of consciousness and ictal state discrimination by the metastability index. Each prediction is stated with quantitative thresholds and a pre-specified falsification criterion. The framework provides: the first anatomically specified and formally derived order parameter for conscious-state organisation directly operationalisable from passive EEG; a mechanistically grounded identification of the TRN as the dynamical control parameter, testable by a single optogenetic experiment; and a computationally validated, pre-registerable programme of six falsifiable predictions defining a tractable empirical agenda. Φ_est would constitute a candidate real-time consciousness biomarker if the framework’s predictions are confirmed in purpose-designed experiments.

Reading and writing neural activity with Neuropixels Opto probes

High-density electrophysiology devices allow neuroscientists to observe spikes from large populations of neurons, and optogenetics allows them to drive or suppress those spikes. We show that a single device can combine these two capabilities, providing a high-resolution means to both read and write neural activity in the living brain.

Neuroproteasomes regulate endogenous tau paired helical filament formation in an APOE genotype- and age-dependent manner

A cellular explanation for how tau aggregates into fibrils in Alzheimer’s disease has been elusive. This paper identifies the failure of ‘neuroproteasomes’ as sufficient to convert tau into paired helical filaments, a process regulated by ApoE and aging.

NIH-funded study suggests that testosterone suppresses brain tumor growth in males

Findings may warrant exploration of the hormones as glioblastoma treatment.

In a new National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study, scientists at Cleveland Clinic discovered that hormones associated with male development may play a key role in limiting the growth of brain tumors in men. The research team found that the loss of androgen hormones, such as testosterone, in a preclinical model of glioblastoma drove tumor growth by inducing local inflammation and triggering the production of stress hormones. In an analysis of data from more than 1,300 men with glioblastoma, the authors found that supplemental testosterone was significantly associated with improved survival, which was consistent with their preclinical experiments.

“This outcome is a welcome surprise and may potentially offer a lead for new treatments for a kind of cancer that is deadlier in men,” said Anthony Letai, M.D., Ph.D., director of NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Britain’s oldest cave art may have been rediscovered in Bacon Hole cave

The oldest cave art in Britain may have been discovered, or more likely rediscovered, in a cave on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales, possibly dating back around 17,000 years.

The red stripe markings on the walls of a cave called Bacon Hole were first spotted in 1912. They were hailed by their finders, Professor William Sollas and Henri Breuil, as the first Paleolithic cave art in the British Isles. However, skeptics dismissed the discovery, arguing that the markings were merely natural mineral deposits.

Over time, the claim and subsequent debate drifted out of public consciousness and have largely been forgotten about. That was until scientists decided to reexamine the marks.

Stress Can Literally Make You Lose Your Direction, According to New MRI Evidence

People under stress may find it harder to orient themselves in space, and researchers in Bochum have identified a possible reason why. The stress hormone cortisol appears to interfere with the brain system that helps people navigate. It weakens the activity of grid cells, which are important for

New study suggests the brain applies different standards of beauty to paintings and architecture

A recent study published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts provides evidence that the human brain applies different standards of beauty depending on the type of visual art it evaluates. By comparing the visual properties of historical building facades and artistic paintings, scientists found that architects and painters weigh aesthetic features like symmetry and complexity quite differently.

When people look at an image, their appreciation of its beauty relies on several visual variables. These variables include properties such as color, balance, symmetry, complexity, and the relationship between the main subject and its background. Psychological theories of visual perception propose that humans tend to prefer sensory properties that the brain can process easily.

“I have been interested in the Valuation System of the brain, the network that learns and deploys values for decision-making,” said Norberto Grzywacz, a professor of psychology at Loyola University Chicago. “In particular, I have had interests in aesthetic values, which this system also processes. At some point, I asked myself whether aesthetic values in a sensory domain, for example vision, are universal or specific to different domains.”

Brain cells fine-tuned to disappointment may inspire new therapies for depression and addiction

University of Oregon neuroscientists have identified a group of brain cells that essentially act as a “disappointment meter,” announcing when reality is falling short of expectations.

In a study published in Current Biology, the researchers describe a specific group of neurons in the mouse brain that become active when the animal anticipates a reward but earns less than expected, or nothing at all. The findings reveal that feeling let down is something that particular cells in the brain are designed to detect and record.

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