Birmingham Podcasting

Interview with Dr. Paul Offit about Vaccine Safety

2009-02-03T19:15:00.001-05:00

I am including the latest episode of my Books and Ideas Podcast (Episode 25) in the feed for the Brain Science Podcast because I think it may be the most important interview I have ever recorded. My guest was Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. This book examines the history of on-going controversy about whether vaccines cause autism.

Listen to Dr. Offit's Interview

Episode Transcript (Download PDF)

I recommend Dr. Offit’s book Autism’s False Prophets to everyone because of its thorough examination of the vaccine-autism controversy. He examines the evidence from both sides, while showing compassion for why parents are easily confused and frightened by claims that physicians and scientists have dismissed. The book is unlikely to dissuade those who are convinced by the tactics of vaccine opponents, but it will be a valuable resource to parents who want a clear explanation that includes a sober account of the risks of not vaccinating their children. Physicians and scientists will also benefit from reading this book because it provides an important case study in how lack of scientific literacy can threaten public health.

Click here for detailed show notes and to learn more about the Books and Ideas podcast.

Brain Science Podcast #53: Neuroscience and Free Will

2009-01-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

Episode 53 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown. This book challenges the widespread fear that neuroscience is revealing an explanation of the human mind that concludes that moral responsibility and free will are illusions created by our brains. Instead the authors argue that the problem is the assumption that a physicalist/materialistic model of the mind must also be reductionist (a viewpoint that all causes are bottom-up). In this podcast I discuss their arguments against causal reductionism and for a dynamic systems model. We also discuss why we need to avoid brain-body dualism and recognize that our mind is more than just what our brain does. The key to preserving our intuitive sense of our selves as free agents capable of reason, moral responsibility, and free will is that the dynamic systems approach allows top-down causation, without resorting to any supernatural causes or breaking any of the know laws of the physical universe. This is a complex topic, but I present a concise overview of the book's key ideas.

Listen to Episode 53

Episode Transcript (Coming Soon)

Visit the Brain Science Podcast website for detailed show notes and links.

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Send email feedback to Ginger Campbell, MD at docartemis at gmail.com

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Books and Ideas #24: Second Interview with Frank Wilczek

2008-12-23T13:17:00.004-05:00

Episode 24 of Books and Ideas is a follow-up interview with Nobel Prize winning physicist. Dr. Frank Wilczek. We discuss the questions that we didn’t get around to in Episode 23, including the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics, String Theory, and dark matter and dark energy. Dr. Wilczek also answers some questions from listeners and tells us a little about his current work.

Listen to Episode 24

Click here if you missed Dr. Wilczek’s first interview

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Please visit my website for detailed show notes and links.

Brain Science Podcast #52: Annual Review

2008-12-20T19:00:00.001-05:00

Brain Science Podcast #52 is our Second Annual Review Episode. We review some of the highlights from 2008. I also discuss the various other on-line resources that I have created for listeners. Then we look ahead to what I have planned for 2009. This episode is aimed at all listeners, including those who are new to the show.

Listen to Episode 52

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Brain Science Podcast #51: Seth Grant on Synapse Evolution

2008-12-07T13:19:00.001-05:00

Episode 51 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Seth Grant from Cambridge University, UK. Dr. Grant's work focuses on the proteins that make up the receptors within synapses. (Synapses are the key structures by which neurons send and receive signals.) By comparing the proteins that are present in the synapses in different species Dr. Grant has come to some surprising conclusions about the evolution of the synapse and the evolution of the brain. (Read more...)

Play Episode 51

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Show notes and Links for Episode 51

Brain Science Podcast #50: Neuroscience 2008

2008-11-24T17:43:00.001-05:00

Episode 50 of the Brain Science Podcast is a change of pace from our usual format. In this episode I share a few highlights from this year's Neuroscience 2008, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, which just concluded in Washington, DC.

Listen to Episode 50

Go to Brain Science Podcast website for links and show notes

Brain Science Podcast #49: Brenda Milner

2008-11-07T16:03:00.000-05:00

Brain Science Podcast #49 is an interview with pioneering neuroscientist, Brenda Milner, PhD. Dr. Milner is known for her contributions to understanding memory and her work with split-brain patients. Her work as an experimental psychologist has been fundamental to the emergence of the field of cognitive neuroscience.

This interview is a follow-up of Dr. Milner's recent interview with Dr. Marc Pelletier on Futures in Biotech. I highly recommend listening to both interviews.

Listen to Episode 49 of the Brain Science Podcast

Listen to Dr. Milner on Futures in Biotech (Episode33)

Click here for detailed show notes and links.

FINAL TAXI: Michael Crichton Writer of "ER & Jurassic Park

2008-11-06T15:38:00.002-05:00

Michael Crichton has taken his Final Taxi.

Crichton is best known for his books, penning classics such as The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Sphere, and Jurassic Park among many others. On top of writing these books, he also directed some little-known films in the 70s and early 80s( Westworld, Looker, Coma) and then went on to help write the screenplays for Jurassic Park and Twister and co-create mega-show ER.

Download:
http://memberdata.wildvoice.com/RonNasty/media/Final_Taxi_Day5_%20Crichton.mp3

FINAL TAXI: Remembering Batman Creator- Bob Kane

2008-11-06T15:34:00.001-05:00

Bob Kane was an American comic book artist and writer, credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman. He died November 3, 1998.

DOWNLOAD:
http://memberdata.wildvoice.com/RonNasty/media/Final_Taxi_3_napodpomo.mp3

FINAL TAXI: Who is the highest earning dead person?

2008-11-06T15:33:00.000-05:00

Who is dead and made the most money in 2007??
The Final Taxi has the answer....

Download :
http://memberdata.wildvoice.com/RonNasty/media/FT_2_napodpomo.mp3

Final Taxi : Ray Ellis- Composer

2008-11-06T15:32:00.000-05:00

http://memberdata.wildvoice.com/RonNasty/media/FT_1_napodpomo.mp3

An arranger and composer, Ray Ellis, worked on such classics as "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis, "Splish Splash" by Bobby Darin and "Standing on the Corner" by the Four Lads, Brook Benton "There Goes My Baby", Ben E. King "Spanish Harlem" and Etta James "C.C. Ride

Books and Ideas #23: Nobel Physicist, Frank Wilczek

2008-11-03T19:26:00.001-05:00

Episode 23 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Frank Wilczek, PhD from MIT. Dr. Wilczek won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2004 and recently published an excellent book aimed at general readers: Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces. This book provides an excellent review of current ideas about the meaning of both matter and space.

In his interview Dr. Wilczek helps us understand the current evidence that matter is actually made of particles that are massless. He says “I jokingly say that the more important law is Einstein’s Second Law m=E/c² (which is of course just a rearrangement of E=mc²) but this suggests that what we really should be doing is not explaining energy in terms of mass, but explaining mass in terms of energy.”

The second surprisingly concept that Dr. Wilczek helps us tackle in this interview is the idea that space is not empty. “Space is a medium with a variety of properties that make it, not only an important component of reality, but really the primary component of reality.”

These ideas are supported by experimental evidence, but the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland is expected to expand knowledge even further. The purpose of the LHC is a main focus of this interview. Dr. Wilczek has agreed to come back on Books and Ideas to answer questions about dark matter and string theory.

Listen to Episode 23 of Books and Ideas

Click here for detail show note and links

Brain Science Podcast #48: Our Big Brains

2008-10-18T13:32:00.003-04:00

Episode 48 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Gary Lynch, PhD, co-author of Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence. While it is generally agreed that one of the most striking features of the human brain is its large size, not everyone agrees about how and why our brains came to be so large. In this interview Dr. Lynch presents some rather radical theories about how the human brain evolved. We discuss the pros and cons of his theories as well as the challenges faced by researchers trying to work in this field.

Listen to Episode 48

Visit the Brain Science Podcast website for detailed Show Notes and Links.

The next episode of the Brain Science Podcast will be an interview with Dr. Brenda Milner. This interview will is a follow-up to Marc Pelletier's excellent interview of Dr. Milner on Futures in Biotech: http://www.twit.tv/fib33

Brain Science Podcast #47: Brain Evolution

2008-10-04T16:19:00.002-04:00

Episode 47 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Principles of Brain Evolution by Georg F. Striedter. My goal is to highlight the main ideas of this complicated, and often controversial subject. Understanding the principles of brain evolution is an important element in our multidisciplinary attempt to understand how our brains make us who we are.

Listen to Episode 47 of the Brain Science Podcast

Click here for detailed Show Notes and Links

Share your comments on the Discussion Forum

Books and Ideas Podcast #22: Dragon*Con 2008

2008-09-30T15:55:00.001-04:00

Episode 22 of Books and Ideas is my summary of my recent trip to Dragon*Con 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a great opportunity to spend time with other podcasters, but the highlight of the weekend was our late night performances of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I had a non-singing part in Act 3 (as the mayor).

Listen to Episode 22 of Books and Ideas

Click here for detailed Show Notes and Links

Live from Dragon*Con 2008: Brain Science Podcast #46

2008-09-20T13:30:00.001-04:00

: Dragon*Con 2008

Brain Science Podcast #46 is a discussion of brain imaging with Dr. Shella Keilholz and Dr. Jason Schneiderman. The focus of our discussion is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is revolutionizing neuroscience. We talked about both the strengths and weaknesses of this technique. Both of my guests agree that mainstream coverage of this technique tends to exaggerate what we can actually tell from this kind of brain scan. An important principle is that the scan of any single individual can vary greatly from day-to-day, which means that valid conclusions require data from a large number of people.

Listen to Episode 46 of the Brain Science Podcast

Click here for links and detailed show notes

Send email feedback to Ginger Campbell, MD at docartemis at gmail.com

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Brain Science Podcast #45: Dr. John Ratey explains ADD

2008-09-08T19:36:00.001-04:00

Have you ever wondered why a child with ADD can play videos games for hours but can’t concentrate on his homework for a few minutes? This is one of the paradoxes of attention-deficit disorder that John J Ratey, MD, co-author of Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood, explains in Episode 45 of the Brain Science Podcast.

