Look inside SCIAM's MIND

MIND: issued by Scientific American.

Neuroscience in Washington

A lot of info here.

Cognitive Neuroscience

Each edition of this classic reference has proved to be a benchmark in the developing field of cognitive neuroscience. The third edition of The Cognitive Neurosciences continues to chart new directions in the study of the biologic underpinnings of complex cognition -- the relationship between the structural and physiological mechanisms of the nervous system and the psychological reality of the mind. Every chapter is new and each section has new participants. Features of the third edition include research that maps biological changes directly to cognitive changes; a new and integrated view of sensory systems and perceptual processes; the presentation of new developments in plasticity; recent research on the cognitive neuroscience of false memory, which reveals the constructive nature of memory retrieval; and new topics in the neuroscientific study of emotion, including the "social brain." The new final section, "Perspectives and New Directions," discusses a wide variety of topics that point toward the future of this vibrant and exciting field.Michael S. Gazzaniga is Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Professor of Cognitive Science at Dartmouth College. He is editor-in-chief of The Cognitive Neurosciences III (MIT Press, 2004).

ASA workshop

ASA

....is back in town ! The place is San Diego (not a bad choice) , the time is May 24 th 2007.

ASA is the ultimate software package for everybody who is seriously interested in setting up real time ERP experiments. It should be the hart of every professional EEG/ERP lab.

Check out the included experiment manager: You will wonder how You ever lived without it. This makes any experiment manageable: it does all the number crunching for You. A real gem.

So get hands on training from the best people at ANT eemagine. Contact ASA (p) Esther Alonso.

This is really important stuff and the course is FREE !!! But registration is a must.

So hurry to subscribe.The time is limited and interest will be booming. So navigate here.

Tell them I send You.

Neurocognition at MIT

The bible ? sort of....

Neuronavigation with a quirck

At davis neuroscience centre they developed a tool that every student of neuroanatomy can only dream of. A very nice demonstration of the practical value of graphical object related databases.

Looks like garlic but tastes Thalamic

If You insist on becoming the local thalamic wizzard/guru: start here (Cambridge will be gratefull to you )

Edward G. Jones’ The Thalamus is one of the most cited publications in neuroscience. Now more than 20 years on from its first printing, the author has completely rewritten his landmark volume, incorporating the numerous developments in research and understanding of the mammalian thalamus. As a leading authority on thalamus biology and function, Edward G. Jones shows how knowledge of the thalamus has developed with the introduction of new technologies and ideas. The author's photographic skills are exhibited in brilliant preparations of thalamic structure in a wide range of common and uncommon species. The Thalamus is both an up-to-date scientific review of virtually all aspects of forebrain function and a work of immense neuroscientific scholarship. It forms an essential reference for neuroanatomists, neurophysiologists, molecular neurobiologists, developmental neurobiologists and clinicians its deep historical perspective will be of value to historians of science. • Contains a huge range of photographic examples of thalamic structure, from common animal species and humans, to rarities such as the monotremes • Completely up-to-date, incorporating new details of molecular and genetic mechanisms of forebrain development • A unique, one-person perspective from a leading authority on the science, history and literature of this fascinating topic Contents Part I. History: 1. The history of the thalamus; Part II. Fundamental Principles: 2. Descriptions of the thalamus in representative mammals; 3. Principles of thalamic organization; 4. Thalamic neurons, synaptic organization and functional properties; 5. Chemistry of the thalamus; Part III. Development: 6. Development of the thalamus; Part IV. Individual Thalamic Nuclei: 7. Ventral nuclei; 8. Medial geniculate complex; 9. Lateral geniculate nucleus; 10. Lateral posterior and pulvinar nuclei; 11. Posterior complex of nuclei; 12. Intralaminar nuclei; 13. Medial nuclei; 14. Anterior nuclei and lateral dorsal nucleus; 15. Ventral thalamus; 16. Epithalamus; Part V. Comparative Structure: 17. Comparative anatomy of the thalamus; 18. The human thalamus; Part VI. Conclusions: 19. Concluding remarks; References; Index.

