“Dr. Tononi sees serious problems in these models. When people lose consciousness from epileptic seizures, for instance, their brain waves become more synchronized. If synchronization were the key to consciousness, you would expect the seizures to make people hyperconscious instead of unconscious, he said. “

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/science/21consciousness.html?_r=1

Jouny et al (2010) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19910249 surely should have suggested that this is premature closure, with an INCREASE in signal complexity – that is, decline in synchrony – associated with seizure

Our study of ECOG data (electrodes directly attached to the cortex, not on the scalp) confirms this. Sleep signal is least complex/disordered under PCA, first component explains 97%, awake is next, with 93% explained by the first component, while seizure has just 63% explained by first component.

Sean O Nuallain PhD

Terry Sejnowski discusses the recent ‘catfight’ that erupted between Dharmenda Modha of IBM and Henry Markram of the EPFL over claims from Modha that his group had successfully modeled the brain of a cat.

Dr. Sejnowski provides a summary of the quest to describe the nervous system using computational models and introduces a central question: What level of abstraction is appropriate?

“Looking at the same neuron, physicists and engineers tend to see the simplicity whereas biologists tend to see the complexity. The problem with simplified models is that they may be throwing away the baby with the bathwater. The problem with biophysical models is that the number of details is nearly infinite and much of it is unknown. How much brain function is lost by using simplified neurons and circuits?”

Despite the differing approaches, both Modha and Markram say we’ll have a model human brain by 2019. Sejnowski claims that these will be impoverished brain models, “at best these simulations will resemble a baby brain, or perhaps a psychotic one”, but he does remain hopeful in his closing remarks:

“And gradually, as it increasingly mimics the workings of our brains, the world around us will become smarter and more efficient. As this cognitive infrastructure evolves, it may someday even reach a point where it will rival our brains in power and sophistication. Intelligence will inherit the earth.”

Submitted By: Dan Knudsen

The findings on IQ mentioned in the report are remarkable. The standing debate on the importance of IQ is also on display here. Researchers have found that 25% of what makes one successful can be attributed to IQ -but Dr. Gabrieli points to findings that increases in IQ are linked to “a better paying job, a healthy future, more stability in your family life.” This makes the prospect of “training intelligence” to increase IQ scores all the more alluring and relevant. A demonstration of a computer working memory task that is used to “train intelligence” is featured in the segment.

Watch the segment here:

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/health/2010/03/22/am.cho.intelligence.part1.cnn

Read more about the working memory task featured in the segment:

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/04/25/0801268105.abstract

-A Neurodudes Reader

The conference sessions will cover several key areas in the neuroprosthetic development, such as deep brain stimulation for treatment of Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, devices for restoring hearing and overcoming muscle paralysis, microelectrode biocompatibility, and novel microelectrode technologies. For detailed conference program and registration information, please visit http://www.bsrc.nctu.edu.tw/ICND/.

A technical report with some results in the field of
EEG/MEG-neuroimaging (including eLORETA) can be downloaded from:

http://arxiv.org/abs/0710.3341

Title and abstract are included below.
I hope by mid-November-2007 to have the software available (free,
academic, public domain, as usual).
Feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Cordially,
Roberto

–
R.D. Pascual-Marqui
The KEY Institute for Brain-Mind Research
University Hospital of Psychiatry
pascualm at key.uzh.ch
www.keyinst.uzh.ch/loreta
—————————————————–

Discrete, 3D distributed, linear imaging methods of electric neuronal
activity. Part 1: exact, zero error localization

Abstract: This paper deals with the EEG/MEG neuroimaging problem:
given measurements of scalp electric potential differences (EEG:
electroencephalogram) and extracranial magnetic fields (MEG:
magnetoencephalogram), find the 3D distribution of the generating
electric neuronal activity. This problem has no unique solution. Only
particular solutions with “good” localization properties are of
interest, since neuroimaging is concerned with the localization of
brain function. In this paper, a general family of linear imaging
methods with exact, zero error localization to point-test sources is
presented. One particular member of this family is sLORETA. It is
shown here that sLORETA has no localization bias in the presence of
measurement and biological noise. Another member of this family,
denoted as eLORETA (exact low resolution brain electromagnetic
tomography), is a genuine inverse solution (not merely a linear
imaging method) with exact, zero error localization in the presence of
measurement and structured biological noise. The general family of
imaging methods is further extended to include data-dependent
(adaptive) quasi-linear imaging methods, also with the exact, zero
error localization property.

-John O’Leary

Ground squirrels not only heat up their tails to deter snake attacks — but they also seem to use the strategy selectively against infrared-sensitive snakes — leading us to the ultimate conclusion that when the bees are gone, the squirrels will inherit the earth…

You can check out an infrared-eye-view of squirrel/snake battles here because I don’t know how to post movies on the internet yet

–Davie

There is quite some variety in the style of these short lectures (even though there are only a few currently posted). Some give a list of the key findings of the publications and others doing a much better job of making their work more accessible by providing an introduction/context and avoiding technical jargon.

Reviews the use of photosensitive proteins in neuroscience and even gives a shout-out to Ed Boyden, of Stanford and MIT fame…

– Davie (who had the same advisor as Ed for about a day and is therefore 0.01% more famous by association)

…brainwashing their youth

• Vergoz et al, 2007, Science
• commentary

…and/or mysteriously disappearing from the face of the earth

• Colony Collapse Disorder

Keeping an eye on species poised to take over the world,
Davie