During this interview Dr. Ratey discusses the latest findings about the biological basis of what he calls “attention variability disorder.” He also offers practical advice for patients and parents dealing with ADD/ADHD. One very important, and somewhat surprising, fact that he shares is that patients who are treated with medications during adolescence have a significantly lower risk of developing problems with addiction and drug abuse later on compared to those who are not treated. Also, successful “ADDers” like Michael Phelps show that “having a mission” makes a huge difference.

Dr. Ratey’s most recent book is Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, which he discussed with me (Dr. Campbell) in Episode 33.

Listen to Episode 45 of the Brain Science Podcast

Links and Show Notes for Episode 45

Brain Science Podcast #44: Meditation and the Brain

2008-08-22T19:56:00.001-04:00

Daniel Siegel, MD

In Episode 44 of the Brain Science Podcast I talk with Daniel Siegel, MD about meditation and the brain. Dr. Siegel is the author of several books including The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. In this interview we review the scientific evidence about how mindfulness meditation changes the brain, both in terms of short term activity and in terms of long-term structural changes. The evidence is convincing that a regular mindfulness practice can be an important element of brain health.

Listen to Episode 44 of the Brain Science Podcast

Click here for detailed show notes and links

Brain Science Podcast #43: Part 2 of "On Being Certain" with Robert Burton, MD

2008-08-09T16:06:00.001-04:00

Episode 43 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Robert A Burton, MD, author of On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You’re Not, which I discussed in Episode 42. Dr. Burton tells us what inspired him to write this book and we explore some of the implications of the fact that what he calls the “feeling of knowing” comes from our unconscious, including the fact that it is not as reliable as it feels.

Listen to Episode 43 of the Brain Science Podcast

Click Here for Links, Show Notes, and information about subscribing to the Brain Science Podcast

Brain Science Podcast #42: "On Being Certain" Part 1

2008-07-25T05:38:00.003-04:00

Episode 42 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not by Robert Burton, MD. This part 1 of a two part discussion of the unconscious origins of what Dr. Burton calls "the feeling of knowing." In Episode 43 I will interview Dr. Burton. Today's episode provides an overview of Dr. Burton's key ideas.

In past episodes I have discussed the role of unconscious decision-making. On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not by Robert Burton, MD takes this topic to a new level. First, Dr. Burton discusses the evidence that the "feeling of knowing" arises from parts of our brain that we can neither access or control. Then he discusses the implications of this finding, including the fact that it challenges long-held assumptions about the possibility of purely rational thought.

Listen to Episode 42 of the Brain Science Podcast

Please visit my website at http://brainsciencepodcast.com to learn more.

Brain Science Podcast #41: Interview with Linguist Alice Gaby

2008-07-11T11:21:00.004-04:00

Episode 41 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Alice Gaby, PhD, from the University of California-Berkeley. Dr. Gaby is a linguist who studies the role of language in cognition as well as the aboriginal languages of Australia. In this episode Dr. Gaby introduces some of the basic areas of linguistics. We also talk about why linguistics is important to understanding brain function, as well as the importance of interdisciplinary communication to advancement in both fields. Dr. Gaby's infectious enthusiasm makes this potentially intimidating subject accessible to everyone.

Listen to Episode 41 of the Brain Science Podcast

Visit the Brain Science Podcast website for more information, including detailed show notes and links .

Books and Ideas Podcast #21: Interview with Eugenie Scott

2008-06-30T15:34:00.001-04:00

Eugenie Scott, the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, was interviewed in Episode 21 of Books and Ideas. The focus of our conversation was the importance of teaching evolution in the public schools. Dr. Scott and the NCSE have worked for over 20 years to promote the teaching of evolution because it is an essential component of a modern education in the life sciences. Unfortunately, nearly 150 years after Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) many Americans still reject this fundamental idea and much of Scott's work is focused on trying to keep creationism and so-called Intelligent Design out of school curriculum.

Recently the NCSE launched a very valuable site called Expelled Exposed, which focuses on exposing the many inaccuracies presented in Ben Stein's recent pro-intelligent design "documentary" Expelled. One of the things that has come out in numerous interviews is that the producers of the film mislead all the pro-evolution guests that appear in the film. We discuss this briefly near the end of the interview, but it was not the focus of our discussion. (see below for more links regarding Expelled)

Since Dr. Scott has been interviewed about Expelled and Expelled Exposed on several other podcasts, I wanted to focus our interview more on the importance of accurate science education. Also, we discussed the fact that despite the claims of right-wing fundamentalists there are many Christians and people of other faiths who accept the theory of evolution as scientifically valid. Accepting evolution does not mean one is choosing atheism. I think this is a very important distinction because while atheists are outspoken in their support of evolution they represent a small minority. I was encouraged to learn from Dr. Scott that the NCSE is working closely with religious leaders and scientists of faith to try to educate their members.

Since Books and Ideas reaches an international audience I thought that it was important that we discuss the origins of the evolution versus creationism controversy, which is unique to the United States. Scott does an excellent job of explaining how our unique religious heritage along with our locally controlled school systems combine to create a situation that most of the world find's rather mystifying. Her book Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction also provides an excellent overview of the subject from both an historical and scientific prospective.

Finally, we talk about the importance of evolution as a basic idea in modern biology. While we didn't dwell on this, I think we are both concerned about the implications for the future if a majority of young Americans are reaching college without a solid foundation in the principles of evolution. We also talked about why intelligent design fails to meet the basic definition of a scientific theory since it provides no testable hypotheses. Dr. Scott also provides a excellent review of the basic writings for those who want to learn more.

Listen to Dr. Scott’s Interview

Visit the Books and Ideas website for links and references.

Brain Science Podcast #40: Third Semi-annual Review

2008-06-27T11:00:00.001-04:00

Episode 40 of the Brain Science Podcast is a look back at the highlights from the last six months. We have talked about numerous topics including brain plasticity, mirror neurons, language, brain rhythms, and the sense of smell. We talked with 9 guests and we have also explored the practical implications of neuroscience, including the importance of sleep and exercise to brain health. This brief review episode is intended for both new listeners and long-time subscribers.

Listen to Episode 40

For detailed show notes including links to all the resources discussed in the episode

please visit the Brain Science Podcast website

Brain Science Podcast #39: Michael Arbib on Mirror Neurons

2008-06-13T11:49:00.002-04:00

Episode 39 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Michael Arbib from the University of Southern California. Dr. Arbib's work with functional brain imaging has established the presence of mirror neurons in the human brain. In our interview we focused on the role of mirror neurons in imitation and language. In particular I questioned Dr. Arbib about the Mirror System Hypothesis (MSH) of Language Evolution that he proposed in 1998 with Giacomo Rizzolatti. We also explored how this hypothesis diverges from the universal grammar proposed by Noam Chomsky. Dr. Arbib also shared his enthusiasm for future research and we talked about the special challenges caused by the interdisciplinary nature of modern neuroscience.

Listen to the Brain Science Podcast

Related Episodes:

Brain Science Podcast #7: A discussion of bonobos with Stuart Shanker, PhD
Brain Science Podcast #30: a discussion of language evolution including my thoughts on Chomsky
Brain Science Podcast #35: a detailed discussion of Mirrors in the Brain by Giacomo Rizzolatti

Click here for detailed show notes including links and references

FINAL TAXI: Harvey Korman- Burnett Show and Blazing Saddles Star

2008-06-03T09:43:00.004-04:00

Download MP3 of Podcast- Click Here

Harvey Korman, the comic actor who won four Emmys for his work on ``The Carol Burnett Show'' and appeared in the movie ``Blazing Saddles,'' took his Final Taxi at age 81.

Korman won the Emmy awards for his television comedy roles on ``The Carol Burnett Show,'' where he performed from 1967 to 1977 in a cast led by Burnett and including comedian Tim Conway.

His film roles included playing Hedley Lamarr in ``Blazing Saddles,'' a 1974 spoof Western directed by Mel Brooks. He also performed in Brooks's film ``High Anxiety'' in 1977. In 1983 he appeared in ``Curse of the Pink Panther.''

Brain Science Podcast #38: Interview with Jeff Hawkins

2008-05-30T11:16:00.003-04:00

Episode 38 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Jeff Hawkins, author of On Intelligence. Hawkins is well-known for founding Palm Computing and Handspring. He invented the Grafitti handwriting recognition system and helped develop the Palm Trio SmartPhone. Since he published his bestseller On Intelligence, he has devoted his work to his passion for neuroscience. His current company Numenta is developing software that models the hierarchal structure of the neocortex. In this interview we talk about the ideas in Hawkins book and how he is applying them to develop a computer model of cortical function. This is a follow-up to Episode 2, which first aired in December of 2006.

Listen to Dr. Campbell interview Jeff Hawkins.

Click here for detailed show notes including links and references.

2008-05-27T21:43:00.001-04:00

Episode 20 of Books and Ideas is an interview with forensic psychologist Delany Dean, PhD. Dr. Dean began her career as a criminal lawyer but his interest in the mind and the brain lead her to a second career as a clinical psychologist. Besides forensic psyschology she has extensive experience with therapies based on the use of mindfulness meditation. In this interview, Dr. Campbell and Dr. Dean share there personal experiences with meditation, and Dr. Dean explains why she feels mindfulness meditation provides a extremely valuable tool for helping people deal with a wide range of problems, including the stress that we all face from time to time. They also give practical advise for listeners interested in beginning a mindfulness practice.

Listen to Delany Dean's Interview.

Links and References:

Mind Expressions: Delany's Dean's blog

Teachers and Scientists mentioned in the interview:

Jon Kabat-Zinn: pioneer in secular use of mindfulness meditation
Marsha Linehan: another pioneer in the therapeutic use of meditation
Sharon Salzberg: cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society
Jeffery Schwarz, MD: pioneered the use of mindfulness in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He wrote The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force with Sharon Begley
Gil Fronsdal: respected teacher and director of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood, CA

Books and Other Resources for Beginners:

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante H. Gunaratana-one of Dr. Campbell's favorites
Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate by Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-zinn
For more books and videos go to Delany Dean's private practice site.

Insight Meditation Society-learn more about Vipassana
Spirit Rock- this is where Dr. Campbell did the retreat she mentions in the podcast

You can find more references at the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum where there is on-going thread devoted to meditation and the Brain. There is also a section for discussing episodes of Books and Ideas.

