/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ The field of neurotechnology, the focus of this blog, encompasses advances in brain science (neurons), information technology (bits) and bioengineering (genes). Up for discussion and analysis: the political, economic, ethical, and social forces that will shape the future of what will be one of the most important and fascinating stories of the coming decades. en-us zack@neuroinsights.com 2008-12-03T11:35:45-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2008/12/03/zackborg_with_eyeseecam.php In case you were wondering, I'll try anything once. Here I am at the Society for Neuroscience conference a few weeks back in DC wearing EyeSeeCam, a novel head-mounted camera controlled by the user's eye movements. It allows, for the... 73636@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2008-12-03T11:35:45-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2008/08/12/how_magic_fools_the_brain.php Benedict Carey at the NYTimes writes an entertaining piece today, While a Magician Works, the Mind Does the Tricks, which dives deeper into a recent article published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience that highlights how magicians "take advantage of glitches in... 73495@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2008-08-12T12:38:51-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2006/07/12/mystical_mushrooms_surebut_spiritual_ritalin.php “Magic” mushrooms really do have a spiritual effect on people, according to a recent study in Psychopharmacology. Over one-third of volunteers in the carefully controlled new study had a “complete” mystical experience after taking psilocybin, with half of them describing... 61621@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2006-07-12T16:44:26-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/11/16/pill_popping_friends_regulate_minds_together.php Today's NYTimes had an truthful article on the growth and trade of prescription drugs among friends. The article "Young, Assured and Playing Pharmacist to Friends" nailed a very real trend stating, "For a sizable group of people in their 20's... 38094@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2005-11-16T19:23:09-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/09/14/chinese_forest_or_american_tree.php Cultural differences appear to exist between how Chinese and Americans perceive and remember visual stimuli. New research conducted by Richard Nisbett, a social psychologist and author of the Geography of Thought, has shown that Chinese and American students differ in... 4502@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2005-09-14T14:55:04-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/08/09/how_does_your_brain_decide.php Funded by the NIH, researchers at Johns Hopkins published an interesting paper in Neuron this week that adds to our growing understanding of visual organization at the level of neurons and how this impacts individual perception. "The figure is famous... 4486@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2005-08-09T12:37:56-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/02/25/why_are_illusions_fascinating.php Why do inverted faces lose their emotional meaning? Why do certain types of motion induced blindness? How can a few dots on a screen seem meaningless, but once set in motion become easily recognizable biological creatures? Everyone, from young children... 4397@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2005-02-25T16:19:34-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/01/25/neoforum_for_your_brain_this_thursday_evening_in_marin.php A recent article in LA Times informs us “The age of smart drugs is dawning.. and that these drugs may change the way we think and may even change who we are.” The fact that neurotechnology has profound societal implications... 4370@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2005-01-25T18:28:16-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2004/06/01/forget_regret.php How do we feel about decisions when we are unsure of the possible consequences of our actions? A team of neuroscientists lead by Nathalie Camille has been researching this question for some time. Their most recent findings published recently in... 4223@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2004-06-01T18:41:14-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2004/05/13/anxiety_and_freedom.php "Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom." -- Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1885)... 4206@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2004-05-13T15:18:20-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2004/05/04/what_if_lust_was_a_side_effect.php Today's NYTimes article, "Has the Romance Gone? Was it the Drug?" highlights a major problem with today's psychopharmaceuticals, side effects. "Up to 70 percent of patients on antidepressants report sexual side effects," the article reports. But the problem does not... 4196@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2004-05-04T20:44:34-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2003/11/19/can_science_explain_consciousness.php What is consciousness? Is there a neurobiological basis for consciousness? Is conscious will an illusion? In early April, many of the world's leading consciousness researchers will gather in Tucson for four days to explore how science might be able to... 4058@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2003-11-19T15:07:56-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2003/09/18/the_paomnnehil_pweor_of_the_hmuan_mnid.php Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a... 4004@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2003-09-18T22:51:27-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2003/08/08/attention_please_may_we_please_have_your_attention.php By Steven Johnson One of the other personal insights that comes out of thinking about yourself through the lens of neuroscience is an increased awareness of the different mental states you cycle through in a given day. The general categories... 3979@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2003-08-08T14:53:11-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2003/08/06/what_were_you_thinking.php By Steven Johnson This interview with Paul Ekman, the UCSF psychologist who has become something of a celebrity in the past few years, is a good place to start answering the question I posed in the previous entry: how does... 3978@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Perception Shift 2003-08-06T12:32:11-05:00