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 [...]
Posts Tagged ‘psychology’
Podcast 5 – Our Interview With David Eagleman
February 6th, 2013 
The Connectome 
Posted in Featured, Podcasts 
Tags: consciousness, functional networks, memory, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychology, senses, synesthesia, vision 
1 Comment »
The Lurking Lizard
September 7th, 2012 The Connectome He has haunted us for more than fifty years – this strange scientist, with his theory of primal reptiles embedded in each of us. And for years I wondered, Could this bizarre hypothesis be true? Might it explain the ancient instincts – so contrary to my intentions – which I felt arising from the depths [...]
Posted in Feature Stories, Featured Tags: biology, evolution, functional networks, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychology 1 Comment »
Lying Eyes
July 12th, 2012 The Connectome Despite what you may have heard, you can’t tell if a person’s lying by watching their eyes. If you’re surprised, you’re not alone – I thought that theory made a lot of sense until I read this new study. As it turns out, the eye idea just doesn’t line up with the evidence. As far [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychology, science to the rescue! No Comments »
Podcast 3 – Habits: Making ‘Em & Breaking ‘Em
June 15th, 2012 The Connectome On episode 3 of the Connectome podcast, Ben digs into our habits: why they form, why they stick, and how to break ‘em. But he also shares some insights on making your habits work for you – to motivate you to stay fit and productive. Click here to subscribe in iTunes. Here’s a direct [...]
Posted in Featured, Podcasts Tags: anxiety, habits, learning, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neurophysiology, psychology 1 Comment »
Sleep, Stress and Snacks
June 12th, 2012 The Connectome A lack of sleep makes our brains go nuts for unhealthy food, says a new study. When sleep-deprived people are shown images of junk food, fMRI scans show that their brains’ reward centers light up with far more intense anticipation than those of people who’ve slept a full night. The Fourthmeal marketing team, I assume, [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychology, sleep, stress No Comments »
Whisperers in Darkness
May 31st, 2012 The Connectome Last night I awoke with my head under the covers, to the sounds of strange chitterings and scratchings in the darkness around me. For a few seconds I lay frozen, hoping the sounds would fade – but they only grew louder and drew nearer – until at last, unable to stand it any longer, I [...]
Posted in Feature Stories, Featured Tags: biology, consciousness, psychology, senses, sleep No Comments »
Becoming Bad
May 13th, 2012 The Connectome The brains of psychopaths are anatomically different from healthy brains in a specific set of ways, says a new study. Areas of the brain that enable us to feel guilt and fear, and to understand other people’s emotions – particularly the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex and the temporal poles – are significantly smaller in psychopathic [...]
Posted in Brain News, Featured Tags: emotions, fear, neuroanatomy, psychology, psychopathy 2 Comments »
Science, Pseudoscience, and Souls
April 24th, 2012 The Connectome This article, Near Death Explained by Mario Beauregard, doesn’t actually explain what out-of-body experiences are. What it does is propose non-scientific answers derived from fallacious reasoning. Which is intensely frustrating, because Beauregard is writing about an awesome topic: What happens in our brains when we have out-of-body experiences (OBEs)? I mean, who wouldn’t want to know that? What makes [...]
Posted in Feature Stories, Featured Tags: consciousness, dreams, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychology, science to the rescue! No Comments »
Into the Labyrinth
April 16th, 2012 The Connectome Have you ever found that the more obsessed you become with a certain topic, the more references to it keep spontaneously appearing in your life? That’s what’s been happening to me over the past few weeks, as I’ve spent just about every free moment preparing and polishing my TED talk. The talk is a celebration of one of [...]
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 [...]