Listen to Episode 20

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Brain Science Podcast #37: Brain Rules with John Medina

2008-05-16T11:34:00.003-04:00

Episode 37 of the Brain Science Podcast an interview with Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. We talk about how exercise, sleep, and stress effect our brains with an emphasis on practical advice for healthier brain function. We also look at how research on memory, vision and the brain's attention system suggests how we can improve our ability to learn and our ability to share ideas with others.

Dr. Medina's focus is on considering real world examples of how our schools and work environments could be reformed to utilize the growing knowledge of neuroscience. But he also stresses the importance of compiling sufficient experimental data before embarking on new programs.

Listen to Episode 37 now (left click to listen, right click to download mp3).

Visit the Brain Science Podcast website to learn more.

Brain Science Podcast #36: Embodied Cognition with Art Glenberg

2008-05-04T14:22:00.002-04:00

Art Glenberg, PhD

Episode 36 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Arthur Glenberg, PhD about embodied cognition. Dr. Glenberg recently moved to Arizona State University after over 30 years at the University of Wisconsin's Laboratory of Embodied Cognition. His research focuses on the relationship between embodiment and language. In this interview we explore the experimental evidence for a theory of language that embraces the concept that our language abilities are actually rooted in our perceptual and motor abilities. Dr. Glenberg also explains how his work has practical implications in helping children learn how to read.

Since Dr. Glenberg has had a long career as a working research scientist, this interview also provided an opportunity to explore how scientific hypotheses are formed and how experiments are designed to test these hypothesis. I think this interview will give you a fascinating look into the real world of cognitive psychology.

Listen to Dr. Glenberg's Interview (left click to listen, right click to download)

Links and References:

Arthur Glenberg, PhD

email: arthur.glenberg@asu.edu
Laboratory for Embodied Cognition
Havas, D.A., Glenberg, A.M., and Rink, M. (2007) Emotion simulation during language comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14 (3), 436-441
Numerous references available as PDF
Thinking With the Body: blog post of March 3, 2008

Other Scientists Mentioned in the Episode:

George Lakoff: pioneering linguist
James Gibson-known for his ideas about affordances
William Epstein-emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin
Joseph Campos: University of California (Berkelely)
Amy Needham and Amanda Woodard-experiments with velcro mits and infant cognition
David A Havas: graduate student and co-author with Dr. Glenberg
Mike Kashak: Florida State University
Mike Rinck: German co-author-see paper under Glenberg (more papers)
Vittorio Gallese, Dept of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Italy (where mirror neurons were discovered): extensive experimental with motor neurons in monkeys
Fritz Stack (Germany): experiments showing that facial experiments affect mood and cognition

References:

Havas, D.A., Glenberg, A.M., and Rink, M. (2007) Emotion simulation during language comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14 (3), 436-441
more publications by Arthur Glenberg
Sommerville, J.A., Woodard, A.L., and Needham, A., Action experience alters 3-month-old infants’ perception of others’ actions, Cognition 96 (2005) B1-B11.
Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 54, 768-777.
Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things (1987) by George Lakoff
recent essays by George Lakoff written for the Rockridge Institute

Listen to Dr. Glenberg's Interview (left click to listen, right click to download)

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FINAL TAXI: 5 Dead Musicians

2008-04-26T19:47:00.001-04:00

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The Final Taxi has made 5 trips this week with people with musical talent.

1.Paul Davis- American singer and songwriter who recorded such songs as “Cool Nights,” “65 Love Affair,” “Sweet Life,” and “I Go Crazy.”

2. Brian Davidson - Drummer and songwriter for the 60’s band The Nice- the forerunner of Emerson Lake and Palmer.

3. Danny Federci - Keyboardist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band.

4. Jim Gilchrist- Lead guitarist who played with The Doors, Van Morrison, Captain Beefheart, and Frank Zappa.

5. Al Wilson - Classic soul singer who recorded such memorable songs as “The Snake,” I’ve Got a Feeling We’ll Be Seeing Each Other Again, ” and his Billboard hit “Show and Tell.”

Books and Ideas #19: Interview with author Dan Ariely

2008-04-26T11:23:00.001-04:00

Dan Ariely is a professor of behavioral economics at MIT and author of the bestseller, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. He was my guest for episode 19 of Books and Ideas. During the interview he explains how his came to study human behavior. He uses examples from his book to explore the question "What makes a good experiment?" He also discusses how he hope that his findings can help strengthen our society despite our human tendency to make "irrational" choices.

Listen to Episode 19 Now.

Links:

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely

Listen to Books and Ideas Episode 19

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Brain Science Podcast #35: Mirror Neurons

2008-04-18T19:28:00.001-04:00

Brain Science Podcast #35 is a discussion of Mirrors in the brain: How our minds share actions, emotions, and experience by Giacomo Rizzolatti and Corrado Sinigaglia. Mirror neurons were discovered in Rizzolatti's lab in Parma Italy in the early 1990's and his book is a detailed to discussion of the experimental evidence in both monkeys and humans. Direct single neuron recordings have been made in monkeys. The evidence in humans is indirect since it is based on mainly on neuroimaging studies like PET scans and fMRI scans. Even so mirror neurons appear to be essential to our ability to understand both the actions and emotions of others. Listen Now.

In this episode we also explore the evidence that there are other neurons in the motor areas of the brain that have sensory properties and that the areas of the brain traditionally thought to be devoted to sensory functions also contain neurons with motor properties. Another fascinating discovery is the fact that there are neurons that respond not only to somatosensory inputs (such as being touched) but also to visual or auditory inputs from objects within our peri-personal space. For background on these body maps I recommend listening to Episode 21 and Episode 23. If you are new to the Brain Science Podcast you may want to listen to those episodes first because this week's episode is a little more technical than most.

I will be exploring the importance of these discoveries in future episodes.

Listen to Brain Science Podcast Episode 35 (mirror neurons) NOW.

Links:

Giacomo Rizzolatti- University of Parma

Mirror neurons (wikipedia entry)

Mirror neurons (Scholarpedia entry written by Dr. Rizzolatti)

Listen to Brain Science Podcast #35 (mirror neurons) Now

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FINAL TAXI -- Moses With A Gun

2008-04-13T00:49:00.001-04:00

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Charlton Heston, who won an Oscar for his leading role in Ben-Hur, has taken His Final Taxi at 84. On screen, Heston was best known as the star of religious and historic epics—he played Moses in The Ten Commandments and John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told also Sci-Fi movies like Planet of the Apes and The Omega Man. But off-screen he was an influential political activist, first as a proponent of civil rights in the 1960s, and more recently as an outspoken advocate of gun rights.

Brain Science Podcast #34: Exploring our sense of smell with author Rachel Herz

2008-04-05T11:54:00.000-04:00

Rachel Herz

Episode 34 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Rachel Herz author of The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell (2007). Dr. Herz teaches at Brown University and she is a leading authority on the psychology of smell. We talk about the how smell works, its role in emotion and memory, why it is so vulnerable, and why smell is much more important than most of us realize. We also consider some of the questions that remain unanswered.

Listen to the Rachel Herz interview now. (Right click to download.)

Links and References:

Rachel Herz

Brown Medical School faculty page
Wikipedia: a good source for further references
RachelHerz.com
thescentofdesire.com

The 2004 Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology was awarded to Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck for their discoveries of "odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system."

BuckL, Axel R "A novel multigene family may encode odorant receptors: a molecular basis for odor recognition."
Cell. 1991 Apr 5;65(1):175-87.

"The (Shocked) Nose Knows" by Gisela Telis ScienceNOW Daily News 27 March 2008

The Scent of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense of Smell (2007) by Rachel Herz

Listen to Episode 34 (Right click to download)

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Books and Ideas #18: Interview with Tabitha Grace Smith of Buffy Between the Lines

2008-03-29T10:33:00.001-04:00

Tabitha Grace Smith

Episode 18 of Books and Ideas is an interview with writer and podcaster Tabitha Grace Smith. Tabitha is the creator of Buffy Between the Lines, an award-winning podcast set in the universe of my favorite TV show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is also a writer and works on several other podcasts. In her interview we talk about writing, podcasting, and why we love the work of Joss Whedon.

Included in this episode is the Valentine episode of Buffy Between the Lines, which is the episode in which I had my voice-acting "debut."

Listen to Episode 18 Now.

Links:

Jane Espenson's blog: (Jane is one of our favorite TV writers)

The Myth of Free Will: Revised & Expanded Edition (2008) by Cris Evatt (I have a short chapter in this edition.)

Buffy Between the Lines

Tabitha Grace Smith

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Brain Science Podcast #33: Exercise and the Brain

2008-03-29T10:32:00.000-04:00

Episode 33 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Harvard physician, Dr. John Ratey about his new book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

John J Ratey, MD

We explore the exciting evidence about how exercise helps the brain. It stimulates the release of a number of different neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, but probably more importantly it helps keeps these compounds balanced. We consider why exercise is so important in dealing with stress, in treating a wide range of mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder. There is also evidence that exercise improves our ability to learn and our ability to avoid the loss of mental agility associated with aging.

Listen to Episode 33 Now.

This episode contains information that everyone can use. I hope you will share it with your friends and family.

Links and References:

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (2008) by John J. Ratey

Dr. Ratey's website: Go here for more interview of Dr. Ratey and also to find links to the latest research about exercise and the brain.

Listen to Dr. Ratey's Interview Now.

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Brain Science Podcast #32: Illustrations and Enhanced Podcast

2008-03-17T22:16:00.002-04:00

Episode 32 of the Brain Science Podcast was a whirlwind tour of brain anatomy based on Beyond the Zonules of Zinn: A Fantastic Journey Through Your Brain (2008) by David Bainbridge. The author has graciously share the illustrations from his book and I have posted a special page that is keyed to the podcast. I have also created an enhanced version (AAC) version of the podcast, which will not appear in the feed. I think the images are best viewed on the web, but I would appreciate your feedback on both the website illustrations and the enhanced podcast.

See the illustrations on the Brain Science Podcast website.

View the enhanced podcast (requires Quicktime).

