This is the FREE Transcript for BS 214: Seventeenth Annual Review.

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This is the Premium Transcript for BS 213 with Kevin Mitchell, author of Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will.

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In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the important issue of determinism, siding with those physicists who argue that the fundamental nature of our universe is NOT deterministic. These issues are crucial to how we see ourselves and others.

Links and References:

• Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will by Kevin J. Mitchell 
• Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution by Carlo Rovelli
• Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are by Kevin J. Mitchell
  • Mitchell discusses this book in BS 159.
• Kevin Mitchell, PhD (Trinity College Dublin)
  • Mitchell's blog
• Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional references and episode transcripts.

Announcements:

• Please note: there will be no episode of Brain Science in November 2023. We will return with the 17th Annual Review episode on December 15.
• Please FOLLOW the Brain Science podcast channel on YouTube.
• The mobile app has been updated and is now called Brain Science Podcast. The app is free and MyLibsyn Premium subscribers can use it to access transcripts and other premium content.
• Dr. Campbell moved to Auckland, New Zealand in August 2023. Please reach out if you live in New Zealand or Australia.
• Please subscribe or follow Brain Science in your favorite audio app and please share it with others.
• Get free gift "5 Things You Need to Know about YOUR Brain when you sign up for the free Brain ScienceNewsletter to get show notes automatically every month. You can also text brainscience to 55444 to sign up.
• Support Brain Science by buying Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty by Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD. (Autographed copies are available)
• Learn more ways to support Brain Science at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium

Connect on Social Media:

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• Twitter: @docartemis
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Contact Dr. Campbell:

• Email: brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com

This is the FREE Transcript for BS 212 with is an encore presentation of an interview with Thomas Metzinger, author of The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self.

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This month's episode of Brain Science features Thomas Metzinger, author of "The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self." Metzinger is a philosopher with a longstanding interest in Philosophy of Mind with a focus on incorporating the findings of neuroscience. We discuss the implications of the discovery that consciousness is a biological process generated by the interaction of the brain, body, and external world. Metzinger also emphasized the importance of considering altered states including dreaming, out of body experiences, and even virtual reality.

Links and References:

• The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self, by Thomas Metzinger.
• Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity, by Thomas Metzinger.
• Blanke, et al., "Stimulating Illusory Own-Body Perceptions," Nature, 419:269-270 (2002)  
• O. Blanke & T. Metzinger,"Full-Body Illusion and Minimal Phenomenal Selfhood," Trends in Cognitive Neuroscience 13(1):7-13 (2009).
• T. Metzinger, "Out of Body Experiences as the Origin of the Concept of a 'Soul,'"  Mind and Matter 3(1):57-84 (2005)
• Beyond the Body: An Investigation of Out of Body Experiences by Susan Blackmore 
• Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional references and episode transcripts.

Announcements:

• Please FOLLOW the Brain Science podcast channel on YouTube.
• The mobile app has been updated and is now called Brain Science Podcast. The app is free and MyLibsyn Premium subscribers can use it to access transcripts and other premium content.
• Dr. Campbell's arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on August 10, 2023. She is working at Tōtara Hospice. Please reach out if you live in New Zealand or Australia.
• Please subscribe or follow Brain Science in your favorite audio app and please share it with others.
• Get free gift "5 Things You Need to Know about YOUR Brain when you sign up for the free Brain ScienceNewsletter to get show notes automatically every month. You can also text brainscience to 55444 to sign up.
• Support Brain Science by buying Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty by Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD. (Autographed copies are available)
• Learn more ways to support Brain Science at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium

Connect on Social Media:

• Mastodon: https://neuromatch.social/@docartemis
• Twitter: @docartemis
• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/brainsciencepodcast

Contact Dr. Campbell:

• Email: brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com

This episode of Brain Science features the return of molecular biologist Seth Grant. We briefly review his decades of research into the complexity of the protein structure of the synapse and then we focus on his most recent paper, which describes how the life-span of synapse proteins appears to change as animals age. Grant reflects of the significance of this finding both for animal research and human medicine.

