Some Recent Research About Embodied Cognition

There is an ongoing debate on the Brain Science Podcast Discussion Forum about whether the importance of embodiment is an essential obstacle to trying to simulate human cognition with computers.  Meanwhile, the role of embodiment in cognition continues to be a growing area of research.  I enjoyed a recent post on the Scientific American Community website entitled, Thinking with the Body, by Art Glenberg from Arizona State University.  He reviews recent research by Holt and Bellock.  The bottom line is that even when people are involved in verbal tasks, like reading sentences, their comprehension is influenced by their body knowledge of what is being described.

You can read more at Mind Matters: Neuroscience, Psychology, Psychiatry, and More.

Neuroplasticity with Dr. Norman Doidge (BSP 26)

Episode 26 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Dr. Norman Doidge, MD, author of The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science (2007).  Dr. Doidge and I agree that neuroplasticity is the most important discovery about the brain that has been made in several hundred years.  In his interview, Dr. Doidge talks about some of the obstacles that delayed this discovery including what he calls the "plastic paradox," which is the fact that plasticity itself can contribute to the development of rigid behaviors, including addictions and bad habits.

The Brain That Changes Itself includes the work of the key scientists of neuroplasticity.  In my conversation with Dr. Doidge, we talked about the work of Paul Bach-y-Rita, Edward Taub, and VS Ramachandran.  Dr. Doidge also shared how his own work is being affected, and why he thinks neuroplasticity has the potential to lead to more important discoveries.

I will be talking to Dr. Taub in Episode 28.  If you are new to the Brain Science Podcast, you may want to go back and listen to Episode 10, which is where I first introduced neuroplasticity in my discussion of Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves, by Sharon Begley.

You can learn more about Dr. Doidge's work at his website: http://normandoidge.com

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• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

Sandra Blakeslee (BSP 23)

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.

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• Buy Transcript for $1.

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Show Notes

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 classic 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.

• Interview of Sandra Blakeslee (Episode 23).

• Discussion of her latest book (Episode 21).

• Brief Review of On Intelligence (Episode 2).

Consciousness with Christof Koch (BSP 22)

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.

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

• Buy mp3 for $1.

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• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

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)

Update on 2012-05-03 15:42 by Ginger Campbell, MD

Christof Koch returned to the Brain Science Podcast in Episode 84.

A review of "The Body Has a Mind of Its Own" (BSP 21)

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)

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

• Buy mp3 for $1.

• Buy Transcript for $1.

• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

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 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 demonstrated that the right frontal insula and left prefrontal cortex increase in size in experienced meditators.

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):

• Primary Sensory Cortex.

• Primary Motor Cortex.

• Premotor Cortex.

• Frontal Insula.

• Parietal lobe.

• Amygdala.

• Anterior Cingulate Gyrus.

Brain Science Podcast's First Six Months (BSP 14)

Although the first full episode of the Brain Science Podcast appeared on December 15, 2006, I went live with an introductory podcast around December 1, 2006.  (I have deleted episode 0 from the feed).  At any rate, I decided it was time to look back over the first six months and reflect on some of the topics we have covered.

This is one of the shorter episodes, but I hope it will bring some of the key ideas back to mind (and encourage new listeners to go back and get the older episodes).  It will also give you a glimpse of what we will be discussing in the next few months.

As always, I welcome comments and suggestions.

How to get this episode:

• Premium Subscribers now have unlimited access to all old episodes and transcripts.

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• Transcripts: BSP 1-14

• New episodes of the Brain Science Podcast are always FREE.  All episodes posted after January 1, 2013, are free.  See the individual show notes for links the audio files.

Listen in your Favorite Audio app: Audible, Amazon music, Pandora, Spotify, YouTube and many more.

Why Quantum Mechanics Can't Explain Consciousness

Quantum mechanics can't explain consciousness, and I am going to explore why.

The reason I bring this up is that many people seem to be worried that the mounting evidence that the brain generates the mind implies that free will can not exist.  Of course, most of us feel strongly that we do have free will.  Various arguments are put forth to "save" free will. (I am not going to tackle the claim that it needs saving in this post.)  One recent approach has been to use the uncertainty inherent in quantum mechanics as a potential location for free will.  John Searle has observed that this only gives us randomness, not free will, but that doesn't seem to reduce the appeal of such an approach.

Today I wish to argue against using quantum mechanics to explain any aspect of consciousness by considering and entirely different point of view.  My argument is simple: I think trying to use quantum mechanics is taking the argument in the wrong direction.

Consciousness is clearly an emergent property.  The latest evidence is that there is no master site of consciousness or control in the brain.  If that is the case looking to the subatomic level is clearly a move in the wrong direction.  It makes as much sense as trying to understand the properties of water by studying hydrogen and oxygen.  Because water emerges from the combination of the two, studying its components tells us little about water.