Brain Science Podcast #32: A Whirlwind Tour of the Brain

2008-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Episode 32 of the Brain Science Podcast is a whirlwind (55 minute) tour of brain anatomy. It is based on David Bainbridge's new book: Beyond the Zonules of Zinn: A Fantastic Journey Through Your Brain (2008). Within the next few days I will be expanding the show notes to include key illustrations from the book. I want to thank David for sharing these images and I encourage everyone to read the book.

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Books and Ideas #17: Interview with author Mur Lafferty

2008-03-07T12:51:00.000-05:00

Ginger and Mur

Episode 17 of Books and Ideas is an interview with writer Mur Lafferty. Mur's podcasts I Should Be Writing and Geek Fu Action Grip helped inspire me to start podcasting, so I was excited to get a chance to talk with her about her new novel, Playing for Keeps. We also talk a little about the challenges of podcasting.

Listen to episode 17

Part 1 of the audio version of Playing for Keeps is included in this episode. It starts at 30:48. You can find the novel at http://playingforkeepsnovel.com or at http://podiobooks.com.

Mur emphasized that her "street team" has done a lot to promote Playing for Keeps. Special thanks go to Natalie Metzger and Jarod Axelrod for artwork, and to Chris Miller for the companion video podcast, which is available on youtube.

Mur co-wrote Tricks of the Podcasting Masters with Rob Walch.

She has also had several great stories on Escape Pod. My favorite is "I look Forward to Remembering You," which is scheduled to become a video on http://strangerthings.tv.

To find more of Mur's work go to http://murlafferty.com.

Listen to Episode 17 of Books and Ideas

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Brain Science Podcast #31: Brain Rhythms with György Buzsáki

2008-02-22T22:18:00.001-05:00

György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain (OUP 2006) is a Professor of Neuroscience at Rutgers University. His book is a comprehensive review of the current state of research in the field of brain oscillations. It includes the role of these oscillations in sleep and memory. In episode 31 of the Brain Science Podcast Dr. Buzáki explains why the rhythms of the brain are important and reflects on why this field has been neglected by some neuroscientists. I think he makes a convincing case for the position that these rhythms are an essential component of brain function.

Listen to Dr. György Buzsáki's interview about Brain Rhythms

György Buzsáki, Professor of Neuroscience at Rutgers University
- Learn about his lab and research
- Contact information

SHOW NOTES:

Partial List of Scientists Mentioned:

Stephen Strogatz: known for his discovery of "small world" architecture
- His 2003 bestseller Sync: The emerging science of spontaneous order is aimed at a general audience
Nancy Kopell: mathematician
- Buzsaki recommends her review of the analytical approaches to neuronal oscillators: We got Rhythm: Dynamical Systems of the Nervous System. N Am Math Soc 47: 6-16 (2000).
Zoltán Néda (Bebes-Bolyai University Romania): the spontaneous synchronization of hand clapping
Hermann Haken: German laser physicist who studies bidirectional causation
- The Science of Structure: Synergetics (1984)
John O'Keefe (University College, London): along with Lynn Nadel he discovered how the hippocampus forms a cognitive map of the world
- He has shown how the timing of osscillations in the hippocampus are important
- "Independent rate and temporal coding in hippocampal pyramidal cells" by John Huxter, Neil Burgess, and John O'Keefe. Nature 425, 828-832 (23 October 2003)
David McCormick (Yale University): showed that neurons from the thalamus of a ferret can oscillate spontaneously
- He has also studied the oscillations of place cells in the hippocampus
David Hubel and Thorston Wiesal: along with Vernon Montcastle they pioneered the use of single neuron recordings in the neocortex of casts and monkeys
- Montcastle, VB (1997) "The Columnar Organization of the Neocortex." Brain 102:01-722.
Claude Shannon: founder of Information Theory
Jan Born (University of Lübeck, Germany): experiments with how sleep improves both memory and problem solving

Topics and questions:

Basics of oscillations and synchrony
What functions are accomplished by brain rhythms?
The role of hippocampal ripples in memory
What happens to our brain rhythms while we sleep
The importance of synchrony in saving energy in the brain

This episode will appeal to listeners with a background in math or engineering, but Dr. Buzsáki provides numerous everyday examples that make the material accessible to everyone.

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Brain Science Podcast #30: The Evolution of Language

2008-02-08T08:44:00.000-05:00

Episode 30 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language by Christine Kenneally. We focus mostly on the first part of the book, which tells the story of how the study of language evolution has grown from almost a banned subject to a new field of inquiry called evolutionary linguistics. We also reflect on how recent findings in neuroscience like the importance of plasticity are influencing the field.

Listen to Episode 30

Scientists Discussed in the Episode:

*References:

Pinker, Steven, and Paul Bloom, "Natural Language and Natural Selection," Behavioral and Brains Sciences 13 (1990): 707-84.

Marc D. Hauser, Noam Chomsky, and W. Tecumseh Fitch (2002). "The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?" Science 298:1569-1579.

Christine Kenneally, The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language (2007).

Stanley I. Greenspan and Stuart G. Shanker, The First Idea: How Symbols, Language, and Intelligence Evolved from our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans (2004).

*Additional references can be found in Kenneally's book and at the websites of the scientists listed above.

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Brain Science Podcast #29: Author Maryanne Wolf talks about reading and the brain

2008-01-29T19:27:00.000-05:00

Dr. Maryanne Wolf, Director of The Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University

Brain Science Podcast #29 is an interview with cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. I discussed her book in Episode 24, so this interview was an opportunity to ask her some follow-up questions, and to focus more on how children learn to read. Dr. Wolf shares her ten years of experience helping children learn to read and developing programs to help children with problems like dyslexia. She shares some practical advice for parents as well as her concerns about how reliance on the internet could influence reading skills.

I enjoyed the conversation and, while I especially want to share this episode with parents, I think Dr. Wolf gives everyone some interesting ideas to consider. Listen to the interview.

Links:

Maryanne Wolf:

The Center for Reading and Language Development (Tufts University)
RAVE-O: A Comprehensive, Fluency-Based Reading Intervention Program

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Books and Ideas #16: Steven Novella from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe

2008-01-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

Episode 16 of Books and Ideas is a conversation with Dr. Steven Novella from the popular podcast The Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This interview is a response to numerous requests from fans of the Brain Science Podcast, but I put it in the Books and Ideas feed so that Dr. Novella could share some of his personal experiences both as a physician and as a podcaster.

Listen to Dr. Novella's interview

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Show Notes:

Dr. Novella talked a little bit about why he became a physician and about choosing neurology as his specialty. We talked about the role of imaging and how recent advances in neuroscience are influencing patient care. We also talked about the importance of helping patients get accurate information, both from the internet and from their physicians, and how the pressure for physicians to see large numbers of patients hinders good communication. Dr. Novella is committed to evidence-based medicine and we talked about the role of skepticism in evaluating medical claims, both from mainstream and alternative sources. Dr. Novella also talked briefly about his podcast and his blogs, including a new blog specifically devoted to promoting evidence-based medicine.

In the last section of this episode I looked back on the first 15 episodes of Books and Ideas. I particularly want to thank Matthew Cobb for being my first guest back in episode 7. You can get his book Generation at the Books and Ideas aStore at Amazon.com.

Links:

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
Dr. Novella's Blogs:
- Neurologica
- Science Based Medicine
Matthew Cobb:
- Listen to discussion of his book Generation (episode 6)
- Listen to interview (Episode 7)
- Cobb's home page
- Cobb's blog on Vox

Brain Science Podcast #28: Interview with UAB's Dr. Edward Taub

2008-01-11T11:31:00.000-05:00

Edward Taub, PhD, pioneer of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy

Episode 28 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Edward Taub who for the last 20+ years has been pioneering the use of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy in the rehabilitation of stroke and other neurological disabilities. I have talked about his work in previous episodes (including episode 10 and episode 26) as an important example of the practical implications of brain plasticity. Listen Now.

In this interview Dr. Taub shares his personal experiences in the front lines of clinical research, including both its rewards and frustrations. He also explains the basics of how constraint-induced therapy (CI Therapy) works and how his work is being expanded to help patients with a wide variety of problems including cerebral palsy, head trauma, multiple sclerosis, and focal hand dystonia.

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Links and References:

Dr. Taub recommends that interested listeners do their own Google search under "constraint-induced movement therapy" or CI Therapy, but I have included a few links below:

About Dr. Taub:

Brain Science Podcast #27: Year-End Review

2007-12-28T06:38:00.000-05:00

Episode 27 is a look back on the first 26 episodes of the Brain Science Podcast.

I look back on some of the main topics that we have explored including memory, consciousness, emotions, decision-making, body maps, and plasticity. Then I talk a little about what I hope to do in the covering year.

This episode is a little more personal than most, and will mainly be of interest to regular listeners. It includes some ideas about how you can help the Brain Science Podcast grow and prosper.

However, in preparing this episode I went back over the past year's episodes and I have prepared a list of all the episodes so far and the main topics. This should help both new listeners and regulars to find episodes that pertain to particular topics.

Click here for a brief summary of episode 1-26 with links to the audio files.

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Books and Ideas #15: Interview with Robert Schleip, PhD

2007-12-20T21:36:00.000-05:00

I have just posted episode 15 of Books and Ideas.

Books and Ideas Podcast #15 is an interview with Robert Schleip, PhD from the University of Ulm in Germany. Dr. Schleip is an experienced practioner of the body work method known as rolfing, but several years ago he went back and earned his PhD in Biology and began a second career as a research scientist. In our interview we discuss some of the recent discoveries that may revolutionize the way we look at the connective tissue that is commonly called fascia. We also talk about the importance of applying the scientific method to the evaluation of alternative and complimentary healing methods (CAM). Dr. Schleip's enthusiasm for science made this a very enjoyable interview. Listen to the interview now.

References and Links:

Dr. Schleip recommends the Wikipedia entry on Fascia if you would like to learn the basics.

To learn more about Dr. Schleip's work visit the Fascia Research Project website at http://www.fasciaresearch.de/

The First International Congress International Research Congress was held in October, 2007 in Boston, MA.

You can find some of the scientists Dr. Schleip mentions on this speaker page.

Dr. Schleip has not yet sent me a link to his German references, but I think you can find them if you follow the links on the Fascia Research Project website.

