Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryNeuroscience

sick-asian-senior-woman-fainted-unconscious-at-the-table-fall-face-downelderly-female-patient-stop-breathing-due-to-heart-failure-cardiac-arrestsevere-arrhythmia-sudden-unexpected-death-syndrome-stockpack-adobe-stock
Sick asian senior woman fainted unconscious at the table, fall face down,elderly female patient stop breathing due to heart failure, cardiac arrest,severe arrhythmia, sudden unexpected death syndrome.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 9, 2023
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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How Do Strokes, Dementia Offer Insight Into How the Brain Works?

Neurologist Andrew Knox thinks the brain may store memories is an associative scheme, where previous memories are used to build up new ones
News
January 9, 2023
7
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

In the podcast released last Thursday, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023). What follows is from Part 3 of the discussion. Here’s Part 1: How our brains are — and aren’t — like computers and Part 2: What is happening when children have strokes or dementia signs? https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 18:25 min. A partial transcript and notes, and Additional Resources follow. The discussion began with the question, “How does the brain store memories?” Andrew Knox: There are different schemes for storing memories, but patients with Alzheimer’s seem to have Read More ›

human-brain-neuronal-stimulation-or-activity-with-the-close-up-of-a-neuron-cell-3d-rendering-illustration-neuroscience-neurology-medicine-science-cognition-intelligence-psychology-concepts-stockpack-adobe-stock
Human brain neuronal stimulation or activity with the close-up of a neuron cell 3D rendering illustration. Neuroscience, neurology, medicine, science, cognition, intelligence, psychology concepts.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 6, 2023
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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What Is Happening When Children Have Strokes or Dementia Signs?

Many children who would have died 40 years ago can live a relatively full life today but they are at risk of stroke or dementia
News
January 6, 2023
8
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

In the podcast released yesterday, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023). What follows reflects Part 2 of the discussion. Here’s Part 1: How our brains are — and aren’t — like computers. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at roughly 10:50 min. A partial transcript and notes, and Additional Resources follow. Andrew Knox: If you had a stroke in what we would call a primary motor area, an area with the connections to motor pathways through the rest of the body — all of those patients might lose the ability to move their arm Read More ›

neuron-cells-sending-electrical-chemical-signals-3d-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Neuron cells sending electrical chemical signals. 3d illustration .
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post
Author
News
Date
January 5, 2023
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Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
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How Our Brains Are — and Aren’t — Like Computers

Pediatric neurologist Andrew Knox looks at the topic with computer engineer Robert J. Marks
News
January 5, 2023
9
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

In the podcast released today, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed pediatric neurologist Dr. Andrew Knox from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health on “Ways the brain can break” (#220, January 5, 2023): The brain is a marvelous organ still not understood. Artificial neural networks are supposed to be a simulation of the human brain. But comparing the brain to an artificial neural network is like comparing the human heart to a pump handle. Dr. Andrew Knox and Dr. Robert J. Marks discuss the brain, aging, and neurology. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/Mind-Matters-220-Andrew-Knox-Episode-1.mp3 This portion begins at 00:04 min. A partial transcript and Additional Resources follow. Robert J. Marks: I got to ask you kind of a personal Read More ›

transcranial magnetic stimulation
Female doctor does transcranial magnetic stimulation the man with a broken spine. Physiotherapy. Electrotherapeutic treatment of the back.
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post
Author
News
Date
January 1, 2023
Categorized
Neuroscience, Religion
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Recalling the Hype Around Magnets That “End Belief in God”…

The 2015 claim that transcranial magnetic stimulation reduced religious belief in research subjects received wide publicity via a then-active New Atheist movement
News
January 1, 2023
5
Neuroscience, Religion

Researcher Joel Furches, whose area of specialty is religious deconversion, recalls the 2015 hype around magnets and God: In 2015, religious and atheist forums exploded with news of an experiment performed out at the University of California. Social media feeds were splashed with headlines like “Directing Magnetic Energy Into The Brian Can Reduce Belief In God,” “Scientists reduce belief in God by shutting down the brain’s medial frontal cortex,” and the far more on-the-nose “Scientists Claim Zapping Brains with Magnets Can Treat Belief in God”. Joel Furches, “Magnets, the Human Brain, and God” at Patheos (December 19, 2022) The New Atheist movement was pretty strong at that time (it did not become the godlessness that failed until a few years Read More ›

depression-and-sadness-concept-artwork-stockpack-adobe-stock
Depression and sadness concept artwork
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 30, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Psychology, Relationships
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Is Depression an Altered Global State of Consciousness?

