Frederick Travis, PhD, is the director of the Center for Brain, Consciousness, and Cognition at the Maharishi University of Management, an institution dedicated to promoting transcendental meditation (TM [image a copyright symbol here]) in all possible venues. This talk was given at Stanford University. We Create Our Reality Published on Aug 1, 2014 Frederick Travis, … Read more
This hypothesis and theory article from the open access journal Frontiers in Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology is very in-depth and thought provoking. The main sticking point for me, however, is the first of the three primary premises Earl sets forth: (1) contrary to one’s intuitive understanding, consciousness does not have an active, executive role in … Read more
The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences hosts every Thursday Neuroscientists from around the globe to present their recent study. Earlier this year, Stanislas Dehaene gave a talk on the work of his lab in understanding the signatures of consciousness, the distinct markers of brain activity that correlate with subjective reports of conscious … Read more
Stanislas Dehaene: Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts (2014); $27.95 hardcover, $20.93 at Amazon. Publisher’s ad-copy: A breathtaking look at the new science that can track consciousness deep in the brain How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks … Read more
Frank Amthor, PhD, is the author of Neurobiology for Dummies (2014), the follow up to his popular Neuroscience for Dummies (2011). He is the guest on the most recent edition of the Brain Science Podcast, hosted by Dr. Ginger Campbell. “Neurobiology for Dummies” (BSP 110) July 26, 2014 / Ginger Campbell, MD Frank Amthor, … Read more
Vince Horn speaks with neuroscientist David Vago in part one of this two-part Buddhist Geeks Podcast. Good stuff. BG 329: A Neuroscience of Enlightenment by David Vago Podcast: Download Episode Description: David Vago is a contemplative neuroscientist and Jake Davis is a philosopher and Buddhist practitioner. Together they have authored an article proposing the question … Read more
An excellent new article from Robert Sapolsky published at the always interesting Nautilus. Sapolsky offers some insights into the seemingly incomprehensible functioning of the teenage brain. Dude, Where’s My Frontal Cortex? There’s a method to the madness of the teenage brain. By Robert Sapolsky | Illustration by John Hendrix July 24, 2014 IN THE FOOTHILLS … Read more
Is consciousness some ineffable force that can never be understood by science, or is it completely within our ability to one day understand and perhaps even replicate? Paller and Suzuki argue in a new paper that we need more and better research, but that an understanding of consciousness is fully within our reach. Unfortunately, the … Read more
From Nautilus, Kelly Clancy takes a look at the increasing evidence for chaos in the brain and nervous system. The nervous system is literally overwhelmed by incoming sensory data, so much so that much of it never makes it into consciousness. On the other hand, the brain stem and its adjacent structures, a collection of … Read more
This new study sheds some light on how the brain processes emotions, although it certainly does not explain everything. According to Cornell University neuroscientist, Adam Anderson, “It appears that the human brain generates a special code for the entire valence spectrum of pleasant-to-unpleasant, good-to-bad feelings, which can be read like a ‘neural valence meter’ in … Read more