Listen to Books and Ideas Episode 15

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FINAL TAXI: Evel Knievel - Alabama Connection

2007-12-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

Evel Knievel Direct Download the MP3

Alabama is the home of the best in college football and NASCAR’s Talladega Superspeedway, but nestled in the middle of the state is the Barber Motorsports Park and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. The 144,000-square foot, four-story museum, which is just a few miles outside of Birmingham, includes the world’s largest collection of vintage and modern day motorcycles and the largest collection of Lotus race cars.

The museum and collection is the brainchild of George Barber, a resident of Birmingham and the former owner of Barber Dairy one of the largest dairies in Alabama. Barber who raced sports cars in the early 1960s, started out collecting cars, but soon turned his attention to motorcycles in 1989. In the intervening years, he has gathered examples of some of the most significant bikes in existence. Barber began to purchase entire collections, housing them in a nondescript old building that had once been used for the maintenance of milk delivery trucks. As the number of motorcycles grew, the exhibit was opened to the general public. Eventually, almost ten thousand visitors a week were coming to see “that dairy farmer’s motorcycle collection.”

Barber built the current museum at The Barber Motorsports Park which opened September 19, 2003 with a collection that now has over 900 vintage and modern motorcycles.

A few years after it opened Barber met someone who is considered a legend in the field of motorsports, Evel Knievel. Knievel is the flamboyant motorcycle stuntman whose thrilling triumphs and spectacular failures enshrined him as America’s consummate daredevil.

Evel Knievel survived at least 38 broken bones, multiple concussions and countless abrasions acquired in daring jumps that ended in unplanned crashes, but he did not escape the Final Taxi at 69.

He was born Robert Craig Knievel in Butte, Montana, on Oct. 17, 1938. He was always getting into trouble and once after one particular police chase in 1956 in which he crashed his motorcycle, Knievel was taken to jail on a charge of reckless driving. When the night jailer came around to check the roll, he noted Robert Knievel in one cell and William Knofel in the other. Knofel was well known as “Awful Knofel” (”Awful” rhyming with “Knofel”) so Knievel began to be referred to as Evel Knievel. He chose this misspelling both because of his last name and because he didn’t want to be considered “evil”.

Knievel opened a Honda motorcycle dealership in Moses Lake, Wash., in 1965, hyping sales by offering a $100 discount to anyone who could beat him at arm wrestling. That same year, he started Evel Knievel’s Motorcycle Daredevils. They toured the Western states as a latter-day mechanized rodeo. However, one by one the riders dropped out, unwilling to keep up with someone whose idea of crowd-pleasing was being strapped to a parachute and then towed behind a drag-racer at 200 miles per hour.

Knievel made his name in America with a single jump in Las Vegas in 1968. Accelerating up a ramp, he soared his motorcycle upwards 141 feet over the ornamental fountains outside the Caesar’s Palace hotel. On landing, he pulverized his spine and pelvis and had to walk with crutches for the next year. His gained popularity led Knievel to tell people he would one day jump the Grand Canyon.

In February 1971, still not fully recovered, he broke his own distance record by jumping 150 feet to clear 19 cars placed side-to-side. On the flight back to Butte, he was told the US government would not allow a Grand Canyon jump. Knievel looked out the window and saw Snake River Canyon and decided to jump it instead. Knievel then hired former NASA engineer Robert Truax to design and build the X-2 Skycycle. During two test jumps, the rocket failed to make it all the way across the canyon. Knievel said that there would be no more tests and that he would go ahead with the scheduled jump on September 8, 1974.

The event was only available through pay-per-view. During the jump the parachute accidentally deployed when the three 1/4 inch bolts holding the cover for the chute sheared off with the force of the skycycle blast. The wind began to cause it to drift back as the skycycle turned on its side and started to descend into the canyon. Knievel survived the failed jump with only minor injuries.

Knievel decided to retire after a jump in the winter of 1976 in which he was again seriously injured. He suffered a concussion and broke both arms in an attempt to jump a tank full of live sharks in the Chicago Amphitheater. By 1981, Knievel’s son Robbie had taken over the daredevil act.

Knievel made somewhat of a marketing comeback in the 1990s, representing Maxim Casino, Little Caesar’s and Harley-Davidson among other companies. In 1999, Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

While on tour with the Evel Knievel rolling museum he came to Alabama and visited George Barber’s Vintage Motorsports Museum. Knievel and Barber hit it off immediately.
I talked with Lee Woehle, librarian of Barber’s Vintage Motorsports Museum, who is a self professed Evel Knievel fan. She remembers that day when he toured the museum. She said “It was like meeting an icon. I was surprised by the how fragile he looked at the time. He looked all of his age when he came to meet with us. You could see all the crashes and breaks had taken a toll on him.”

Woehle said she believes that Knievel helped to get motorsports a name and helped get it noticed on ABC’s Wide World of Sports and other programs.

Others visitors at the museum when I visited agreed with her. Kent Landerdale from Opelika said he not only helped the sport, but Harley Davidson. “I don’t think that company would have survived if Evel Knievel not used them. He had that big number 1 on the side. Most people didn’t know the abuse they could take or the extra springs that they had.”

Ty Bragg from Jemison brought his boys out for the day to Barber’s. When I asked the youngsters if they knew who Evel Knievel was they could not tell me, but Ty knew. “I remember being their age and watching the Snake River jump. My friends and I would take our bikes and do jumps to try and be like him. He was a hero and we wanted to be like him. I had toys and action figures and I wish I still had them today.”

Everyone agreed on one thing, Knievel showed the true American spirit. Lee Woehle said “The crashes we saw were pretty bad, but what was cool is that he came back every time. He was a survivor. We all received an inspiration from Evel Knievel.”

Brain Science Podcast #25: Rolf Pheifer discussed embodied intelligence

2007-12-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

How the Body Shapes the Way We Think, by Rolf Pfeifer and Josh Bongard

Brain Science Podcast episode 25 is an interview of author Rolf Pfeifer, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Zurich. The focus of our conversation was the importance of embodiment. Brains (and intelligence) can not be understood separate from their interaction with the body and the physical world. Pfeifer explains how this realization has led the field of artificial intelligence away from a pure computational approach to one he calls embodied artificial intelligence. His interview is spiced with numerous examples that demonstrate why this approach is relevant to those of us who are interested in the human brain. Listen Now.

Episode Highlights:

A brief overview of artificial intelligence
introduction to biorobotics
why artificial intelligence and biorobotics are relevant to understand the brain
the meaning of complexity and emergence
why the close coupling of the sensory and motor systems is essential to intelligence
applying design principles to understanding intelligence
Numerous examples make these potentially intimidating topics accessible to all listeners
I also introduced a new way for listeners to support the Brain Science Podcast (learn more)

Related Episodes of the Brain Science Podcast:

#2 On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins (listen to episode 2)
- this brief review does not get into Hawkin's discussion of the problems with traditional artificial intelligence, but I highly recommend On Intelligence for more on the subject
#15 Interview with Dr. Read Montague (listen to episode 15)
- Dr. Montague introduces the computational theory of mind, which is a different way of approaching some of the problems I discussed with Dr. Pheifer

Scientists mentioned in the podcast:

Rodney Brooks
- 1986 published the paper that launched the embodied approach to artificial intelligence
  - Brooks, R.A. (1986). A robust layered control system for a mobile robot. IEEE Journal of
    Robotics and Automation, 2(1): 14–23.
- Books by Rodney Brooks
  - Flesh and Machines: How Robots will Change US
  - Cambrian Intelligence: The Early History of the New AI
- Interview on Talking Robots podcast (download mp3)
Gerald M.Edelman, MD, PhD
- won the Nobel Prize in 1972 for work in understanding the structures of antibodies
- developed a theory know as Neural Darwinism, which he describes in several books including Wider Than the Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness
- was just interviewed on Talking Robots (November 23, 2007)

Where to learn more about Pfeifer's work:

his home page
Pheifer's interview on Talking Robots (Download mp3)
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Zurich
- Robots
How the Body Shapes the Way We Think: a new view of Intelligence (2007), Rolf Pfeifer and Josh Bongard
Understanding Intelligence (1999), Rolf Pfeifer and Christian Scheier

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Brain Science Podcast #24: Reading and the Brain

2007-11-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

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Show Notes

Dr. Wolf's book Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, is divided into three main topics: the history of how writing and reading developed over the last few thousand years, the developmental stages involved in learning how to read, and what happens when the brain can't learn to read. My podcast concentrates on the main ideas from the first two topics.

History of Writing:

the discovery of symbols
Early writing systems- cuneiform and hieroglyphics
- why Chinese gives us a window into the past
Importance of the Alphabet
- some claims and conclusions
Why Socrates opposed literacy

The Stages of Becoming a Reader:

the early pre-reader-with emphasis on language development
the novice reader-connecting letters to the sounds of language
the decoding reader-
the fluent comprehending reader-learning to "read between the lines"
the expert reader-why reading continues to change us throughout our lives

What goes wrong when the brain can't learn to read: how new findings are leading to new solutions

Links and References

Maryann Wolf, Director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University
- Her book Proust and the Squid contains extensive references to various scientific studies in the area
- interview of Dr. Wolf
- information for teachers

FastForward-an successful approach to treating dyslexia
Michael Posner-a psychologist who used PET scans to study what happens during shifts of attention (a necessary first step in reading)

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Books and Ideas #14 Dr. Pamela Gay from Astronomy Cast

2007-11-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

Listen Now

Show Notes for Books and Ideas Podcast #14

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Pamela Gay from the Astronomy Cast. Dr. Gay teaches astronomy and physics at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Before the Astronomy Cast she was one of the hosts of one of the first science podcasts, Slacker Astronomy. I think her enthusiasm for science and especially for astronomy comes through in this interview.

Besides astronomy we talked about the challenges of teaching science as well as the challenges of being a female scientist.

Links:

Astronomy Cast

Pamela Gay's Blog

FemaleScienceProfessor Blog

Chandra: A Biography of S. Chandrasekhar by Kameshwar C. Wali

Buffy Between the Lines: an audio drama definitely worth checking out if you love the Buffyverse

Pushing Daisies my favorite new TV show

Listen to Books and Ideas Episode 14

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Brain Science Podcast #23: Interview with author Susan Blakeslee

2007-10-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

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Show Notes

This episode is an interview with Sandra Blakeslee, co-author (with her son Matthew) of The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps Help You Do (almost) Everything Better, which we discussed in episode 21.