Cecily Whiteley and Jonathan Birch from the London School of Economics and Political Science argue that altered consciousness prevents depressed people from just "seeing the bright side"
Denyse O'Leary
December 30, 2022
5
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Psychology, Relationships

PhD student Cecily Whiteley and philosophy prof Jonathan Birch, both of the London School of Economics and Political Science, think that depression is often misunderstood. In this 2021 article, noted again at Psyche, they point out that it is not just “feeling low”; it is an altered form of consciousness: The psychologist Andrew Solomon hints at some of these transformations in his memoir The Noonday Demon (2001): “When you are depressed, the past and future are absorbed entirely by the present moment, as in the world of a three-year-old. You cannot remember a time when you felt better, at least not clearly; and you certainly cannot imagine a future time when you will feel better. Being upset, even profoundly upset, Read More ›

extreme-magnification-jumping-spider-portrait-front-view-stockpack-adobe-stock
Extreme magnification - Jumping spider portrait, front view
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 25, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Spiders Are Smart; Be Glad They Are Small

Recent research has shed light on the intriguing strategies that spiders use to deceive other spiders — and prey in general
Denyse O'Leary
December 25, 2022
6
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

This story was #7 in 2022 at Mind Matters News in terms of reader numbers. As we approach the New Year, we are rerunning the top ten Mind Matters News stories of 2022, based on reader interest. For those of us who wonder whether invertebrates really think — well, it’s complicated because some do more than we expect but then some don’t. At any rate: “Spiders are smart: Be glad they are small. (March 11, 2022) Spiders, like octopuses, have eight legs. But they share something else as well — like octopuses, once we got around to studying them, they turned out to be much smarter than expected. What makes spiders even more unusual is that they are smart with Read More ›

white-laboratory-mouse-mus-musculus-crawling-on-a-clay-pot-uttarakhand-india-stockpack-adobe-stock
White laboratory mouse (Mus musculus ) crawling on a clay pot. Uttarakhand India
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post
Author
News
Date
December 21, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Mice Can’t Do Calculus But Their Brains Can

Neuroimaging and mathematics showed that a simple Stop! signal in the brain would not allow a mouse to stop as quickly as it in fact did
News
December 21, 2022
4
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Science writer Kevin Hartnett tells us that, based on experiments with mice, the brain sharpens control of precise maneuvers by using comparisons between control signals rather than the signals themselves: [The research] explores a simple question: How does the brain — in mice, humans and other mammals — work quickly enough to stop us on a dime? The new work reveals that the brain is not wired to transmit a sharp “stop” command in the most direct or intuitive way. Instead, it employs a more complicated signaling system based on principles of calculus. This arrangement may sound overly complicated, but it’s a surprisingly clever way to control behaviors that need to be more precise than the commands from the brain Read More ›

macro-concept-of-a-brain-connecting-to-pure-love-and-intent-stockpack-adobe-stock
Macro concept of a brain connecting to pure love and intent
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 18, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Physics
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Why Many Researchers Now See the Brain as a Quantum System

The hypothesis is that the brain relies on quantum physics, not classical physics, to power thinking processes
Denyse O'Leary
December 18, 2022
5
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Physics

Astrophysicist and science writer Elizabeth Fernandez asks us to consider whether quantum processes might help us understand better how the brain works and shed light on consciousness: Some scientists suspect that quantum processes, including entanglement, might help us explain the brain’s enormous power, and its ability to generate consciousness. Recently, scientists at Trinity College Dublin, using a technique to test for quantum gravity, suggested that entanglement may be at work within our brains. If their results are confirmed, they could be a big step toward understanding how our brain, including consciousness, works. Elizabeth Fernandez, “Brain experiment suggests that consciousness relies on quantum entanglement” at Big Think (November 22, 2022) The paper is open access. Her thesis is that the brain Read More ›

near-death-experience-ascend-up-towards-the-light-in-the-dark-tunnel-stockpack-adobe-stock
Near death experience ascend up towards the light in the dark tunnel
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 11, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Study: 1 in 5 Cardiac Patients May Have Near-Death Experience