Take some time off your Mind

If You insist of getting lost in the research community on consciousness (Youu will find me dwelling around the place from time to time) no one better to get started the Libbet. Read some pages here to get the taste of Time Mind

Our subjective inner life is what really matters to us as human beings--and yet we know relatively little about how it arises. Over a long and distinguished career Benjamin Libet has conducted experiments that have helped us see, in clear and concrete ways, how the brain produces conscious awareness. For the first time, Libet gives his own account of these experiments and their importance for our understanding of consciousness. Most notably, Libet's experiments reveal a substantial delay--the "mind time" of the title--before any awareness affects how we view our mental activities. If all conscious awarenesses are preceded by unconscious processes, as Libet observes, we are forced to conclude that unconscious processes initiate our conscious experiences. Freely voluntary acts are found to be initiated unconsciously before an awareness of wanting to act--a discovery with profound ramifications for our understanding of free will. How do the physical activities of billions of cerebral nerve cells give rise to an integrated conscious subjective awareness? How can the subjective mind affect or control voluntary actions? Libet considers these questions, as well as the implications of his discoveries for the nature of the soul, the identity of the person, and the relation of the non-physical subjective mind to the physical brain that produces it. Rendered in clear, accessible language, Libet's experiments and theories will allow interested amateurs and experts alike to share the experience of the extraordinary discoveries made in the practical study of consciousness.

Good Luck !

When starting on ERP it is not always easy to find a good guidance book. But hold on, Luck is on Your way. Money spend on this will not be regretted.

The event-related potential (ERP) technique in cognitive neuroscience allows scientists to observe human brain activity that reflects specific cognitive processes. In An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique, Steve Luck offers the first comprehensive guide to the practicalities of conducting ERP experiments in cognitive neuroscience and related fields, including affective neuroscience and experimental psychopathology. The book can serve as a guide for the classroom or the laboratory and as a reference for researchers who do not conduct ERP studies themselves but need to understand and evaluate ERP experiments in the literature. It summarizes the accumulated body of ERP theory and practice, providing detailed, practical advice about how to design, conduct, and interpret ERP experiments, and presents the theoretical background needed to understand why an experiment is carried out in a particular way. Luck focuses on the most fundamental techniques, describing them as they are used in many of the world's leading ERP laboratories. These techniques reflect a long history of electrophysiological recordings and provide an excellent foundation for more advanced approaches. The book also provides advice on the key topic of how to design ERP experiments so that they will be useful in answering questions of broad scientific interest. This reflects the increasing proportion of ERP research that focuses on these broader questions rather than the "ERPology" of early studies, which concentrated primarily on ERP components and methods. Topics covered include the neural origins of ERPs, signal averaging, artifact rejection and correction, filtering, measurement and analysis, localization, and the practicalities of setting up the lab.Steven J. Luck is is Professor of Psychology and a core member of the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis.

What others have to say:

"Steve Luck has written an authoritative and highly readable treatise that will enlighten researchers of event-related brain potentials at all levels of expertise. As befits an introduction, the basic principles and practical information for beginners are covered in depth, yet the book also includes penetrating discussions of experimental design and interpretation that will engage the most experienced investigator. The eight chapters are spiced with personal anecdotes recounting hard-earned lessons from the laboratory and laced with illustrative examples of how--and how not--to conduct ERP experiments. Luck writes with a sparkling style that is as engrossing as it is informative. I read the book from cover to cover."--Steven A. Hillyard, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego

"This book serves as an outstanding introduction to the recording and interpretation of electrical signals from the scalp. It will be essential for all researchers starting to use ERPs to explore psychological issues."--Michael Posner, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, University of Oregon

Psychofysiology

An important journal in the field. Current issue here

Free copy here

Psychofysiology: links a galore

This site has e huge collection of all kinds of very usefull links for the psychofysiology researcher.

Try it here ....

BCNBP

Clinical psychofysiology can track fast dynamical brain processes both cognitive, emotional and even preattentive psychosensorial both diagnostically as therapeutically (cfr TMS) and as such indexes neurotransmitter functions and dysfunctions in the living patient. It is a tool that biological psychiatry should consider in many applications. The BCNCP has before organised meetings around this theme and will now present in Duffel the effect of growing neuroscientific insights on psychotherapy.

Read more on the website..

Alzheimer and Parkinson: the nature of things

Some free although rather complex neuromolecular articles here

Red Brains and Dark Energy

I never knew that it was such a small world in the brain. But it is and moreover very fractal and full of dark energy. Brrrr....

