Archive of blog posts on neuroscience, science policy, and philosophy of mind.https://www.guitchounts.com/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2017-01-02-sleeping-on-the-wing/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2017-01-02-sleeping-on-the-wing/There is an old Monty Python skit where John Cleese and Graham Chapman play airplane pilots. Presumably on a long, tedious flight, they are clearly bored and keen on amusing themselves at the expense of their passengers. They find entertainment through relaying worrisome, nonsensical messages. CleesMon, 02 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-11-12-activity-recall-in-a-visual-cortical-ensemble/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-11-12-activity-recall-in-a-visual-cortical-ensemble/Associational memory, as its name implies, is a type of memory that allows one to fuse multiple events in memory. If your boss constantly yells at you in his office, you might begin to form some bad memories of being in that office. While the phenomenon of associative memory is a familiar experienceWed, 12 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-06-22-bat-and-bird-songs-for-systems-neuroscience/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-06-22-bat-and-bird-songs-for-systems-neuroscience/This week’s Science features an article about the songs of bats - not the ultrasonic echolocating calls most often associated with these wonderful creatures but complex vocalizations that bats use socially. The most well-studied “songsters,” as the author, Virginia Morell, calls them, are songbirds.Sun, 22 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-06-17-coordination-between-motor-and-sensory-systems/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-06-17-coordination-between-motor-and-sensory-systems/One interesting problem in systems neuroscience is how the nervous system’s motor output interacts with its sensory systems. Sensory inputs that result from motor commands must be either filtered out or used to guide future motor actions. In other words, the organism must distinguish between sensoryTue, 17 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-06-03-milk-does-not-cause-autism/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-06-03-milk-does-not-cause-autism/The radical organization whose supposed mission is to protect animal welfare now says that cow milk not only worsens autistic symptoms but can actually cause autism too . PETA’s campaign to stop people from using animal products latched on to obscure studies of dietary influences on autistic symptomTue, 03 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-29-using-the-brain-to-treat-the-body-s-diseases/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-29-using-the-brain-to-treat-the-body-s-diseases/There’s an article in New York Times Magazine about using electrical signals in the nervous system to signal to the rest of the body to somehow alter molecular signaling outside the nervous system. Neuroscientists have known for a while that neurons transmit messages by electro-chemical signals: at Thu, 29 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-21-how-does-sensory-experience-change-cortex/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-21-how-does-sensory-experience-change-cortex/The neocortex is an evolutionarily new part of the brain unique to mammals and is responsible for high level sensation, movement and cognition. It wouldn't be fair to summarize in a sentence or two what cortex "does," but it is clear that it is an important part of the brain. Korbinian Brodmann famoWed, 21 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-16-connectomic-reconstruction-of-direction-selective-circuit-in-the-retina/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-16-connectomic-reconstruction-of-direction-selective-circuit-in-the-retina/Connectomics is the area of neuroscience that aims to collect and curate the entirety of the connections made by all neurons in a brain (the product being called a “connectome”). For the human brain, that would be a data set of 100 billion neurons, each of which is estimated to make 1000-10000 synapFri, 16 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-09-oklahoma-s-torture-execution/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2014-05-09-oklahoma-s-torture-execution/With the world in shock over the botched execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma last week, rather than questioning the morality of capital punishment, we should reevaluate America’s prison system as a whole. With an ever-growing population of inmates, America’s prisons are operating under the arcaFri, 09 May 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-05-13-congress-to-peer-review-science-funding/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-05-13-congress-to-peer-review-science-funding/There is a bill circulating in the House of Representatives, sponsored by Lamar Smith of Texas, that aims to give Congress the power of oversight over government grants for scientific research. Grants from the National Science Foundation are given out to basic research projects based on their scientMon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-04-06-the-president-s-brain-initiative/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-04-06-the-president-s-brain-initiative/At three pounds, 100 billion cells, 10,000 as many connections, the human brain makes Facebook look like child’s play of a network, not without reason: our brains are solely responsible for our every thought, emotion and action. The human brain is the most complicated machine in the known universe. Sat, 06 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-01-14-idolatry-in-science/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-01-14-idolatry-in-science/Gary Marcus recently celebrated Noam Chomsky in an essay about the famous linguist’s life and influence on the field of linguistics over the past fifty years. There is no doubt that Chomsky has had tremendous impact on American intellectual life over the years, from work on language to political andMon, 14 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-01-06-runaway-selection-in-birds-of-paradise/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2013-01-06-runaway-selection-in-birds-of-paradise/I watched a program on PBS the other night about birds of paradise – exotic birds from New Guinea with elaborate displays. To attract females, males have evolved these intricate feathers and courtship dances and rituals. A Parotia male, for example, will clear out a dancing ground and when a female Sun, 06 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2012-11-18-electrodes-not-electrons/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2012-11-18-electrodes-not-electrons/Sun, 18 Nov 2012 