“Peer into Alan Alda’s head to find out which parts of our brain are responsible for our most human characteristics. Where do tool use and language reside? And how do our brains allow us to understand symbolism, figure out what others are thinking, and even travel in time? Are insight and imagination what really make humans unique?” – from PBS
The Human Spark . Video: Full Episode – Program Three: Brain Matters | PBS.
“Here’s the thing about babies. When we’re born, we get the brain cells we need, but the connections between cells haven’t formed yet. In those first few years as we explore the world, the cells begin to link up at a dizzying pace, forming tens of thousands, even millions of new links. When you watch Edward you can almost feel it happening.” – from NPR website -
Watch Synaptic Exuberance.
Watch Him Roll! Baby Edwards Amazing Brain : Krulwich Wonders… : NPR.
“Science correspondent Miles O’Brien looks at what could be happening to teenagers’ brains as they develop in a rapid-fire, multitasking world of technology and gadgets” – from PBS
Is Technology Wiring Teens to Have Better Brains? | PBS NewsHour | Jan. 5, 2011 | PBS.
Exposing a Galaxy within the Brain
A new imaging method developed at Stanford reveals the complex array of synapses in the cortex
Dr. Susan Greenfield, Neuroscientists, discusses the future of the brain in this ABC Video.
Susan Greenfield: The Future of the Brain | Big Ideas – ABC Video.
This is the video of the Dr. Elizabeth Gould presentation on neurogenesis for the RSA.
A must watch video on neurogenesis. See link below:
Presentation by Dr. Norman Doidge in 2008, author of The Brain That Changes Itself.
“The Blue Brain Project is the first comprehensive attempt to reverse-engineer the mammalian brain, in order to understand brain function and dysfunction through detailed simulations.
Computer simulations in neuroscience hold the promise of dramatically enhancing the scientific method by providing a means to test hypotheses using predictive models of complex biological processes where experiments are not feasible. Of course, simulations are only as good as the quality of the data and the accuracy of the mathematical abstraction of the biological processes. The first phase of the Blue Brain Project therefore started after 15 years of systematically dissecting the microanatomical, genetic and electrical properties of the elementary unit of the neocortex – a single neocortical column, which is a little larger than the head of a pin. From the data gathered from 15,000 experiments in rat somatosensory cortex, it became possible to begin constructing amodel of this part of the brain.
The project has focused, however, not only on building a model of the neocortical column, but on developing a generic facility that could allow rapid modeling, simulation and experimentation of any brain region, if the data can be measured and provided according to specifications. The facility has been used to build the first model of the neocortical column, which consists of 10,000 3D digitizations of real neurons that are populated with model ion channels constrained by the genetic makeup of over 200 different types of neurons. A parallel supercomputer is used to build the model and perform the experiments so that the behavior of the tissue can be predicted through simulations.” – from Blue Brain Project website
See Video of Blue Brain Project:
See website: Blue Brain Project.
