Neuroscience
-- Joseph LeDoux, 'Synaptic Self' (2002), p. 2-3.
- Watching New Memories Form
Biologically-speaking, new memories are based on changes to synapses – the gaps across which neurons communicate with each other. Now scientists in America say they have found a way to witness these synaptic changes right after they've happened,...
- Lynda Barry's "the Unthinkable Mind" Class
I am synaptic with jealous for those who are in! :-) Course Description...
- Memory
A press release rom the NIH: Genetic Tags Reveal Secrets of Memories’ Staying Power in Mice A better understanding of how memory works is emerging from a newfound ability to link a learning experience in a mouse to consequent changes in the inner workings...
- Quotes Of Whoa #4: Genetic Destiny?
"Once we realise that the basic wiring plan of the brain is under genetic influence, it's easy to see how not only animals but also people can have very similar brains and yet be so different, right from the start of their lives. Genetic forces, operating...
- Quotes Of Whoa #1
As part of the whoa-ness theme of this blog, a large amount of whoa can be found in science soundbites. I'm gonna start a series of these Quotes of Whoa and post them as and when I find them. Here's the first one, aptly from one of my favourite...
Neuroscience
Quotes of Whoa #3: The Synaptic Self
"My notion of personality is pretty simple: it's that your 'self,' the essence of who you are, reflects patterns of interconnectivity between neurons in your brain. Connections between neurons, known as synapses, are the main channels of information flow and storage in the brain. Most of what the brain does is accomplished by synaptic transmission between neurons, and by calling upon the information encoded by past transmission across synapses.
"Given the importance of synaptic transmission in brain function, it should be practically a truism to say that the self is synaptic. What else could it be? Not everyone, however, will be happy with this conclusion. Many will surely counter that the self is psychological, social, moral, aesthetic, or spiritual, rather than neural, in nature ... even a partial understanding of the synaptic basis of who we are is, for me, an acceptable goal. For seeking knowledge about the brain is not only a valid scientific pursuit; it can also improve the quality of life, as when it uncovers new ways of treating neurological or psychiatric disorders."
-- Joseph LeDoux, 'Synaptic Self' (2002), p. 2-3.
- Watching New Memories Form
Biologically-speaking, new memories are based on changes to synapses – the gaps across which neurons communicate with each other. Now scientists in America say they have found a way to witness these synaptic changes right after they've happened,...
- Lynda Barry's "the Unthinkable Mind" Class
I am synaptic with jealous for those who are in! :-) Course Description...
- Memory
A press release rom the NIH: Genetic Tags Reveal Secrets of Memories’ Staying Power in Mice A better understanding of how memory works is emerging from a newfound ability to link a learning experience in a mouse to consequent changes in the inner workings...
- Quotes Of Whoa #4: Genetic Destiny?
"Once we realise that the basic wiring plan of the brain is under genetic influence, it's easy to see how not only animals but also people can have very similar brains and yet be so different, right from the start of their lives. Genetic forces, operating...
- Quotes Of Whoa #1
As part of the whoa-ness theme of this blog, a large amount of whoa can be found in science soundbites. I'm gonna start a series of these Quotes of Whoa and post them as and when I find them. Here's the first one, aptly from one of my favourite...