Psychology – Knowing Neurons

How Floating in Darkness Takes the Body off the Mind

June 8, 2021June 8, 2021 Joel Frohlich 0 Comments Anxiety, Awareness, Brain Awareness, brain imaging, Cognition, Consciousness, Default mode network, fMRI, Psychology

What happens when your mind disconnects from all outside sensations? First, you undress, put in earplugs, and step into a floatation tank, the water warmed to the temperature of your… Read more

Brain Books by Knowing Neurons. The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett & Jooyeun Lee.

Big Ideas Brain Books Consciousness Evolution of Cognition Sensation and Perception

Book Review and Author Interview: The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman

December 6, 2019December 7, 2019 Joel Frohlich 1 Comment Brain Books, Cognition, Color, Consciousness, Evolution, Evolutionary Game Theory, Hallucination, hard problem of consciousness, Illusion, Interface Theory of Perception, mathematics, Motion, Necker Cube, Occam's Razor, Orientation, Perception, Physicalism, Psychology, Quantum mechanics

A full interview with Donald Hoffman follows this book review Does the moon still exist when you’re not looking at it? In a provocative new book titled The Case Against… Read more

A cartoon image of a sun in the sky with golden rays extending outwards, with cannabis leaves on either side of the sun. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Culture Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Does Cannabidiol (CBD) Actually Help Anxiety?

April 18, 2019April 18, 2019 Grace Browne 0 Comments Amygdala, Anxiety, Anxiolytic, Autism, Cannabidiol, Cannabis, CBD, Cingulate Cortex, DEA, dementia, Dextromethorphan, Drug, EFSA, Epilepsy, FDA, fMRI, Marijuana, Neurotransmitters, Paranoia, Phytocannabinoids, Psychology, serotonin, Society, THC

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating compound of the Cannabis plant, has exploded in popularity in recent times, touted as a medical “cure-all”. Retailers promise their products will heal cancer, stop dementia… Read more

Illustration by Michal Roessler, next to book cover image of "Remembering" by Donald G. MacKay

Brain Books Learning and Memory

Book Review: Remembering

April 10, 2019April 9, 2019 Sean Noah 0 Comments Amnesia, Book Review, Brain Books, Donald G MacKay, Epilepsy, Frederic Bartlett, Henry Molaison, Hippocampus, Medial temporal lobe, Memory, Patient HM, Psychology, synaptic

In the early 20th century, Cambridge psychologist Frederic Bartlett radically reformulated the concept of memory. Until then the classical view, the earliest form of which could be traced back to… Read more

Image of synaptic cleft in the background with a large cupcake on the right, topped with sprinkles in the shape of pills. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Big Ideas Culture Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception

Are Foods Addictive or Just Delicious?

April 4, 2019April 7, 2019 Shaun Khoo 0 Comments Addiction, Basolateral Amygdala, Classical Conditioning, Cocaine, Dopamine, glutamate, Neurotransmitters, Nucleus Accumbens Core, obesity, Operant Conditioning, Pavlov, Psychology, Relapse, Sugar, Tolerance, Withdrawal

We are surrounded by an abundance of delicious food. Throughout the developed world, cooking shows saturate our televisions and streaming video feeds advertise greasy burgers and decadent chocolates. Our addiction… Read more

Big Ideas Consciousness Philosophy

Measuring Consciousness in Bits

August 1, 2018August 1, 2018 DanielToker 2 Comments Brain, Claude Shannon, Communication, Consciousness, David Chalmers, Entropy, Giulio Tononi, Information, Information theory, Integrated Information Theory, Neuroscience, philosophy, Psychology, Research, Science, Sensory experience

Consciousness is an ambiguous concept. It can mean a lot of different things, depending on the context. For example, I can say that I am conscious of something, as in,… Read more

Big Ideas Culture Neuro News

Want to Feel Unique? Believe in the Reptile People

May 29, 2018May 29, 2018 Roland Imhoff 0 Comments Behavior, conspiracy theories, Culture, Experiment, new world order, Psychology, reptilian, Research

he internet is full of wild-eyed insinuation. Seemingly accidental events are not actually accidental. A few powerful people have hatched plots to bring about certain outcomes, usually with the goal… Read more

Big Ideas Neuro SciFi

Cognitive Astrobiology

January 3, 2018December 29, 2017 DanielToker 2 Comments Astrobiology, Cognitive, Cognitive Astrobiology, Diana Reiss, ET, Evolution, Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Intelligence, Jellyfish, NASA, Psychology, SETI, Space, Spaceflight

o here’s a cool combination of fields: neuroscience and astrobiology. Let’s call it “cognitive astrobiology.”… Read more

Big Ideas Science Policy

The Consequences of Illusory Superiority

February 6, 2017October 8, 2017 Kate Fehlhaber 3 Comments Alternative Facts, Darwin, Dunning-Kruger effect, Einstein, Fact, Facts, illusion of confidence, illusory superiority, Instructor, Knowledge, Lemon, McArthur Wheeler, Politics, Psychology, SciComm, Socratic, Student, Stupid, Teacher, Trump, Veritasium, Vsauce

On January 6, 1995, a large five-foot-six 270-pound middle-aged man robbed two Pittsburgh banks in broad daylight. He didn’t wear a mask or any sort of disguise. And he smiled… Read more