From the Dana Foundation:For most of human history, food was not readily available; storing energy helped ensure survival. Humans thus evolved to eat whenever food is at hand-a tendency that in the modern world may contribute to widespread obesity. Researchers are starting to determine the brain circuitry responsible for this default “eat” message. Marcelo Dietrich and Tamas Horvath tell the story of false starts and measured successes in obesity research. They propose that developing successful obesity therapy may require combining drug therapy with psychological or psychiatric approaches, as well as exercise. In the sidebar, they examine the opposite of obesity: anorexia nervosa.

Click here for the complete article.

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ANNOUNCEMENT / REMINDER

CONSCIOUSNESS: THE WEBCOURSE
&
ADVANCED SEMINAR:AN INTRODUCTION TO MIND AND BRAIN

With Dr. Bernard J. Baars

Center for Consciousness Studies
The University of Arizona

See website for course outline and registration forms:

www.consciousness.arizona.edu

Brief Summary:

Both courses will run November 14, 2009 through February 7, 2010 with a Winter Break from December 20 to January 4.

You will receive weekly podcasts, pdf lectures, and Experiential Labs. We will meet in live Discussion Groups each weekend.

Consciousness: The WebCourse will have Discussion Groups each Saturday and Sunday morning from 10am -12 noon, Pacific Time. Course Members are invited to participate live for one or two hours.

If you cannot join us at those times, we will have an Asynchronous Discussion Group for you as well.

The Advanced Seminar will meet via the web on Sunday afternoons from 2-4 pm.

Dr. Baars will send you audio lectures (podcasts) each week of the 10-week term, along with written lectures. We will have Experiential Labs each week, to allow you to explore your own experiences in various interesting ways.

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Center for Consciousness Studies

announces

FALL 2009

Registration OPEN

November 14, 2009 to FEBRUARY 7, 2010

CONSCIOUSNESS: THE WEBCOURSE

and

ADVANCED SEMINAR: AN INTRODUCTION TO MIND AND BRAIN

Both taught by Dr. Bernard J. Baars

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NEUROMARKETING SURVEY

We would like to invite you to take part to this survey. Your answers will help to gather information about the perceptions and thoughts about the use of brain science methods in non-medical settings.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Any information that you provide will be confidential. All participants will be anonymous such that no personal information concerning you or your company will be made public either during, or after the completion and release of this study. The questionnaire should take about 10 minutes of your time. If you wish to receive a summary of the results (that you can pass on to your home company) please indicate at the end of this questionnaire and include your e-mail address. We will not use this e-mail for other purposes than for sending you the summary.

WHO IS BEHIND THIS STUDY

My name is Matteo Bellisario, and I am completing my final report for my Master Degree in Strategic Market Creation at the Copenhagen Business School, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

My academic supervisor for this research is Dr. Thomas Z. Ramsøy, head of the Decision Neuroscience Research Group at the Copenhagen Business School and Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance at Copenhagen University Hospital.

The results will be part of my Master Thesis, and may, if suitable, be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO START THE SURVEY

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=UrWT2vR9gSIXNSKooLsNuQ_3d_3d

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From the Dana Foundation: Dr. Pierre Magistretti and Dr. Francois Ansermet spoke with Dana Foundation Chairman William Safire about their book, Biology of Freedom: Neural Plasticity, Experience, and the Unconscious, and the bridge between neuroscience and psychoanalysis. The event took place on November 14, 2007 at the Dana Center in Washington, DC. 

Click here for the audio archive.

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From the Dana Foundation: The Dana Foundation released at a news conference on March 4, Learning, Arts, and the Brain, a three-year study at seven universities, which finds strong links between arts education and cognitive development. Speakers included Michael Gazzaniga, Ph.D., UC, Santa Barbara; Michael Posner, Ph.D., University of Oregon;  Elizabeth Spelke, Ph.D., Harvard University  and Brian Wandell, Ph.D., Stanford University.  Guy Mckhann, M.D., Johns Hopkins University gave a summary and Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts spoke of the study’s importance to the field of education.

Click here for the webcast archive.

Click here for the event transcript.

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Contribute, comment and collaborate

Nature Precedings is a free online service from NPG that enables researchers in the life sciences to openly share preliminary findings, solicit community feedback, and claim priority over discoveries by posting preprint manuscripts, white papers, technical reports, posters, and presentations.

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For an audio recording provided by the National Public Radio on patient H.M. and his contribution to memory research, click here.

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John R. Searle 
Copyright John R. Searle. Click here for complete online text.

The most important scientific discovery of the present era will come when someone — or some group — discovers the answer to the following question: How exactly do neurobiological processes in the brain cause consciousness? This is the most important question facing us in the biological sciences, yet it is frequently evaded, and frequently misunderstood when not evaded. In order to clear the way for an understanding of this problem. I am going to begin to answer four questions: 1. What is consciousness? 2. What is the relation of consciousness to the brain? 3. What are some of the features that an empirical theory of consciousness should try to explain? 4. What are some common mistakes to avoid?

* An earlier version of this article has appeared in the publications of the CIBA Foundation. The theses advanced in this paper are presented in more detail and with more supporting argument in Searle, J.R. The Rediscovery of the Mind, MIT Press, 1992.

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Alfredo Pereira has initiated a Nature Network group on consciousness, termed Brain Physiology, Cognition and Consciousness. From the description of the group, we can read that:

This group is aimed at discussing recent findings about brain physiology and possible implications for the explanation of cognitive and conscious processing.

Our main topics include: Molecular Mechanisms: systems of transmitters, modulators, membrane receptors, and their participation in cognitive functions; Intracellular Signal-Transduction Pathways involved in cognitive functions; Brain Processes Supporting Memory, Attention and Executive Functions; Techniques for Measurement of Brain Activity and Imaging; Neuro-Astroglial Interactions; ERP, Oscillatory Synchrony and Other Correlates of Consciousness; Neurological and Psychiatric Phenomena Impacting Consciousness: loss of consciousness in Epilepsia, alterations of consciousness in Schizophrenia and Depression

Go check it out and contribute here.

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A website being dubbed the YouTube for scientists has been launched, raising new hopes of bringing science closer to the people. SciVee allows scientists to upload published papers, as well as a podcast presenting the paper. As the site is relatively new, content is still fairly sparse. Those behind the initiative are however confident that it will contribute to the widespread dissemination and comprehension of science.

‘SciVee, created for scientists, by scientists, moves science beyond the printed word and lecture theatre, taking advantage of the Internet as a communication medium where scientists young and old have a place and avoice,’ explains the website.

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It is now time for the annual and popular on-line introductory course to consciousness science. Professors Baars and McGovern will lead you through the basic steps in this field, highlight important topics and findings, and invite you to in-depth discussions. Click on the banner to go to the webcourse website.

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David Chalmers had compiled a directory of 2573 online papers on consciousness and related topics. Most of these papers are by academic philosophers or scientists. Click here to check out this great online resource.

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Victim of the Brain is a 1988 docudrama by Dutch director Piet Hoenderdos about “the ideas of Douglas Hofstadter”. It features interviews with Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett. It has never been online before, but is now available on Google Video.

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