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-12-lost-thoughts-in-the-wake-sleep-transition/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-12-lost-thoughts-in-the-wake-sleep-transition/Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-09-tap-fish-and-the-frontal-lobe/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-09-tap-fish-and-the-frontal-lobe/Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-08-what-doesnt-kill-you/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-08-what-doesnt-kill-you/Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-07-science-religion-and-values-magisteria-redefined/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-07-science-religion-and-values-magisteria-redefined/Science and religion have been archenemies for some time now, with one on a quest for knowledge and truth, and the other seeking to fill a perceived void of meaning in lives. Logical inspection confirms the two systems are incompatible with one another, since science requires evidence for all claimsWed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-05-brainy-computers/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-05-brainy-computers/Mon, 05 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-02-dancing-for-science/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-02-dancing-for-science/Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-01-descriptive-vs-predictive-models/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-12-01-descriptive-vs-predictive-models/Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-30-whale-song-analysis-crowd-sourcing/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-30-whale-song-analysis-crowd-sourcing/Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-30-what-are-experts-for/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-30-what-are-experts-for/Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-29-not-another-rodent/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-29-not-another-rodent/Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-16-who-s-in-charge/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-16-who-s-in-charge/Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-15-automated-in-vivo-patch-clamp/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-15-automated-in-vivo-patch-clamp/Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-13-opto-fmri/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-13-opto-fmri/Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-11-jeff-lichtman-on-the-connectome/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-11-jeff-lichtman-on-the-connectome/Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-09-optogenetics-to-cure-alzheimer-s/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-09-optogenetics-to-cure-alzheimer-s/Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-06-fertilized-eggs-are-now-people/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-11-06-fertilized-eggs-are-now-people/Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-09-27-trendy-lines-for-coffee-and-depression/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-09-27-trendy-lines-for-coffee-and-depression/Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-08-08-wonder-and-magic/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-08-08-wonder-and-magic/Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-07-26-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-07-26-the-hard-problem-of-consciousness/Tue, 26 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-05-15-is-is-not-ought/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-05-15-is-is-not-ought/Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-04-12-robert-sapolsky-individual-differences/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-04-12-robert-sapolsky-individual-differences/Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-04-01-new-class-of-cognitive-enhancers-to-transform-mankind/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-04-01-new-class-of-cognitive-enhancers-to-transform-mankind/Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-03-25-i/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-03-25-i/Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-03-10-untangling-the-wires/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-03-10-untangling-the-wires/Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-02-27-middle-world/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-02-27-middle-world/Sun, 27 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-02-15-moral-code/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-02-15-moral-code/Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-01-27-connectomics-is-the-name-connections-are-the-game/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2011-01-27-connectomics-is-the-name-connections-are-the-game/Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-10-28-scientific-misinformation/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-10-28-scientific-misinformation/Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-08-20-replacing-neurons/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-08-20-replacing-neurons/Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-08-12-reading-good-for-you/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-08-12-reading-good-for-you/Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-08-05-extra-extra-storm-brewing-in-espresso-shot/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-08-05-extra-extra-storm-brewing-in-espresso-shot/Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-07-20-blue-brains/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-07-20-blue-brains/Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-07-07-toasters-with-feelings/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-07-07-toasters-with-feelings/Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-06-18-on-daring-to-discuss-women-in-science/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-06-18-on-daring-to-discuss-women-in-science/Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-05-21-howard-hughes-medical-institute-awards-bu-neuroscience-1-5-million/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-05-21-howard-hughes-medical-institute-awards-bu-neuroscience-1-5-million/Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-04-14-memristors-to-replace-your-neurons-thanks-but-no-thanks/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2010-04-14-memristors-to-replace-your-neurons-thanks-but-no-thanks/Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2009-06-17-evolutionary-neurobehavior-laboratory/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2009-06-17-evolutionary-neurobehavior-laboratory/Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2009-06-15-erasing-memories/https://www.guitchounts.com/blog/2009-06-15-erasing-memories/Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT