On Episode 7 of the Connectome podcast, we rejoin our two-part roundtable discussion on the nature of intelligence, on the differences between biological and artificial intelligence, and on the ways in which the idea of digital intelligence can inform our understanding of how our own minds work. (Here’s the link to Part 1 of this [...]
Posts Tagged ‘memory’
Podcast 7 – Roundtable With David Saintloth and Wai Tsang (Part 2)
April 15th, 2013 
The Connectome 
Posted in Featured, Podcasts 
Tags: consciousness, intelligence, learning, memory, neurophysiology, senses, technology 
2 Comments »
Podcast 5 – Our Interview With David Eagleman
February 6th, 2013 The Connectome On episode 5 of the Connectome podcast, Ben chats with David Eagleman, author of the international bestseller Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain. Eagleman’s lab mainly studies the ways our brains encode sensory perceptions – but as you’ll hear, he’s also fascinated by questions on the nature of consciousness, synesthesia, meaning and representation, and [...]
Posted in Featured, Podcasts Tags: consciousness, functional networks, memory, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychology, senses, synesthesia, vision 1 Comment »
Memories on a Microchip
July 25th, 2012 The Connectome Are your memories real? How do you know? These sound like questions from a mind-bending thriller – Total Recall, say; or Inception. But this isn’t science fiction. Researchers around the world are implanting memories, turning them on and off – and, according to one team, storing them on microchips. Wow. Okay. Let’s back up here. [...]
Posted in Feature Stories, Featured Tags: learning, memory, neurons, technology, technosophy 3 Comments »
Prometheus Unbound
May 26th, 2012 The Connectome What would you do if you could feel any way you wanted, at will? I’m not just talking about mind-hacks for calming yourself down or getting motivated. I mean, what if you could become drunk, instantly, just by deciding to – and then completely sober up at a moment’s notice? What if tripping on mescaline [...]
Posted in Feature Stories, Featured Tags: biochemistry, biology, memory, technology, technosophy No Comments »
The Depths of Decisions
May 5th, 2012 The Connectome Our brains – and the brains of other animals – actually run through superfast replays of past experiences as we make decisions, says a new study. This process isn’t one we usually have conscious access to – but without it, we might not be able to learn from the past at all. Memory seems pretty [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: consciousness, learning, memory, neuroanatomy, neurons, neurophysiology, senses No Comments »
Memory Control
March 23rd, 2012 The Connectome Scientists can now turn a particular memory “on” and “off” by controlling the specific neurons that help encode it, a new study reports. Thanks to cutting-edge technology that allows researchers to control individual brain cells, a team has found a way to activate and deactivate memories of certain environments in mouse brains. The past few [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: biology, learning, memory, neuroanatomy, neurons, neurophysiology, senses, technology 2 Comments »
Reward Lasers
March 21st, 2012 The Connectome Our ability to feel pleasure in rewarding situations depends on a delicate balance of two specific types of brain circuits, a new study reports. By using targeted lasers to activate specific cells in a mouse brain, researchers can disrupt and reactivate small sections of that brain’s reward pathway, causing mice to drastically change their behavior. [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: biochemistry, biology, depression, drugs, learning, memory, neurochemistry, neurophysiology, technology 4 Comments »
Mixed-Up Memories
March 13th, 2012 The Connectome Just a minute of physical exertion can seriously impair a person’s memory of the threat that triggered it, says a new study. When we undergo a strenuous task, such as a chase or a fight, immediately after witnessing an event, we have much less ability to remember the event’s details than if we’d taken time [...]
Forget Me Not
March 2nd, 2012 The Connectome Having trouble remembering where you left your keys? You can improve with a little practice, says a new study. It’s an idea that had never occurred to me before, but one that seems weirdly obvious once you think about it: people who train their brains to recall the locations of objects for a few minutes [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: aging, fMRI, imaging, learning, memory, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, senses, vision No Comments »The Memory Master
January 18th, 2012 The Connectome A gene that may underlie the molecular mechanisms of memory has been identified, says a new study. The gene’s called neuronal PAS domain protein 4 (Npas4 to its friends). When a brain has a new experience, Npas4 leaps into action, activating a whole series of other genes that modify the strength of synapses – the connections [...]
Posted in Brain News Tags: biochemistry, learning, memory, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neurons, neurophysiology, synapses 1 Comment »