The researchers found spikes of brain activity, including so-called gamma, delta, theta, alpha, and beta waves up to an hour into CPR
Denyse O'Leary
December 11, 2022
5
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Recent research shows that one in five people who survive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after a heart attack ‘may describe lucid experiences of death that occurred while they were seemingly unconscious and on the brink of death”: Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and elsewhere, the study involved 567 men and women whose hearts stopped beating while hospitalized and who received CPR between May 2017 and March 2020 in the United States and United Kingdom. Despite immediate treatment, fewer than 10% recovered sufficiently to be discharged from hospital. Survivors reported having unique lucid experiences, including a perception of separation from the body, observing events without pain or distress, and a meaningful evaluation of life, including of their actions, Read More ›

octopus-in-water-stockpack-adobe-stock
Octopus in water
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 8, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Micro RNAs: A New Clue About Octopus Intelligence?

While octopus brains are very different from vertebrate brains, they share with vertebrates, a huge number of microRNAs
Denyse O'Leary
December 8, 2022
5
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

In general, the “intelligent” animals (apes, elephants, crows, whales, dogs, dolphins) are vertebrates, not invertebrates. There is one glaring exception: the cephalopods (octopuses, squid, cuttlefish). They, like vertebrates, developed large, complex brains and unexpectedly sophisticated cognitive abilities. When thinking about the puzzle, we sometimes fall victim to a sort of confusion: We reason that greater intelligence results from the fact that it “helps the octopus survive better.” Perhaps it does. But, while greater intelligence might help many life forms survive better, only a few develop it. In short, we need a “how” explanation here, not a “why” explanation. A recent study from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine points to the possible role of microRNAs (miRNAs). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are Read More ›

data-center-cloud-connection-network-router-and-switch-stockpack-adobe-stock
Data center cloud connection network router and switch
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 7, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Researchers: The Brain’s Claustrum Acts as a Router for Thoughts

Francis Crick thought the claustrum might be the “seat of consciousness,” an inherently materialist concept. The researchers think he was wrong.
Denyse O'Leary
December 7, 2022
4
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Remember Francis Crick (1916–2004) and The Astonishing Hypothesis (1994)?: “You, your joys and sorrows, your memories and ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will are, in fact, no more than the behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells. As Lewis Carroll’s Alice might have phrased it: ‘You’re nothing but a pack of neurons’.” Crick focused on the brain region known as the claustrum as closely tied to consciousness. According to University of Maryland medical researchers, he thought of it as the “seat of consciousness.” Now, the very concept of a “seat of consciousness” assumes that consciousness is a material thing that needs a seat. In other words, consciousness must be found specifically in one place and not Read More ›

equestrian-sport-dressage-stockpack-adobe-stock
Equestrian sport - dressage
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post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 7, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Do Centaurs Really Exist? The Surprising Truth

Well, a half human/half horse cannot literally exist — but the way horses and humans work together has been called a “miracle”
Denyse O'Leary
December 7, 2022
6
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Classical Greek mythology featured the “centaur,” a creature that was half human, half horse. Neuroscientist and horse trainer Janet Jones, author of Horse Brain, Human Brain: The Neuroscience of Horsemanship (Trafalgar Square, 2020), tells us that there is a truth behind the myth (as so often). In what amounts to a “neurobiological miracle,” the horse — a prey animal — and the human — a predator — can learn complete neurological co-operation to perform complex feats that neither can manage alone. How complex are these equestrian feats? Horse-and-human teams perform complex manoeuvres in competitions of all sorts. Together, we can gallop up to obstacles standing 8 feet (2.4 metres) high, leave the ground, and fly blind – neither party able Read More ›

opabinia-in-cambrian-seas-three-opabinia-regalis-animals-hunt-for-prey-on-a-reef-of-cambrian-seas-in-the-paleozoic-era-stockpack-adobe-stock
Opabinia in Cambrian Seas - Three Opabinia regalis animals hunt for prey on a reef of Cambrian Seas in the Paleozoic Era.
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post
Author
News
Date
December 5, 2022
Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience
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Earliest Brain Found — From Over Half a Billion Years Ago

