fMRI
Neurophilosophy
Tag archives for fMRI
Neural basis of spatial navigation in the congenitally blind
Posted by Mo on June 30, 2010 FOR most of us, the ability to navigate our environment is largely dependent on the sense of vision. We use visual information to note the location of landmarks, and to identify and negotiate obstacles. These visual cues also enable us to keep track of our movements, by monitoring how our position changes relative to landmarks…
Optogenetic fMRI
Posted by Mo on May 21, 2010 OF all the techniques used by neuroscientists, none has captured the imagination of the general public more than functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The technique, which is also referred to as functional neuroimaging and, more commonly, “brain scanning”, enables us to peer into the human brain non-invasively, to observe its workings and correlate specific thought…
Near misses fuel gambling addiction
Posted by Mo on May 14, 2010 GAMBLING is extremely popular, with lottery tickets, casinos, slot machines, bingo halls and other forms of the activity generating revenues of more than £80 billion each year in the UK alone. For most people, gambling is nothing more than an entertaining way to pass the time. But for some, it becomes a compulsive and pathological…
Magnetic manipulation of the sense of morality
Posted by Mo on March 30, 2010 WHEN making moral judgements, we rely on our ability to make inferences about the beliefs and intentions of others. With this so-called “theory of mind”, we can meaningfully interpret their behaviour, and decide whether it is right or wrong. The legal system also places great emphasis on one’s intentions: a “guilty act” only produces criminal…
Brain scans read memories
Posted by Mo on March 13, 2010 FORMATION of a memory is widely believed to leave a ‘trace’ in the brain – a fleeting pattern of electrical activity which strengthens the connections within a widely distributed network of neurons, and which re-emerges when the memory is recalled. The concept of the memory trace was first proposed nearly a century ago, but the…
Human grid cells tile the environment
Posted by Mo on January 27, 2010 HOW does the brain encode the spatial representations which enable us to successfully navigate our environment? Four decades of research has identified four cell types in the brains of mice and rats which are known to be involved in these processes: place cells, grid cells, head direction cells and, most recently, border cells. Although the…
Does time dilate during a threatening situation?
Posted by Mo on January 23, 2010 “WHEN a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour,” said Albert Einstein, “it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute, and it’s longer than any hour.” Einstein was describing one of the most profound implications of his Theory of General Relativity – that the perception…
Decoding the brain’s response to vocal emotions
Posted by Mo on May 18, 2009 The ability to interpret other peoples’ emotions is vital for social interactions. We recognize emotions in others by observing their body language and facial expressions. The voice also betrays one’s emotional state: words spoken in anger have a different rhythm, stress and intonation than those uttered with a sense of joy or relief. But how…