Papers discussed in this episode: 

• Bulovaite, E., Qiu, Z., Kratschke, M., Zgraj, A., Fricker, D. G., Tuck, E. J., Gokhale, R., Koniaris, B., Jami, S. A., Merino-Serrais, P., Husi, E., Mendive-Tapia, L., Vendrell, M., O'Dell, T. J., DeFelipe, J., Komiyama, N. H., Holtmaat, A., Fransén, E., & Grant, S. G. N. (2022). A brain atlas of synapse protein lifetime across the mouse lifespan. Neuron, 110(24), 4057–4073.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2022.09.009
• Cizeron, M., Qiu, Z., Koniaris, B., Gokhale, R., Komiyama, N. H., Fransén, E., & Grant, S. G. N. (2020). A brainwide atlas of synapses across the mouse life span. Science (New York, N.Y.), 369(6501), 270–275. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba3163

Seth Grant has previously appeared on Brain Science several times including BSP 51, BSP 101, BS 137, BSP 150 and BS 176.

Announcements:

• Please FOLLOW the Brain Science podcast channel on YouTube.
• The mobile app has been updated and is now called Brain Science Podcast. The app is free and MyLibsyn Premium subscribers can use it to access transcripts and other premium content.
• Dr. Campbell arrived in New Zealand on August 10, 2023. Please reach out if you live in New Zealand or Australia.
• Please subscribe or follow Brain Science in your favorite audio app and please share it with others.
• Get free gift "5 Things You Need to Know about YOUR Brain when you sign up for the free Brain ScienceNewsletter to get show notes automatically every month. You can also text brainscience to 55444 to sign up.
• Support Brain Science by buying Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty by Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD. (Autographed copies are available)
• Learn more ways to support Brain Science at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium

Connect on Social Media:

• Mastadon: https://neuromatch.social/@docartemis
• Twitter: @docartemis
• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/brainsciencepodcast

Contact Dr. Campbell:

• Email: brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com

This episode is our first review of neurotransmitters since episode 8 way back in 2007. We start with some basics of neuron function and brain anatomy, but the meat of the episode is a discussion of neurotransmitters and how they work. The key idea is that a simple molecule, such as dopamine, can have a wide variety of effects because of the existence of multiple receptors.

This episode is appropriate for listeners of all backgrounds, but might be a little challenging for new listeners. It will be a review episode for longtime listeners and those with backgrounds in neuroscience.

Links and References:

• Essentials of Modern Neuroscience by Franklin Amthor, W. Anne Burton Theibert, David Standaert, and Erik Roberson; 1st ed. 2020
• Molecular & Cell Biology For Dummies, 2nd Edition by Rene Fester Kratz
• BS 118: Beyond the Zonules of Zinn: A Fantastic Journey Through Your Brain (2008) by David Bainbridge
• BS 169: Glial Cells with Doug Fields
• BS 186: The Spike with Mark Humphries
• BS 197: Neuroscience For Dummies 3rd Edition by Frank Amthor
• The War of the Soups and the Sparks: The Discovery of Neurotransmitters and the Dispute Over How Nerves Communicate by Elliot Valenstein
• Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional references and episode transcripts.In

Announcements:

• Please FOLLOW the Brain Science podcast channel on YouTube.
• The mobile app has been updated and is now called Brain Science Podcast. The app is free and MyLibsyn Premium subscribers can use it to access transcripts and other premium content.
• Dr. Campbell's move to New Zealand has been delayed, but she hopes to be in Auckland by August, 2023. Please reach out if you live in New Zealand or Australia.
• Please subscribe or follow Brain Science in your favorite audio app and please share it with others.
• Get free gift "5 Things You Need to Know about YOUR Brain when you sign up for the free Brain ScienceNewsletter to get show notes automatically every month. You can also text brainscience to 55444 to sign up.
• Support Brain Science by buying Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty by Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD. (Autographed copies are available)
• Learn more ways to support Brain Science at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium

Connect on Social Media:

• Mastadon: https://neuromatch.social/@docartemis
• Twitter: @docartemis
• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/brainsciencepodcast

Contact Dr. Campbell:

• Email: brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com