No one was expecting the Cardiodictyon fossil to have a brain
News
December 5, 2022
3
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

A surprising find for evolutionary neuroscientists is that a tiny life form that lived more than half a billion years ago had a brain. Creatures like Cardiodictyon were not supposed to have had brains: A study published in Science—led by Nicholas Strausfeld, a Regents Professor in the University of Arizona Department of Neuroscience, and Frank Hirth, a reader of evolutionary neuroscience at King’s College London—provides the first detailed description of Cardiodictyon catenulum, a wormlike animal preserved in rocks in China’s southern Yunnan province. Measuring barely half an inch (less than 1.5 centimeters) long and initially discovered in 1984, the fossil had hidden a crucial secret until now: a delicately preserved nervous system, including a brain. University of Arizona, “525-million-year-old fossil Read More ›

brain like tree
Tree with no leaves shapes like human brain as illustration
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post
Author
News
Date
November 18, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Evolution of Human Consciousness SOLVED! — Yet Again, It Seems…

What does the term “evolution” contribute to the discussion of the origin of human consciousness?
News
November 18, 2022
4
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

At Psychology Today, we read a bold and simple claim about the evolution of consciousness: “A type of information processing called unlimited associative learning (UAL) may be necessary and sufficient for very basic sentience.” The article by University of Toronto psychiatrist Ralph Lewis begins on a very self-assured note: Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. The gradualism of evolution has explained and dissolved life’s mysteries—life’s seemingly irreducible complexity and the illusion that living things possess some sort of mysterious vitalizing essence. So, too, evolution is likely to be key to demystifying the seemingly inexplicable, ethereal nature of consciousness. Ralph Lewis, “Learning May Be the Key to the Evolution of Consciousness” at Psychology Today (November 3, Read More ›

two-hands-holding-a-paper-with-human-head-and-a-puzzle-piece-finding-a-cure-to-heal-the-disease-mental-health-concept-memory-loss-and-dementia-disease-alzheimers-losing-brain-and-memory-function-stockpack-adobe-stock
Two hands holding a paper with human head and a puzzle piece. Finding a cure to heal the disease. Mental health concept, memory loss and dementia disease. Alzheimer's losing brain and memory function.
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post
Author
News
Date
November 11, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience

Why Is the Human Brain Different?

News
November 11, 2022
2
Neuroscience

Well, here’s one way. The human body is typically symmetrical. We have two kidneys and two nostrils. But that’s not what happens with the human brain, as researchers from the Max Planck Institute report: But this so-called lateralization, the tendency for brain regions to process certain functions more in the left or right hemisphere, varies from person to person. And not only in the minority whose brains are specialized mirror-inverted compared to the majority. Even people with classically arranged brains differ in how pronounced their asymmetry is. Earlier studies had shown that this, in turn, can also affect the functions themselves. For example, a lack of left asymmetry of certain language areas is observed in dyslexia. Insufficient brain lateralization also Read More ›

a-sad-young-female-student-sitting-at-the-table-studying-stockpack-adobe-stock
A sad young female student sitting at the table, studying.
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post
Author
News
Date
November 1, 2022
Categorized
Education, Mathematics, Neuroscience
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Can We Rewire Our Brains To Be More Fluent in Math?

An artsy who flunked math — but later became an electrical engineering prof — says yes
News
November 1, 2022
5
Education, Mathematics, Neuroscience

Barbara Oakley, a self-confessed math phobe, nonetheless became a professor of electrical engineering at Oakland University in Michigan, as well as an author. In 2014, she offered some secrets: at Nautilus. Be warned: Her secrets are not “Forget homework!” or “Math is a tool of oppression!” No, this is quite a different message. It’s about neuroplasticity, the ways our brains adapt to our circumstances, to give us the tools we need. But to adapt, the brain needs practice: Japan has become seen as a much-admired and emulated exemplar of these active, “understanding-centered” teaching methods. But what’s often missing from the discussion is the rest of the story: Japan is also home of the Kumon method of teaching mathematics, which emphasizes Read More ›

left-and-right-human-brain-anatomy-illustration-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock
Left and Right Human Brain Anatomy Illustration. 3D rendering
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post
Author
News
Date
November 1, 2022
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Study: Loss of Half the Brain Doesn’t Mean No Word, Face Contact

