Neuro Transmissions
The Black Stain That Changed Neuroscience
There’s a black stain on the history of neuroscience. But don’t worry, that’s actually a good thing! Thanks to Camillo Golgi’s mysterious “black stain” and Santiago Ramon y Cajal’s artistic talents, starting in the early 1900s, we...
Neuro Transmissions
How I crushed my graduate school interviews
Congratulations on making it to the grad school interview stage! Now what? Alie Astrocyte and neuroscience professor Ashley Juavinett will walk you through what kinds of questions you should ask during your grad school interviews to help...
Neuro Transmissions
How COVID-19 Affects The Brain
A lot of the information we hear about COVID-19 surrounds how the virus impacts your lungs or how the pandemic has ravaged society due to quarantine. But what about your brain? Might coronavirus have an effect there, too? Come along with...
Neuro Transmissions
Can a vibrating bracelet cure your depression?
What if you could put on a bracelet, no larger than a watch, and feel better? That's exactly what Apollo Neuro claims their mood-altering wearable neurotech can do. It seems too good to be true for a single vibrating device to decrease...
Neuro Transmissions
The Stoned Ape Theory is bad
Is it possible that psychedelics brought about human language, our huge brains, and essentially all elements of our modern culture? Well, I made a video recently about what psychedelics do in the brain, but a lot of you felt bothered by...
Neuro Transmissions
My baby's brain from conception to birth
What happens to your brain BEFORE birth? Growing an entire mind in nine months is a pretty enormous accomplishment! A baby's brain goes from just a couple of cells to a neuron-dense powerhouse. But what does the brain development of a...
Neuro Transmissions
When will artificial intelligence surpass human intelligence?
ChatGPT can help you write an essay, plan a vacation, and learn quantum theory — next stop: world domination? Maybe...maybe not. But teachers are right to be worried that this might spell the end of homework and journalists might also...
Neuro Transmissions
What can you do with a neuroscience degree?
If you've graduated recently with a degree in neuroscience, or if you're on your way, you might be asking yourself, "what kind of job can I get?" You may feel like there's no obvious next step, but that's why we're here to help! Alie...
Neuro Transmissions
I have insomnia. This neurotech says it can cure me.
Would you shock your brain to cure your insomnia? How about your depression or anxiety? What if you could do it in the comfort of your own home with a hand-held device? That’s what cranial electrotherapy stimulation, or CES, proposes to...
Neuro Transmissions
Elon Musk and the hubris of Neuralink
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, is the co-founder of Neuralink, a company that plans to connect the human brain with computers. But in the six years since it was founded, has it lived up to the Musk hype? Well, it seems like it's...
Neuro Transmissions
A (Brief) History of Brain Sciences
Neuroscience and psychology have a lot in common. But where does one begin and the other end? What are the differences? And how did we end up with these two different-yet-overlapping fields? It turns out that the history of brain science...
Neuro Transmissions
What is the Blood-Brain Barrier?
Your brain is super fragile. So how come it doesn't get totally wrecked by infections or bacteria? Well, you've got this nifty protection called the blood-brain barrier! To help guide us through your brain's awesome defense, we brought...
Neuro Transmissions
What is Resting Potential?
How is your brain like a battery? When our neurons arenêt firing, what do they do? Resting potential can be a very difficult concept to describe, but Alie Astrocyte breaks it down to the basics so that anyone can understand it! Join us...
Neuro Transmissions
Why Do Placebos Work?
Placebos are treatments that donêt actually do anything. They have no medical effect and no active medicine. It's not a drug that is intended to improve your health. So why do they sometimes work? Well, it turns out your brain is super...
Institute for New Economic Thinking
Intersections of Psychology and Economics
Much has been said about the interaction between economics and psychology. With Prof. Singer we discuss the psychological research that informs cutting-edge economics as well as the psychological underpinnings of old models. She explains...
de Dicto
Understanding Human Psychology Through Robots with Prof. Angelo Cangelosi: Connecting concepts between robotics and biology
How do you connect the biological and psychological concepts to robotics and bring them back to the original biology? Understanding Human Psychology Through Robots with Prof. Angelo Cangelosi, Part 3
Neuro Transmissions
Treating ADHD with therapy
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a common diagnosis in children and is increasingly a diagnosis for adults, too. But other than stimulant medication, how do you treat ADHD? Are there other options? As it so happens, therapy is...
Neuro Transmissions
Are women bad at science?
If you scroll through lists of STEM faculty members at most universities, it's likely you'll recognize a pattern...that is, a lot of men and not very many women. Why is that? Are men inherently better than women at science? Or is there...
de Dicto
Understanding Human Psychology Through Robots with Prof. Angelo Cangelosi: Building entire systems
How do you go from identifying a single method to building an entire system? Understanding Human Psychology Through Robots with Prof. Angelo Cangelosi, Part 4
Neuro Transmissions
The Neuroscience of Tourette Syndrome
Oh sh**, time to find out more about Tourette Syndrome! It's often portrayed in media with lots of swearing, but that's not the whole picture. Today, we're gonna find out a little more about what goes on in the brain. We have In_s Dawson...
Weird History
Walter Jackson Freeman II The Champion of the Lobotomy
Walter Jackson Freeman II was an evangelical neurosurgeon, vocal about his beliefs and touting a procedure of his own creation from the 1940s through the 1960s. It was called a lobotomy, an operation that involved inserting a sharp metal...
Neuro Transmissions
New Sense Discovered?
A recent study discovered a new cell in mice used for olfactory detection that may give them a sort of spidey sense. The results could mean big things for how we think about smell! On this weekês episode of Neuro Transmissions, Alie...
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Playing video games linked to enhanced brain connectivity and increased gray matter, research shows
Researchers from the Chinese University of Electronic Science and Technology and Australia's Macquarie University have found correlations between playing action video games and increased gray matter volume and brain connectivity.
Neuro Transmissions
Do "Smart Drugs" work?
What if you could unlock your brain’s potential with just a pill? It sounds like something out of Limitless, but there’s a whole culture around nootropics, or “smart drugs”. But do any of them work? Are any nootropics supported by...