Rapid advances in large-scale connectomics are beginning to spotlight the importance of individual variations in the neural circuitry. They also highlight the limitations of “wiring diagrams” alone.
Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll joins us to discuss whether it make sense to think of consciousness as an emergent phenomenon, and whether contemporary physics points in this direction.
We discussed Sean’s essay responding to Philip’s book ‘Galileo’s Error,’ and Philip’s counter-response essay. Both are available here: https://conscienceandconsciousness.com/2021/08/01/19-essays-on-galileos-error/
Continue reading “Sean Carroll: Is Consciousness Emergent?” »
Science isn’t all lab coats and test tubes. Beautiful visuals can engage people—especially students—and inspire them to learn about science more broadly.
Scientists have often invited the public to see what they see, using everything from engraved woodblocks to electron microscopes to explore the complexity of the scientific enterprise and the beauty of life. Sharing these visions through illustrations, photography, and videos has allowed laypeople to explore a range of discoveries, from new bird species to the inner workings of the human cell.
Continue reading “These gorgeous images could transform science education” »
Scientists have found a way to interpret jellyfish’s thoughts regardless of not having any neurons, study finds.
They were able to observe how well the cells in a tiny type of see-through jellyfish operate collectively, to produce complicated independent motions, such as capturing and consuming food source. This is all thanks to ingenious molecular manipulation.
Two Allen Discovery Centers enter their next phase of discovery, poised to address large questions about biology.
Boyden’s award-winning research has led to tools that can activate or silence neurons with light, enabling the causal assessment of how specific neurons contribute to normal and pathological brain functions.
Continue reading “Ed Boyden on Optogenetics —- selective brain stimulation with light” »
Nick talks to Stanford psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Karl Deisseroth. They discuss a range of topics about the brain, including autism, depression, bipolar disorder, dissociation, and more. They also talk about optogenetics, a technique Karl co-developed which uses light to control specific neurons in the brain, allowing neuroscientists to turn circuits in the brain on and off to reveal how the brain generates perception, emotion, and behavior. They also talk about Karls’ new book, “Projections: A Story of Human Emotion.”
Buy “Projections” by Karl Deisseroth: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984853694/ref=as_li_tl?ie…40e9fc7537
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Let me back up a moment. I recently concurred with megapundit Steven Pinker that over the last two centuries we have achieved material, moral and intellectual progress, which should give us hope that we can achieve still more. I expected, and have gotten, pushback. Pessimists argue that our progress will prove to be ephemeral; that we will inevitably succumb to our own nastiness and stupidity and destroy ourselves.
Maybe, maybe not. Just for the sake of argument, let’s say that within the next century or two we solve our biggest problems, including tyranny, injustice, poverty, pandemics, climate change and war. Let’s say we create a world in which we can do pretty much anything we choose. Many will pursue pleasure, finding ever more exciting ways to enjoy themselves. Others may seek spiritual enlightenment or devote themselves to artistic expression.
No matter what our descendants choose to do, some will surely keep investigating the universe and everything in it, including us. How long can the quest for knowledge continue? Not long, I argued 25 years ago this month in The End of Science, which contends that particle physics, cosmology, neuroscience and other fields are bumping into fundamental limits. I still think I’m right, but I could be wrong. Below I describe the views of three physicists—Freeman Dyson, Roger Penrose and David Deutsch—who hold that knowledge seeking can continue for a long, long time, and possibly forever, even in the face of the heat death of the universe.
Jon Kaas, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in Social and Natural Sciences, Distinguished Centennial Professor of Psychology and associate professor of cell and developmental biology, received the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience, the highest recognition from the Society for Neuroscience, for his pathbreaking work in illuminating the structure and function of the cerebral cortex and plasticity in the developing and adult brain.
Through mapping the cerebral cortex in 30 mammalian species over his career, Kaas has shown the functional and structural organization of the visual and somatosensory—that is, sensations that span the body, such as warmth—systems in detail. Through detailed pictorial construction and electrophysical mapping, Kaas reversed a scientific dogma that brain plasticity only occurs in early life. This has led to new approaches to rehabilitation from brain damage after stroke, from macular degeneration or from motor system disorders and injuries.
“I’m pleased to share this award with Bob Desimone who has done such wonderful research, and who we once tried to convince to move to Vanderbilt,” Kaas said. “From my first days at Vanderbilt, I have worked with outstanding graduate students, undergraduates and postdocs, who made everything possible. The support of members of my Department and other faculty at Vanderbilt has been especially important.”
Advancing our understanding of the human brain will require new insights into how neural circuitry works in mammals, including laboratory mice. These investigations require monitoring brain activity with a microscope that provides resolution high enough to see individual neurons and their neighbors.
Two-photon fluorescence microscopy has significantly enhanced researchers’ ability to do just that, and the lab of Spencer LaVere Smith, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, is a hotbed of research for advancing the technology. As principal investigator on the five-year, $9 million NSF-funded Next Generation Multiphoton Neuroimaging Consortium (Nemonic) hub, which was born of President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative and is headquartered at UCSB, Smith is working to “push the frontiers of multi-photon microscopy for neuroscience research.”
In the Nov. 17 issue of Nature Communications, Smith and his co-authors report the development of a new microscope they describe as “Dual Independent Enhanced Scan Engines for Large Field-of-view Two-Photon imaging (Diesel2p).” Their two-photon microscope provides unprecedented brain-imaging ability. The device has the largest field of view (up to 25 square millimeters) of any such instrument, allowing it to provide subcellular resolution of multiple areas of the brain.