Researchers astounded: Contrary to theory, in a recent study, the single remaining brain hemisphere supported both word and face reading functions
News
November 1, 2022
4
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Some children have half of their brains removed (hemispherectomy) to control massive seizures that would otherwise destroy the child’s whole brain. Specialists were surprised that the children functioned fairly normally — certainly compared to what would have been expected. A recent study of post-hemispherectomy patients has provided dramatic evidence of rewiring: An unprecedented study of brain plasticity and visual perception found that people who, as children, had undergone surgery removing half of their brain correctly recognized differences between pairs of words or faces more than 80% of the time. Considering the volume of removed brain tissue, the surprising accuracy highlights the brain’s capacity — and its limitations — to rewire itself and adapt to dramatic surgery or traumatic injury. The Read More ›

types-of-coffee-placed-to-taste-or-smell-stockpack-adobe-stock
types of coffee placed to taste or smell
Type
post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
October 28, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Designed to Dine, Part 2: How, Exactly, We Compute Flavor

Once a universally enjoyed but scientifically ignored phenomenon, flavor bursts out as an extraordinary event of a biological computer
Richard W. Stevens
October 28, 2022
7
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Since Part 1 of this article was served up, have you experienced food and drink with greater awareness of flavor? Part 1 laid out the elements of flavor, including the smell, taste, texture, and mouth feel of foods and drinks. Smell delivers 80% of what we experience as flavor, coming from the thousands of sensory nerves in our noses detecting individual molecules. From the tongue comes taste sensations of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory). Flavor is like a dynamic 3-D hologram, a multi-dimensional composition of sensory inputs fluctuating in real-time, all delivered as data to the brain for final processing. Flavor makes eating fun! The Computation of Yummy The complicated and integrated systems of smell, taste, and other Read More ›

table-filled-with-snacks-and-traditional-eastern-european-lithuanian-food-for-a-feast-celebration-stockpack-adobe-stock
Table filled with snacks and traditional eastern European (Lithuanian) food for a feast celebration.
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post
Author
Richard W. Stevens
Date
October 27, 2022
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
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Designed to Dine: Humans are Computers of Flavor

Food itself has no flavor at all. Flavor is in the sensations — really the brain — of the beholder (and taster)
Richard W. Stevens
October 27, 2022
7
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Whether you’re a professional gourmet, a self-styled “foodie,” or an everyday North American who likes to eat, you probably look forward to celebration dinners. At any feast on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or the Passover Seder, the focal feature is the food. It doesn’t occur to us to ask: How do we sense the flavors of the food? After all, the food itself has no flavor at all. Flavor is in the mouth — and the nose, tongue, eyes, inner ears, and really the brain — of the beholder. Venture to learn how human beings enjoy food, and you’ll discover exquisite evidence of intelligent design. Like so many biological systems, detecting flavor involves specialized hardware components and the corresponding software to Read More ›

neural-networks-of-the-human-brain-3d-illustration-of-abstract-nerve-centers-electrical-impulses-in-brain-bright-full-color-stockpack-adobe-stock
Neural networks of the human brain. 3d illustration of abstract nerve centers. Electrical impulses in brain. Bright full color
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post
Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
October 21, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Neuroscience
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Rats with Human Brains? The Real Story About Brain Organoids

Human brain organoids use adult stem cells from volunteer donors; they bypass the use of fetal tissue from abortions
Heather Zeiger
October 21, 2022
8
Ethics, Neuroscience

In Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy (2013) , the characters in the first book navigate a dystopian near-future with few ethical boundaries. Chicken has been genetically modified to be nothing more than meat and a mouth. For entertainment, they watch either pornography or televised executions. One of the central characters, the scientist who made the genetically engineered humans, ends up unleashing a synthetic pathogen intended to rid the world of evil. The excesses are reminiscent of Earth as described in the Flood narrative in the Bible (“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.” Genesis 6:11). As in the Biblical account, a “flood” occurs when the synthetic pathogen ends up killing most of humanity. The remaining Read More ›