Knowing Neurons – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to the fourth episode of our Science Policy mini-series. In this episode, we interview Prof. Andrea Lavazza. Prof. Lavazza is a professor of neuroethics at the University of Pavia in Italy. Among other topics, we discussed what is the field of neuroethics concerned with, how philosophy can help us with informing policy and decision-making, or ethical issues that come with using neuroimaging in the courtroom.   

Welcome to the third episode of our Science Policy mini-series, where Daniel talked with Katie Cooke. Katie participated in our last year's Science Policy Paper Competition with her paper 'Gender Dysphoria: What it is and Why Does it Matter?'. We discussed what is gender-affirming health care, why is it important to allow access to it, and if there is enough scientific evidence to ban it.

Knowing Neurons interviews Dr. Jerzy Szaflarski, an epileptologist and epilepsy researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Jerzy has been a leader in cannabidiol (CBD) research for epilepsy, and played a major role in getting Alabama’s Medical Marijuana bill passed last year. We chat about all things cannabis and epilepsy – from how CBD works to what the future of cannabis-based treatments looks like.

Abbreviations used in the episode:
fMRI - functional magnetic resonance imaging
EEG - electroencephalography
CBD - cannabidiol

Written and produced by Ayushe Sharma, Chaoqun Yin, Danny Kusko and Elizabeth Burnette.

Music Used:
"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Knowing Neurons interviews Dr. Karl Friston, a theoretical neuroscientist and authority on brain imaging. One of the most influential neuroscientists in history, Dr. Friston invented statistical parametric mapping (SPM), voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and dynamic causal modeling (DCM), and has been cited over 245,000 times. The free-energy principle is his major contribution to theoretical neurobiology, and serves as a unified theory for how the brain acts and perceives information. 

LINKS: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging - https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/. Dr. Friston’s Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_J._Friston

Written and produced by Ayushe Sharma, Chaoqun Yin and Elizabeth Burnette.

Music Used:
"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this special Halloween episode, Knowing Neurons interviews Drs. Bradley Voytek and Timothy Verstynen, authors of Do Zombies Dream of Undead Sheep, about zombie neuroscience and science communication. Learn more about Bradley and Tim at voyteklab.com and cognitiveaxon.com and follow them on Twitter @bradleyvoytek and @TDVerstynen.
Written and produced by Ayushe Sharma, Chaoqun Yin and Elizabeth Burnette.

Music Used:
"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Knowing Neurons interviews Dr. Kaitlyn Casimo, Training and Outreach Specialist at the Allen Institute. Follow Kaitlyn on twitter at @kaitlyncasimo and check out her website at kaitlyncasimo.com. Learn more about Kaitlyn’s work at the Allen Institute at alleninstitute.org/learn.
Written and produced by Chaoqun Yin and Elizabeth Burnette.

Music Used:
"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

[Spanish Exclusive Episode] 

Knowing Neurons entrevista al Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau, Profesor de Neurología en UCLA, sobre su carrera como médico científico, su viaje educativo y la identidad y representación hispana y latina dentro del campo de las ciencias. Obtenga más información sobre el laboratorio de Dr. Portera en porteralab.dgsom.ucla.edu. Escrito y producido por Jayleska Johnson, Daniela Semerjian y Jenna Hartstein. Música de Kevin MacLeod.

Knowing Neurons interviews Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau, Professor of Neurology at UCLA, about his career as a physician scientist, his educational journey, and Hispanic/Latino identity and representation within the field of science. Learn more about the Portera lab at porteralab.dgsom.ucla.edu. Written and produced by Jayleska Johnson, Daniela Semerjian, and Jenna Hartstein. 

Music Used:
"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Knowing Neurons interviews Dr. Stephanie White, Professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA, about her work studying vocal learning in songbirds as well as her role as the Assistant Director for Undergraduate Education at UCLA’s Brain Research Institute. Learn more about Dr. White’s research at her lab site [whitelab.ibp.ucla.edu] and explore courses through the Marine Biological Laboratory [mbl.edu/education/courses], including Dr. White’s course on neural systems and behavior [mbl.edu/nsb].

Written and produced by Chaoqun Yin and Elizabeth Burnette.

Music Used:

"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Knowing Neurons interviews Dr. Ashley Juavinett, Assistant Teaching Professor at UC San Diego and author of "So You Want to be a Neuroscientist." Follow Ashley on twitter at @analog_ashley and on instagram at @neurosciencepaths.
Written and produced by Chaoqun Yin and Elizabeth Burnette.

Music Used:
"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-relax
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to the second episode of our Science Policy mini-series, where we interview Kathleen Carmichael. Kathleen participated in last year's ⁠Science Policy Paper competition⁠ with her paper, ⁠'Revealing Injured Minds: Harnessing Cutting-Edge Neuroimaging for Enhanced Brain Injury Claim Validity'⁠. We discuss the different issues she touches upon in her work, such as the challenges that come with the potential use of neuroimaging measures in the courtroom. These include but are not limited to education, privacy, and accessibility.

Kathleen's social media:

⁠Twitter⁠

⁠LinkedIn⁠

Additional Science Policy Pieces by Kathleen:

The Brain in the Courtroom: Neuroscience’s Influence on the Criminal Justice System. (Essay/Opinion piece)

Science Policy Around the Web – August 22, 2023: Family of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were taken for research, settles with company that profited. (Article summary)

Science Policy Around the Web – April 28, 2023: Complaints grow over $1 billion U.S. Antarctic icebreaker design. (Article summary)

Written and produced by Daniel Janko, Rana El-Danaf, Bharti Upparu, and Knowing Neuron's Science Policy team

Music Used: 

"Bleeping Demo" by Kevin MacLeod 

Link: ⁠⁠https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/7012-bleeping-demo⁠⁠

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 

⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠ 

"Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod 

Link: ⁠⁠https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaea⁠⁠ 

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 

⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠ 

"Study and Relax" by Kevin MacLeod 

Link: ⁠⁠https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5764-study-and-⁠⁠relax⁠⁠

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/