.... Studies of brain activity, mostly with fMRI, have left neuroscientists with a puzzling discovery: The additional energy required for the brain to perform other mental tasks is extremely small compared with the energy that the brain expends as an individual does nothing at all. New models of brain networks offer clues to why the resting brain generates so much energy.

Read more....

On bipolar disorder

dafumi Kato Head of the Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics of Mental DisordersAging and Psychiatric Research GroupRIKEN Brain Science Institute Bipolar disorder (manic depression) is a brain disease in which the patient periodically experiences elevated and depressive mood states. It affects about one out of every 100 people. Patients with bipolar disorder often suffer multiple relapses. Some spend almost half of their lives in the depressive state, and a large number commit suicide. Conventional preventive drugs for the disorder, such as lithium, produce strong side effects, and are not completely effective. The mechanism causing bipolar disorder is not yet understood. Tadafumi Kato, Head of the Laboratory for Molecular Dynamics and Mental Disorders at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, has been progressing research into bipolar disorder, and proposes that it is related to dysfunction in the mitochondria—the energy production centers of cells. In spring this year, Kato's group successfully clarified that a mouse manipulated to develop mitochondrial dysfunction, in the brain only, exhibited abnormal behavior that was very similar to bipolar disorder. As an animal model for bipolar disorder, this mouse is expected to contribute significantly to the analysis of the mechanism triggering bipolar disorder and the development of therapeutic agents. Mental conditions such as bipolar disorder are brain diseases. Read more....

Riken

Liken Lisealch or Riken research

Not just counting sheep

Research has revealed neuronal firing patterns that could help explain how the brain makes memories during deep sleep Most people think of a good night’s rest as a refreshing and relaxing experience, but even with closed eyes and a still body, the brain continues to work away. In fact, many neuroscientists believe that the brain uses certain stages of sleep—so-called ‘slow-wave’ sleep—as an opportunity to process the day’s events. A key component of this process is communication between the hippocampus, the brain’s primary memory center, and the neocortex, which handles a wide range of brain functions, including sensory processing. “Memory information may be consolidated in the hippocampus and transferred to the neocortex during sleep, especially slow-wave sleep,” explains Yoshikazu Isomura of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako. “In fact, neuronal firing patterns experienced in a waking and behaving state are often reproduced during slow-wave sleep.”Previous research has shown that neocortical neurons exhibit slow oscillatory patterns of activity during slow-wave sleep, between a highly active 'UP' state, and a hyperpolarized quiescent 'DOWN' state. However, it has been unclear exactly how this stage affects the behavior of neurons in the hippocampus and adjacent parahippocampal regions. To investigate this further, Isomura and colleagues at Rutgers University in New Jersey performed a series of experiments to characterize the firing patterns of single neurons and groups of neurons in anesthetized and naturally sleeping rats1.They uncovered evidence that although parahippocampal neurons, such as those in the entorhinal cortex and subiculum (Fig. 1), undergo slow oscillations that synchronize with those occurring in the neocortex, most hippocampal neurons do not. Nevertheless, hippocampal neurons were influenced by the activity of entorhinal neurons in the ‘UP’ state, and even exhibited subarea-specific activity when entorhinal and neocortical neurons were in the ‘DOWN’ state. Isomura and his colleagues postulate that this communication from neocortex to hippocampus may trigger the ‘sharp-wave-ripple’ hippocampal oscillations that signal back to the neocortex.“Researchers in this field believe that sharp-wave-related ripple oscillations may contribute to memory consolidation in the hippocampus or memory transfer from the hippocampus to the neocortex,” Isomura says.These findings could provide an important piece in the puzzle of understanding memory processing during deep sleep, but there are still many unanswered questions. In particular, although the entorhinal cortex appears to play a role in this memory-building process, the specifics remain unclear. “The entorhinal cortex is not so well understood, even in its basic physiological properties,” Isomura says, “and we will focus on its functional role in relation to hippocampus–neocortex interaction in the near future.” Reference Isomura, Y., Sirota, A., Özen, S., Montgomery, S., Mizuseki, K., Henze, D.A. & Buzsáki, G. Integration and segregation of activity in entorhinal-hippocampal subregions by neocortical slow oscillations. N

Learn how to learn ???

