Brain Science Podcast #39: Michael Arbib on Mirror Neurons

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 Interview

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

Scientists Mentioned in the Interview:

• Giacomo Rizzolatti: His team discovered mirror neurons at the University of Parma, Italy
• Other team members: Vittorio Gallese, Luciano Fadiga, and Leo Fogassi
• Ursula Bellugi (Salk Institute): pioneered the neurobiology of sign language
• Richard Byrne (University of St. Andrews): studies how gorillas learn in the wild
• Michael Tomasello (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Anthropology): studies social behavior of primates, including how communicative gestures vary between groups.
• Noam Chomsky (MIT): famous linguist who has proposed an inborn universal grammar
• DL Cheney and RM Seyfarth: research about primate vocal behavior, especially the use of calls in the wild.

References:

• Cybernetics, by Norbert Wiener- this classic inspired Dr. Arbib’s career in computational neuroscience.
• Action to Language via the Mirror Neuron System, (2006) edited by Michael Arbib.
• Mirrors in the Brain by Giacomo Rizzolatti and Corrado Sinigaglia, 2008. Discussed in Episode 37.
• Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni, 2008. The author studies mirror neurons at UCLA.
• Rizzolatti G & Arbib MA Language within our grasp. Trends in Neuroscience 21(5): 188-194- the first paper describing the Mirror System Hypothesis, 1998.
• Iacoboni M, Molnar-Szakacs I, Gallese V, Buccino G, Mazziotta JC, et al. Grasping the intentions of others with one’s own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biol 3 (3): e79, 2005.
• Arbib, M.A., “From Monkey-like Action Recognition to Human Language: An Evolutionary Framework for Neurolinguistics” (with commentaries and author’s response), Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28:105-167. (Click here for supplemental commentaries and the author’s “electronic response.”) 2005.
• Arbib MA 2006 “Broca’s Area in System Perspective: Language in the Context of Action-Oriented Perception” in Broca’s Region, Oxford University Press, pp 153-168.
• Arbib MA 2008 “Invention and Community in the Emergence of Language: Insights from New Sign Languages,” in Foundations in Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience, Cambridge University Press.
• Click here for more papers by Dr. Arbib. He has also written over 40 books.

Other Links:

• Michael Arbib’s website

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Brain Science Podcast #38: Interview with Jeff Hawkins “On Intelligence”

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.

Download a transcript of this episode.

Links and References:

Jeff Hawkins: wikipedia entry

• On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins with Sandra Blakesle
• http://www.onintelligence.org
• Dileep George: co-founder of Numenta and principal architect of the first prototype implementing the hierarchical temporal memory system (HTM) patterned after the human neocortex.

Vernon Montcastle: pioneer who proposed that all parts of the brain’s cortex work the same way.

• Vernon Mountcastle (1978), “An Organizing Principle for Cerebral Function: The Unit Model and the Distributed System”, The Mindful Brain (Gerald M. Edelman and Vernon B. Mountcastle, eds.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press (Please let me know if you find this paper on-line!)
• Perceptual Neuroscience: The Cerebral Cortex by Vernon B. Mountcastle. This 1998 is recommended by Jeff Hawkins, especially for those interested in the technical details of cortical function.

Redwood Institute for Theoretical Neuroscience (UC-Berkeley) founded by Jeff Hawkins

Numenta: company website includes extensive educational information about hierarchical temporal memory system (HTM). The company’s focus is practical implementation of HTM Theory.

Listen to Episode 38

Download a transcript of this episode.

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Brain Science Podcast #37: Dr. John Medina discusses “Brain Rules”

John Medina, PhD

Episode 37 of the Brain Science Podcast is 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).

Links and References:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (Book & DVD) by John Medina

The book’s website contain extensive references and instructive videos.

YouTube Video of John Medina speaking at Google™.

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Brain Science Podcast #36: Art Glenberg on Embodied Cognition

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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Brain Science Podcast #34: Rachel Herz talks about Smell

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

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Brain Science Podcast #33: Exercise and the Brain

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 #31: Brain Rhythms with György Buzsáki

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

Transcript of Episode 31

• 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.

Listen to this episode now.

Transcript of Episode 31 by Diane Jacobs

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Natasha Mitchell interviews Jonah Lehrer about “Proust was a Neuroscientist”

The February 9th episode of All in the Mind is an excellent interview of author Jonah Lehrer about his book Proust was a Neuroscientist. In the interview Lehrer reflects on the danger of viewing science as the sole source of discovery, but he also talks a little about several of the people explored in his book. His basic premise is that artists from various fields often intuitively grasped truths that are now being revealed by neuroscience. One example is the insights that Proust had about memory.

Proust was a Neuroscientist is a valuable contribution to the current exploration of the relevance of neuroscience to everyday life. It can be easily read in a few sittings or savored one artist at a time.

Natasha Mitchell is an excellent interviewer because she always asks interesting and probing questions. (I think of her as the Australian Terry Gross.). All in the Mind is an excellent compliment to the Brain Science Podcast.

Mitchell has recently begun an All in the Mind blog and there is a new All in the Mind group on Facebook.

Brain Science Podcast #29: Interview with Dr. Maryanne Wolf

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:
  • Faculty page at Tufts
  • Director of The Center for Reading and Language Development
  • Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

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

Listen to this episode now.

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Hear Steven Novella on the latest episode of Books and Ideas

In response to listener requests I recently interviewed Dr. Steven Novella from the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This has been posted as episode 16 of Books and Ideas, my other podcast. The details are available in the show notes on the Books and Ideas website. I hope you will consider subscribing to the podcast, but if you just want to hear the interview, here is a link to the audio.

Listen to Dr. Novella’s interview

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