I asked Blakeslee to tell me a little bit of her background as a science writer. She wrote for the New York Times for many years and was the co-author of both Jeff Hawkins groundbreaking book, On Intelligence and VS Ramachandran's modern class Phantoms in the Brain (1998), which was one of the first books to explore neuroplasticity.

In this interview we explored the relationship between body maps and neuroplasticity, as well as questions from listeners about out of body experiences and other oddities once considered "paranormal." We talked about how body maps are relevant to understanding why some methods of alternative healing appear to be effective.

I asked her to tell me which scientist she met made the biggest impression. Here are a few of those she mentioned:

Marco Iacoboni at UCLA
Atsushi Iriki-cyberspace
Olaf Blanke in Switzerland who has discovered how the angular gyrus is involved in out-of-body experiences
Arthur "Bud" Craig who is the pioneer of mapping the insula
Michael Merzenich-a pioneer in the field of neuroplasticity who also helped design the first cochlear implant

Blakeslee told me about some of the pioneering work that Merzenich is doing to apply his discoveries to help people, both those with disabilities and those who just want to combat aging. You can learn more about his work at http://www.positscience.com/.

If you would like to contact Sandra Blakeslee to give her feedback or ask her questions she has a contact form on her books website at http://www.thebodyhasamindofitsown.com/. She is going to let me know when she gets the references posted on the site.

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Interview of Sandra Blakeslee (episode 23)
Discussion of her latest book (episode 21)
Brief Review of On Intelligence (episode 2)

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Warning: Watch out for bad audio links

2007-10-16T10:47:00.001-04:00

The audio files for both of my podcasts are hosted on Libsyn and they have recently changed the addresses for people's podcast audio files. Unfortunately this means that I probably have a lot of bad links floating around not just on this site, but in numerous other locations around the internet. I intend to try to fix the ones I remember posting, but that may take a while, so if you find a bad link please let me know.

Thanks to SpiritSeeker for originally bringing the problem to my attention.

If you are in a hurry to find an old episode you can go directly to my Libsyn sites:

Books and Ideas is at http://booksandideas.libsyn.com

Brain Science Podcast is at http://brainsciencepodcast.libsyn.com

Comics About A Guy Named Archie: Richard Goldwater’s World

2007-10-12T12:32:00.000-04:00

Download MP3 - Richard Goldwater

Archie Comics president and co-publisher Richard Goldwater, 71, who, with his father John, created “Josie and the Pussycats,” has taken his Final Taxi.
He assisted co-publisher Michael Silberkleit with efforts to expand Archie’s core characters into other mediums – including countless Archie, Sabrina and Josie animated TV series, a long-running live-action Sabrina series that has been seen in 34 different countries, a Josie and the Pussycats theatrical motion picture, and “The Archies,” a musical group that had tremendous success in the 1960s and 1970s.

Brain Science Podcast #22: Interview with Christof Koch

2007-10-05T17:12:00.000-04:00

Listen to the Interview Now

Brain Science Podcast #22 is an interview with Dr. Christof Koch of Cal Tech, one of the pioneers in the neurobiological study of consciousness. About two decades ago when Koch and Francis Crick began looking for what they called the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), such a quest was considered controversial, but now the field is increasing in popularity. In our interview we talked a little about his book, The Quest for Consciousness, as well as his on-going research and his thoughts about what the future might bring.

Show Notes

Here is a list of some of the topics we discussed:

Why Francis Crick was an outstanding mentor and colleague
A Working definition of consciousness
How consciousness relates to awareness
What are neural correlates of consciousness
Why vision is the focus of Koch's research
The search for the "footprints" of consciousness
The role of functional imaging and the use of monkeys
Neurons-"the atoms of perception"
Why we need a theory of consciousness
The role of the frontal lobes in consciousness
Is consciousness an emergent property?
What about zombies?
Why do we need consciousness?
Will artificial intelligence become conscious?
The hard problem: how does the brain generate subjective experience (qualia)

Links:

Christof Koch's homepage

The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach (2004)

Listen to the Episode Now

Share your comments on the Discussion Forum

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FINAL TAXI : Alice Ghostley

2007-09-26T12:00:00.001-04:00

DIRECT DOWNLOAD MP3: ALICE GHOSTLEY

Tony Award-winning actress Alice Ghostley, well-known to TV viewers for playing confused sidekicks on Bewitched and Designing Women took her Final Taxi at 81.

From 1966 through 1972, she made regular appearances on the sitcom Bewitched as shy, bumbling witch Esmeralda From 1986 through 1993, Ghostley portrayed oddball neighbor Bernice Clifton on the hit series Designing Women. She earned an Emmy nomination for the role in 1992.

Over a six-decade career, she made more than 90 TV appearances in such shows as Evening Shade, Love, American Style, Capt. Nice, and Mayberry R.F.D.
Ghostley appeared in 30 films, including To Kill a Mockingbird , The Graduate, Gator and Two on a Bench

FINAL TAXI : Brett Somers

2007-09-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

DIRECT MP3 DOWNLOAD: Brett Somers Takes Her Final Taxi

Actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on the “Match Game” in the 1970s, has taken her Final Taxi at 83.

Hosted by Gene Rayburn, “Match Game” was the top game show during much of the 1970s. Contestants would try to match answers to nonsense questions with a panel of celebrities; much of the humor came from the racy quips and putdowns which many came from Brett Somers.

She stared in my Broadway shows, movies and television shows like Barney Miller, MaryTyler Moore, Love American Style, and Perry Mason.

I adored her quick wit and outspokenness. She will be missed!

Brain Science Podcast #21: Body Maps

2007-09-22T19:40:00.000-04:00

Featured in this episode: The Body has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better (2007), by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee. (Also available on from Audible.com)

Listen to the podcast now

SHOW NOTES

Topics:

Body Maps and the role of embodiment
Basic ideas about the body maps in the brain
Mapping the world around us
How Body maps differ between species
Body Schema and Body image
The role of body maps in disease
The role of belief in health and illness
How body maps explain non-traditional healing methods and unusual experiences
The role of motor imagery in improving motor skills
Mirror Neurons
Place and grid neurons in the hippocampus (see more on Scholarpedia)
How sensation and emotions come together (the role of the insula)

Scientists mentioned in the podcast:

Wilder Penfield: discovered the maps of the primary sensory and primary motor cortex
Sir Henry Head and Gordon Holmes: British neurologists who first proposed the idea of the body schema in 1911
Arthur Craig: first to study the unique wiring of the insula.
Antonio Damasio: studies the role of emotion in intelligent decision-making
Marco Iacoboni: demonstrated the role of the right angular cingulate gyrus in our sense of self versus others (Dr. Iacoboni has PDF's available on his site)

Other scientists mentioned in The Body has a Mind of Its Own:

William Straub: sports psychologist who demonstrated that students could improve at darts through mental imagery
Alvaro Pascual-Leone: used 5 finger piano exercise to show changes in motor maps both from actual practice and from imagery
Michael Merzenich: classic experiments showing changing in motor maps in monkeys
Scott Frey: using imagery in stroke rehab
Jennifer Stevens: use of mirror boxes in stroke rehab
Edoardo Bisiach: theories about spatial awareness and neglect
Jamie Ward: documented a patient with color-emotion synesthesia as possible explanation for auras
Olaf Blanke: studies the anterior cingulate gyrus, which map be important in out-of-body experiences
Atsushi Iriki: has demonstrated how the parietal lobes in monkeys change with tool use
Christian Keysters: thinks mirror neurons may be a key precursor for the development of abstract thought and language
Hugo Critchley: expert in brain imaging who is interested in the relationship between emotional intelligence and interoception (visceral awareness)
John Allman: studies the role of the frontal insula and anterior cingulate gyrus in intuition (quick decisions)
Sara Lazar: has demontrated that the right frontal insula and left prefrontal cortex increase in size in experienced meditators (more on her meditation research)

Note: This list is not exhaustive. I know I left off VS Ramachandran and several others, but those listed above did work that was addressed, directly or indirectly, in my podcast.

Brain Structures (links include diagrams of the brain):

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The voice of Jaws and Airplane’s Lipstick Lady

2007-09-14T19:02:00.000-04:00

Direct Download MP3- Percy Rodriguez & Charlotte Zucker

Percy Rodrigues, whose role as a neurosurgeon on the 1960s television series “Peyton Place” broke ground because he was cast as an authority figure when relatively few black actors were given such parts, has taken his Final Taxi at 89. He will be known by Star Trek fans as Commodore Stone in the original series but most have heard his voice in movie ads and voiceovers. His most popular would be for “Jaws.”

Charlotte Zucker was the mother of filmmakers David Zucker and Jerry Zucker (aka The Zucker Brothers) who appears in her sons’ movies, including Airplane!, Top Secret!, Ghost, My Boss’ Daughter, First Knight and The Naked Gun trilogy. In Airplane she was the ‘Lipstick Lady.”

Brain Science Podcast #20: The Female Brain with Dr. Louann Brizendine

2007-09-06T20:25:00.000-04:00

Listen to this episode

Episode #20 of the Brain Science Podcas t is an interview with Dr. Louann Brizendine of the Women's Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California at San Francisco. Her book, The Female Brain was just released in paperback and it is on the New York Times Bestseller list.

We explore how hormones and neurotransmitters effect our brains and how these effects are different in men and women. This episode has interesting stuff for listeners of both sexes.

If you would like to learn more visit Dr. Brizendine's website at http://louannbrizendine.com.

Please participate in my audience survey at http://wizzard.tv/survey/brainsciencepodcast.

Listen to Episode #20 Now

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FINAL TAXI: Inventors of Mr. Freeze & Beach Party Movies

2007-09-03T19:57:00.001-04:00

Direct Download: Final Taxi Podcast

This week the Final Taxi talks about Max Hodge who took an unknown comic villain and turn him into on of Batman’s most remembered rouges, Mr. Freeze.

Also we follow the life of Tony Caras who after working in horror films with Rodger Corman and made film history in the 60s with ‘beach party’ movies.

Brain Science Podcast #19: Gut Feelings

2007-08-26T15:40:00.000-04:00

Click here to listen to this episode.

