Brain Inspired

BI 121 Mac Shine: Systems Neurobiology


Listen Later

Support the show to get full episodes, full archive, and join the Discord community.

Mac and I discuss his systems level approach to understanding brains, and his theoretical work suggesting important roles for the thalamus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum, shifting the dynamical landscape of brain function within varying behavioral contexts. We also discuss his recent interest in the ascending arousal system and neuromodulators. Mac thinks the neocortex has been the sole focus of too much neuroscience research, and that the subcortical brain regions and circuits have a much larger role underlying our intelligence.

  • Shine Lab
  • Twitter: @jmacshine
  • Related papers
    • The thalamus integrates the macrosystems of the brain to facilitate complex, adaptive brain network dynamics.
    • Computational models link cellular mechanisms of neuromodulation to large-scale neural dynamics.

0:00 - Intro

6:32 - Background
10:41 - Holistic approach
18:19 - Importance of thalamus
35:19 - Thalamus circuitry
40:30 - Cerebellum
46:15 - Predictive processing
49:32 - Brain as dynamical attractor landscape
56:48 - System 1 and system 2
1:02:38 - How to think about the thalamus
1:06:45 - Causality in complex systems
1:11:09 - Clinical applications
1:15:02 - Ascending arousal system and neuromodulators
1:27:48 - Implications for AI
1:33:40 - Career serendipity
1:35:12 - Advice

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Brain InspiredBy Paul Middlebrooks

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

134 ratings


More shows like Brain Inspired

View all
Very Bad Wizards by Tamler Sommers & David Pizarro

Very Bad Wizards

2,673 Listeners

Nature Podcast by Springer Nature Limited

Nature Podcast

761 Listeners

The Quanta Podcast by Quanta Magazine

The Quanta Podcast

523 Listeners

The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence) by Sam Charrington

The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)

431 Listeners

Philosophy For Our Times by IAI

Philosophy For Our Times

315 Listeners

Future of Life Institute Podcast by Future of Life Institute

Future of Life Institute Podcast

107 Listeners

The Good Fight by Yascha Mounk

The Good Fight

900 Listeners

The Michael Shermer Show by Michael Shermer

The Michael Shermer Show

931 Listeners

Big Brains by University of Chicago Podcast Network

Big Brains

480 Listeners

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas by Sean Carroll | Wondery

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

4,152 Listeners

The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss by Lawrence M. Krauss

The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss

504 Listeners

Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST) by Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)

Machine Learning Street Talk (MLST)

90 Listeners

Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

Dwarkesh Podcast

505 Listeners

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg by Spencer Greenberg

Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

139 Listeners

The Joy of Why by Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin and Quanta Magazine

The Joy of Why

491 Listeners