mirror neurons
neurophilosophy | March 9, 2011
I visited Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's lab at the University of California, San Diego recently, and interviewed him and several members of his lab about their work. Rama and I talked, among other things, about the controversial broken mirror hypothesis, which he and others independently proposed in the early 1990s as an explanation for autism. I've written a short article about it for the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), and the transcript of that part of the interview is below. I also wrote an article summarizing the latest findings about the molecular genetics of autism…
ddobbs | April 1, 2010
from "Would dew believe it: The stunning pictures of sleeping insects covered in water droplets," at the Daily Mail
Given the day, we find both foolishness and meat.
Fun stuff first:
Science, Nature Team Up on New Journal - ScienceNOW
Does the WTF1 gene trigger the inferior supra-credulus? @edyong209 falls for the whole thing: http://bit.ly/bLlzqx
Getting real:
Is the Mirror Neuron theory unfalsifiable?: Greg Hickok thinks so.
Pfizer paid $35m to MDs and Researchers. Latter claim $ doesn't influence practice.. Somebody's mistaken.http://s.nyt.com/u/N5m
Motherly love may alter genes for…
grrlscientist | January 19, 2010tags: neurobiology, The Neurons that Shaped Civilization, mirror neurons, Ghandi neurons, social behavior, Lamarkian evolution, Darwinian evolution, VS Ramachandran, TEDTalks, streaming video
Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramachandran outlines the fascinating functions of mirror neurons. Only recently discovered, these neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviors, some of which formed the foundations of human civilization as we know it.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of…
grrlscientist | September 27, 2007tags: book review, neuroscience, neurobiology, body maps, Sandra Blakeslee, Matthew Blakeslee
As a biologist who reads both widely and deeply about a number of scientific topics, it is very rare when I read a popular book that adds depth and nuance to my understanding of a biological phenomenon, but The Body Has a Mind of Its Own By Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee (NYC: Random House; 2007) is that book. This quiet but well-written book explores the interconnection between the environment, the body and the brain; discusses that the body is more just than a container for the brain and a…