Show Notes for Brain Science Podcast #19: Gut Feelings

This episode is a discussion of Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious (2007) by Gerd Gigerenzer

Dr. Gigerenzer argues that unconscious decision-making or intuition is actually based on the use of hueristics (rules of thumb) that can be explored, and even brought into awareness. In this episode I discuss his basic arguments with an emphasis on the differences between intuitive reasoning and formal logic. Then we explore some examples including the application of these ideas to more controversial areas like morality and social instincts. Listen to episode.

Some of his ideas are provocative and I hope you will discuss them on the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum.

References

Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious (2007) by Gerd Gigerenzer

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005) by Malcolm Gladwell

See also Brain Science Podcast #13: Unconscious Decision Making

Links of Interest

Gerd Gigerenzer-wikipedia

Gerd Gigerenzer-home page at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Jonathan Haidt-social psychologist mentioned in this episode

Listen to Brain Science Podcast #19: Gut Feelings

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New Group on Facebook

2007-08-19T15:01:00.000-04:00

I just started a new group on Facebook called Alabama Podcasters. I am using the Birmingham Podcasting logo because I hope this group will help us find more local podcasters both from around Birmingham and the rest of Alabama.

FINAL TAXI : Charles Lane -The Face Is Familiar

2007-08-10T12:59:00.000-04:00

DIRECT DOWNLOAD: Charles Lane

Charles Lane, the prolific character actor whose name was little known but whose crotchety persona and roles in hundreds of films made him recognizable to generations of moviegoers took his Final Taxi at 102.

Lane, whose career spanned more than 60 years, appeared in such film classics as “It‘s a Wonderful Life,” “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “Primrose Path.” He also had a recurring role as the scheming railroad man Homer Bedloe on the 1960s TV sitcom “Petticoat Junction” and appeared often on “I Love Lucy.”

Mr. Lane’s voice was heard in Disney’s 1970 animated feature “The AristoCats.” He was an admiral in “The Winds of War” TV miniseries and appeared in the movie “Murphy’s Romance” with Sally Field in 1986.

He also acted in TV episodes of “Soap,”"The Flying Nun,” “Bewitched” and “The Beverly Hillbillies” and showed up on “L.A. Law,” “St. Elsewhere” and “Lou Grant.”

Mr. Lane had small parts in “The Music Man,” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “The Carpetbaggers,” among his many films. His acting résumé included roles as a judge, gambler, priest, bank examiner, military officer, customs and immigration official and Western lawman.

Brain Science Podcast #18: Interview with Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg

2007-08-09T15:38:00.000-04:00

Brain Science Podcast #18 is an interview with Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, PhD.

Listen to Brain Science Podcast #18 Now

Show Notes:

I apologize for the uneven sound quality of this episode. If any one out there has any suggestions please drop me an email.
Dr. Goldberg shared a little bit about the breadth of his work as a neuropsychologist.
We talked about his rather unique perspective on the difference between the right and left brain hemispheres. He explained why he feels that as we get older we move from reliance on the right hemisphere, which he feels is the novelty hemisphere, to a reliance on the left hemisphere, where our lifetime store of patterns enables us to use pattern recognition as a short cut in problem solving.
We talked about the importance of constant mental challenge, and Dr. Goldberg gives his advice about how we can keep our brains healthy through out our lives.

Links:

The following are two companies that Dr. Goldberg is working with to provide information to the public and also tools for cognitive enhancement:

SharpBrains-this is a clearing house for information and they evaluate many of the products currently being offered.
HeadStrong Cognitive Fitness-this Australian company offers a net-based program for cognitive enhancement based on Dr. Goldberg's research. I am hoping to test their products in the near future.

Listen to Brain Science Podcast #18 Now

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Books and Ideas #13: Harry Potter with guest co-host, Patrick Pricken

2007-08-03T17:09:00.000-04:00

Even if you haven't finished reading Book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling you can enjoy this podcast, which features guest co-host Patrick Pricken, from Germany. Patrick's blog, which features movie and book reviews can be found at http://www.p-pricken.de/. (The blog is in German, but translation to English is available from Google.)

We talked about what why JK Rowling's work has international appeal, even among adult readers. We explore our favorite characters and talk about whether Book 7 lived up to our expectations.

The episode is spoiler-free up to the 17 minute mark. The last 15 minutes does contain specific material from the last book, so if you haven't read it yet you will want to stop listening at 17:00, until you finish the book.

If you would like to talk about the podcast or share your favorite Harry Potter memories, please join us in the the special section with in the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum.

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Brain Science Podcast #17: The Wisdom of the Aging Brain

2007-07-26T16:44:00.000-04:00

This week we discuss another book by Elkonon Goldberg, Ph.D. I highly recommend this book to everyone because it is an excellent review of many of the topics we have discussed over the last several months including memory, emotion, and neuroplasticity. In this episode we continue our discussion of the role of the pre-frontal lobes in intelligence, as well as what happens to our brain as we age.

Show Notes

Episodes that are referred to in this episode:

Note: You should have no problem listening to episode to #17 first, but I have provided these references for those who want to review or go back for more details.

Definitions used in this episode:

attractor: a cognitive template that enables pattern recognition. An attractor is thought to be a concise set of neurons with strong interactions among themselves. A unique and important quality of attractors is that a broad range of inputs activate the same set of neurons. This is thought to be the mechanism of pattern recognition.

cognitive competence: the ability to relate the old to the new so as to recognize the similarities between a new problem and one that has been previously solved

cognitive wisdom: an enhanced capacity for problem solving

generic memory: memory for patterns

Brief List of topics discussed in this episode:

Review of important ideas about the prefrontal lobes from #16
An hypothesis about the differing roles of the right and left hemispheres
How the brain changes in normal aging
Mechanisms that protect the brain from degenerative changes
1. generic memory-why this type of memory is more robust
2. pattern expansion-how parts of the cortex expand with use
3. effortless experts-why familiar tasks are less demanding
Why vigorous mental activity is important throughout life

For more links related to Dr. Goldberg's work see the show notes for episode 16.

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Books and Ideas #12 Explores Free Will

2007-07-20T18:00:00.001-04:00

I have posted episode 12 of Books and Ideas. It is my response to The Myth of Free Will (2007), which was edited by Cris Evatt.

This is a very controversial subject. I hope that you will listen and then submit your comments to the new Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum, which is at http://brainscienceforum.com.

Listen Now

Brain Science Podcast Update

2007-07-13T10:58:00.000-04:00

Announcements

Thanks to Rob Walch of Podcast 411 for helping me resolve my feed problems. You can here us discuss the details of what happened on Item #205 of Podcast 411.
Visit the new Brain Science Podcast Forum at http://brainscienceforum.com.

The Brain Science Podcast #16 is a discussion of The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind (2002)
by Elkhonon Goldberg.

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The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.

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Show Notes

This episode is an introduction to the role of the pre-frontal lobes in decision-making, and the other "executive" functions of our brain. The functions of the pre-frontal lobes are not only the keys to what makes us human, but also the keys to our individual personality.

In this episode, using Dr. Goldberg's book, we discuss how the frontal lobes relate to the other structures of the brain. We also, discuss some ideas about why the left and right sides of the brain differ, as well as several important ways in which the cortex, and especially the pre-frontal lobes differ from some of the older parts of the brain.

We discuss briefly the vulnerability of the frontal lobes to damage and disease, and we consider the implications of frontal lobe dysfunction. Questions are introduced that will be considered in more detail in future podcasts.

Links:

Phineas Gage-constructor worker who suffered severe frontal lobe injury in 1848
Herbert Simon-won 1978 Nobel Prize in economics (short autobiography) He did pioneering work on decision-making.
Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg:
- His website
- On YouTube.com

FINAL TAXI: Last Voyage of Sinbad's Kerwin Mathews

2007-07-11T16:22:00.000-04:00

Direct Download: Kerwin Mathews

Kerwin Mathews, who earned a niche in film history as the handsome hero who battled a Cyclops, a dragon and a sword-wielding skeleton in the 1958 fantasy classic “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” has taken his Final Taxi. Mathews was also in “The Devil at 4 O’clock” with Spencer Tracy and Frank Sinatra and in b-movies “Octoman” and “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf.” He was 81.

FINAL TAXI: Stevens & McCorkle

2007-07-06T15:00:00.000-04:00

Direct Download MP3: Stevens & McCorkle

On this weeks Final Taxi podcast Ron talks about Art Stevens, who was a Disney animator who worked on the 1940 classic “Fantasia” and later co-directed “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Rescuers.” Among Stevens’ credits as an animator are “Peter Pan,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day,” “Robin Hood,” “Mary Poppins” and the underwater sequence in “Bedknobs and Broomsticks.”

George McCorkle was a founding member of the Marshall Tucker Band and author of Southern rock anthem “Fire on the Mountain.”

FINAL TAXI: Mr. Wizard

2007-06-21T12:43:00.001-04:00

Direct Download: Mr. Wizard

Mr. Wizard was Don Herbert, who unlocked the wonders of science for youngsters of the 1950s and ’60s on television and then in the 80’s on Nickelodeon . Mr. Wizard took his Final Taxi at the age of 89.

Listen to this week’s podcast.

Final Taxi: - Charles Nelson Reilly has BLANKED

2007-05-29T14:20:00.000-04:00

Direct Download: Charles Nelson Reilly

Charles Nelson Reilly, an award-winning actor and a regular on variety and game shows, has taken his Final Taxi at age 76.

He was famous for his oversized glasses and colourful suits during numerous TV appearances in the 1970s and ’80s.

Reilly guested on sitcoms (Nanny and the Professor, The Patty Duke Show,, Here’s Lucy, etc.), sat down on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show couch 95 times and, of course, did game shows. Lots of game shows.

What’s My Line?, Baffle, Super Password and Hollywood Squares were among Reilly’s credits. Match Game was by far the biggest.

Reilly also voiced the Dirty Bubble, one of Mermaid Man’s enemies on Spongebob Squarepants.

Brain Science Podcast #12: Memory

2007-05-23T11:30:00.000-04:00

This episode of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of memory based on the book, Memory: From Mind to Molecules (2000), by Larry R. Squire, and Eric R. Kandel.