What is LearnLab? Learnlab is a facilty designed to dramatically increase the ease and speed with which learning researchers can create the rigorous, theory-based experiments that pave the way to an understanding of robust learning. Run jointly by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, LearnLab makes use of advanced technologies to facilitate the design of experiments that combine the realism of classroom field studies and the rigor of controlled theory-based laboratory studies. PSLC's LearnLab is a national resource for learning research that includes: Authoring tools for online courses, experiments, and integrated computational learner models Support for running in vivo learning experiments Longitudinal microgenetic data from entire courses Data analysis tools, including software for learning curve analysis and semi-automated coding of verbal data. learn more..

ACT now

If cognition is Your topic of interest ACT now. But better study these tutorials first.

Now You hear it, no You don't

A complete collection of intersting auditory illusions can be harvested here. Can give You an idea for new stimulation paradigmata, now can it..?

Dialogues in Neuroscience

Another hunt for hidden internet goodies came up with this little gem. Enjoy !!

Welcome to CNN (sorry CNL)

At the forefront of schizophrenia reserach. A faboulous productivity. fascinating stuff. These guy's even re-invented the VESPA ! And it rocks faster then the Italian version.

Scroll down their 2006 publications : You will find it parked over there.

Douwe Draaisma: A man and his brains

All You ever wanted to know about memory and forgot to ask. read it again here.

Biological psychiatry

The second european meeting will take place in Strasbourg (fr). The first one being a succes the second one will see even more speakers and attendents. There will be room for neurophysiology and psychophysiology in all age segments so take note of these data in your agenda. Do it NOW ! You will not regret it.

Fieldtrip

For those who like to hike and walk in the fields: EEG fields are sometimes a bit confusing.You can find a fine map here but if You really want to move fast foreward take the ASA-1 highway: happy cruising.

AHA

Did You ever wonder what happens in the brain the split second before that brilliant flash of insight allows You to solve the problem ? I did (as You probably wondered also) but it was the brilliant John Kounios who solved that final question. Guess what: it really is a flash but located at the left temporal lobe. Flashy stuff that could be fascinating reading and brighten Your mind with dangling sparkles of deep knowledge so very usefull on a dark winter evening like today. I ' ll better stop here. More info for You on his website. His words do fork lightening though...

In two experiments, we observed objective neural correlates of insight: fMRI revealed increased activity in the right hemisphere anterior Superior Temporal Gyrus for insight relative to noninsight solutions. The same region was active during initial solving efforts, demonstrating this area is not involved solely in an emotional response to the solution.In addition, EEG revealed a sudden burst of high-frequency (gamma-band) neural activity in the same area beginning about a third of a second prior to insight solutions.This right anterior temporal area helps make connections across distantly related information during comprehension. Although all problem solving relies on a largely shared cortical network, the sudden flash of insight occurs when solvers engage distinct neural and cognitive processes that allow them to see connections that previously eluded them.

P3a and P3b: not the same

All You ever wanted to knwo about P3 and forgot to ask Dr Polich You can read it here. A gold mine of knowledge. Start digging....( where better then at Scripps). Why is Polich holding those strange cards. Follow the link...

Brain Repair

If after the Neuromeeting in Beaune 2007 and the St Vincent wine celebration at Nuits Saint Georges You should express the urge to change or repair some parts of your brain this is the best garage in town...Check out their manuals . Study them well and perhaps You can start a small facility of Your own. Let us know..

Play the Logo game

This one looks deceivingly simple but is very frustrating. However we just discovered a faillproof system to guess it wright every time. Hook up some decent ag/agCl electrodes to that hard bony ball above your eyebrows and connect to amplifier system and appropriate software. try ASA or Cognitrace. Look carefully at the logo's: the one that does NOT cause a MMN is the one to select. Success guaranteed each and every time. It worked for me so why did You not hook up those electrodes already ?? I see, You prefer the frustration.....

Train the Brain

Untrained brains just sit there gathering amyloid dust that glue synapses to neurons in a sticky mess. Do not take any chances. Train Your Brain: better then biking..

The making of the next meeting

We all dread those endless calls to collegues and friends, hours of wasted time trying to set up a meeting. Fear no more. Let the internet do the work for You: nice and clean. Check it out here.

BCI test data

You just set up a complete ERS/ERD system and realise that You run out of volunteer data generating subjects. Need data fast ? You are being served....(here)