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The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.

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Show Notes

I highly recommend you get this book for yourself if you want to read the details of the experiments. The book contains excellent illustrations.

Some of the experimental animals mentioned in this episode include Aplysia (giant sea snails), Drosophila (fruit flies), and mice.

Mechanisms of memory formation and storage seem to be shared from the simplest non-vertebrates up through humans.

Types of Memory: declarative and non-declarative. Non-declarative memory is generally NOT subject to conscious awareness or control.

There are many different types of non-declarative memory including:

motor skills
habituation and sensitization
classical and operant conditioning
priming
perceptual skills

Declarative memory, which seems to be unique to animals that have a hippocampus and cerebral cortex, includes short-term (immediate and working memory) and long-term memory. Much research has been devoted to discovering how and where long-term memory occurs. The answer may surprise you.

This episode includes a discussion of some of the unanswered questions in memory research.

Final Taxi: - You're Blacklisted

2007-05-18T11:35:00.001-04:00

Taking their Final Taxi this week is the ‘Hollywood Blacklisted” screenwriter, Bernard Gordon, also favorite B-movie actor Nicholas Worth and film and TV veteran Dabbs Greer.

Listen Here:
Direct Download: Final Taxi - You’re Blacklisted

Less than One Week Reminder!!! Podcasting Meetup!!!

2007-05-17T16:01:00.000-04:00

What do an emergency physician, a punk rock DJ obsessed with dead people, a tank girl who has a thing for bunnies, and a production-crazed college student all have in common?
No, we’re not all losing our minds, we’re getting together. OK, maybe the better way to say it is that we’re holding a get together.
Tuesday May 22nd at the Pita Stop at 6pm, we’re looking to invite anyone and everyone interested in podcasting.
Yes, I said podcasting. It’s that new buzzword that’s been flying around for the last two or three years now and we want Birmingham to get in on this bandwagon.
We’ll be hanging out, grabbing some grub, and answering any questions that we can answer about podcasting.
If you have a remote interest in podcasting, audio production, or just wanna hang out with some cool people, come on out! We’d love to have you!

--DW

Dr. Ginger Campbell enters Talent Quest

2007-05-07T19:52:00.000-04:00

I have finally got my entry up for the Public Radio Talent Quest, which is a contest for finding the next public radio host.

I hope you will go there and vote for me. For the first round, one is only allowed a 2 minute entry and the website wouldn't take mine until I cut it down to 1:50. Regular Brain Science Podcast listeners will recognize the opening, which is followed by a brief explanation of why I think I would make a good host. The page is located at http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/794. Please share the link with everyone you can think of! Voting continues through the first week of June, but please go vote NOW!

Brain Science Podcast #11: Emotion

2007-05-06T18:57:00.000-04:00

In this episode of the Brain Science Podcast we explore the recent research that has established, contrary to long-standing dogma, that our brains our able to change throughout our lives, based on our experience.

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Show Notes

The reference for this episode is Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves, by Sharon Begley. This book describes the 2004 meeting between the Dalai Llama and several leading neuroscientists. To learn more about these meetings go to the Mind and Life Institute website. All the studies that I mention in the podcast are referenced in the back of the book.

Here is a list of the some of the scientists and there work.

Michael Meany- McGill University. He has shown that the way that a mother rat treats her babies determine which genes in the baby's brain are turned on and which are turned off.
Fred Gage- the Salk Institute His work with lab animals to showed that adult brains do change. (more from Google)
Helen Neville-University of Oregon. She has shown that the auditory and visual cortexes are rewired in people who are born blind or deaf.
Phillip Shaver-UC-Davis. He is a pioneer in attachment theory: how people's sense of emotional security, acquired in childhood, effects their adult behavior including their response to other ethnic groups and their willingness to help others
Richard Davidson-Wisconsin. He has done studies showing how the brain is changed by meditation

Edward Taub- University of Alabama in Birmingham. He helped develop a revolutionary treatment for stroke victims
Jeffery Schwartz-UCLA. He has used mindfulness meditation to treat obsessive compulsive disorder, showing that meditation can change the brain in beneficial ways.
Jon Kabat-Zinn- University of Massachusetts. He has done many years of work using mindfulness meditation to treat stress related diseases.

Birmingham Podcasters to meet for night of food, fun, and general mayhem

2007-05-04T13:56:00.000-04:00

Losing a Kitty and a Ho

2007-05-01T15:59:00.000-04:00

Direct Download:
Final Taxi- Kitty & Ho

Kitty Carlisle Hart, the supremely elegant actress, singer, arts advocate and TV personality is remembered for her role as the romantic musical heroine of the 1935 Marx Brothers film "A Night at the Opera" and she sang in the 1948 U.S. premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera "The Rape of Lucretia." Her long run as a panelist on the game show "To Tell the Truth" made her a regular presence in the country's living rooms from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Don Ho was an iconic Hawaiian entertainer whose signature song, Tiny Bubbles, made him a major tourist attraction on the island and his name has always been synonymous with hula dancing and luaus.

Brain Science Podcast #10: Neuroplasticity

2007-04-20T16:08:00.000-04:00

Listen Now

The Brain Science Podcast feed is available here.

Subscribe via iTunes™

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Show Notes

Here is a list of the some of the scientists and there work.

Michael Meany- McGill University. He has shown that the way that a mother rat treats her babies determine which genes in the baby's brain are turned on and which are turned off.
Fred Gage- the Salk Institute His work with lab animals to showed that adult brains do change. (more from Google)
Helen Neville-University of Oregon. She has shown that the auditory and visual cortexes are rewired in people who are born blind or deaf.
Phillip Shaver-UC-Davis. He is a pioneer in attachment theory: how people's sense of emotional security, acquired in childhood, effects their adult behavior including their response to other ethnic groups and their willingness to help others
Richard Davidson-Wisconsin. He has done studies showing how the brain is changed by meditation

Edward Taub- University of Alabama in Birmingham. He helped develop a revolutionary treatment for stroke victims
Jeffery Schwartz-UCLA. He has used mindfulness meditation to treat obsessive compulsive disorder, showing that meditation can change the brain in beneficial ways.
Jon Kabat-Zinn- University of Massachusetts. He has done many years of work using mindfulness meditation to treat stress related diseases.

THE FINAL TAXI ..and so it goes........

2007-04-19T14:39:00.000-04:00

Direct download: Various
deaths...... and so it goes..

In the book Slaughter House 5, "So it goes" is a phrase used every time a passage deals with death, dying or mortality.
I felt it appropriate to use it this week as we have had so many to take that Final Taxi....
Kurt Vonnegut famed author,
Johnny Hart, creator of the comic strip "BC" and "Wizard of Id"
Marshall Rogers, comic book artist who help bring Batman from his 'camp' era,
Roscoe Lee Brown, famous character actor and voice talent,
Barry Nelson, actor who played many roles including the Hotel manager in "The Shining",
and Stan Daniels writer and producer of TV's Mary Tyler Moore and Taxi.

This is just a handful as there was so many this week.... and so it goes........

Books and Ideas Podcast #10 An American Living in France

2007-04-15T11:33:00.001-04:00

Guillestre in the French Alps

Show Notes

This episode of Books and Ideas is a conversation with writer Kirk Mcelhearn , a native New Yorker, who has lived in France for over 20 years. We talk about the challenges of learning a second language, and what it is like to live in France after 9/11. McElhearn is able to bring some interesting historical perspective to current events. Unfortunately there is some echo in the second half of this interview, which was recorded using Skype™ and Audio Hijack Pro™.

Listen to #10 Now

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Additional Links:

Kirkville is Kirk McElhearn's excellent blog where you can find Mac™ and iTunes™ hints, as well as commentary on books and digital music.

Here is a list of his books from Amazon.com

The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara This is an excellent novel that I talked about briefly on an earlier podcast. It is also available in audio download format from Audible.com. Kirk said he has this book coming from BookMooch.

BookMooch started by the founder of Magnatune, this is a great place to exchange books

Final Taxi - #69 : I Triple Dog Dare Ya- Bob Clark

2007-04-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

Direct
Download: A Christmas
Story's Bob Clark

"You'll Shoot Your Eye Out," "I Triple Dog Dare Ya!" "Fra- Jee- Lee; Must be Italian." All these are phases we know and love because of Bob Clark.
Bob Clark, the director of film classics 'Porky's and 'A Christmas Story', has taken his Final Taxi, alongside his 22-year old son Ariel.

Clark, who was 67, specialised in horror films and thrillers. His other titles include the likes of 'Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things', 'Murder by Decree', 'Breaking Point' and 'Black Christmas'.

But he was most famous for 'Porky's', which is often cited as one of the first "gross-out" teen sex comedies, while 'A Christmas Story' has become something of a seasonal tradition in the US with 24 hour marathons.

Brain Science #9: The Future of the Brain

2007-04-06T18:19:00.000-04:00

Show Notes for Episode 9

This episode is a discussion of The Future of the Brain: The Promise and Perils of Tomorrow's Neuroscience by British neuroscientist, Steven Rose. Unlike most episodes of the Brain Science Podcast, the emphasis of this episode is on asking what kind of ethical dilemmas might be posed by our increased knowledge of how the brain works.

Topics discussed:

why the Mind is more than the Brain
why the Mind is more than genetics and biochemistry
how we still have a long way to go before we can fully understand how the brain-body generates the mind
problems and dangers of reductionism
implications for freedom and personal responsibility
examples from the history of science that demonstrate why these concerns are valid
the "Paradox of Memory"
some email from listeners

One issue I only mention briefly on the podcast is Rose's attack on evolutionary psychology. If you are interested in learning more about this you might want to read the transcript of a debate between Steven Rose and Stephen Pinker, which was held in 1998. It is on the Edge website, which is an interesting website even though it lacks an RSS feed.

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The Final Taxi : Larry Bud- Doom Patrol & Podcamp

2007-03-23T23:18:00.000-04:00

Direct Download:

Larry 'Bud' Melman, Arnold Drake & Podcamp

Calvert DeForest, the white-haired, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry (Bud) Melman on David Letterman's late night television shows has taken his Final Taxi.

Also famous comic book writer Arnold Drake who wrote comics for Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Batman and X-men and created the Doom Patrol and Deadman has also died.