How many neurons does the typical human brain contain? The oft-quoted number of 100 billion turns out to have been a guess that was wrong! By a lot! Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is the Brazilian neuroscientist who developed a revolutionary new technique for accurately counting the neurons in brains of all sizes. She shocked the scientific community when she determined that the average human brain contains only 86 billion neurons, but we still have more neurons in our cerebral cortex than any other species. Learn what all this means in Brain Science 133. Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for detailed show notes and episode transcripts. Send email to Dr. Campbell at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com or leave voice feedback at http://speakpipe.com/docartemis. 

BS 133 Counting Neurons with Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel

Brain Science is hosted by Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD (Podcast Hall of Fame 2022).  She is an experienced physician with a passion for exploring how recent discoveries in neuroscience are revealing how our brains make us who we are. This podcast is for non-scientists, scientists, and everyone in between. It features interviews and discusses the latest books about the brain.

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This is the FREE Transcript for BS 214: Seventeenth Annual Review.  If you are a Premium (MyLibsyn) Subscriber LOGIN to access additional transcripts in your browser or in the free Brain Science mobile app.  Click here if you are a Patreon supporter.   Scroll up/down for the audio.

214 FREE Transcript PDF

This is the 17th Annual Review episode of Brain Science, celebrating the first episode which aired on December 15, 2006. We review the highlights of 2023, which included both new guests and the return of several favorites. Episodes Released in 2023:  BS 204 (Encore) and BS 205 featured molecular biologist Guy Caldwell, PhD from the University of Alabama. Caldwell uses the tiny roundworm C. Elegans to search for potential treatments of Parkinson's Disease. BS 206: Paco Calvo, PhD, author of Planta Sapiens: The New Science of Intelligence. BS 207 (Encore): Luiz Pessoa, author of The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration. BS 208 Sander Van der Linden, author of Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity. BS 209 Luiz Pessoa returned to talk about his new  The Entangled Brain: How Perception, Cognition, and Emotion Are Woven Together. BS 210 Basics of Neurotransmitters: a detailed introduction to neurotransmitters and the importance of receptor proteins. BS 211 Seth Grant returned for a record 6th time. We reviewed his career and discussed recent discoveries about how synaptic proteins change as we age. Grant is my favorite guest because he makes complex ideas accessible to listeners of all backgrounds. BS 212 (Encore) Thomas Metzinger, PhD, author of The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self. BS 213 Kevin J Mitchell, PhD returned to talk about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for the FREE episode transcript.  Announcements:  This is the last scheduled episode of Brain Science, but all episodes will continue to be available.  Free content includes all review episodes, encore episodes and all episodes since December 2016. The entire back catalogue of Brain Science is available to Premium MyLibysn subscribers. This includes episode transcripts. Patreon supporters will continue to have access more recent transcripts and other content.   The mobile called Brain Science Podcast remains free and MyLibsyn Premium subscribers can use it to access transcripts and other premium content. Please sign up for the the  free Brain Science Newsletter  Get updates about new content Get free gift "5 Things You Need to Know about YOUR Brain" Just text brainscience to 55444 to sign up.     Connect on Social Media:   Mastodon: https://neuromatch.social/@docartemis Twitter: @docartemis Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/brainsciencepodcast  Contact Dr. Campbell:  Email: brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com 

BS 214 Seventeenth Annual Review Episode

This is the Premium Transcript for BS 213 with Kevin Mitchell, author of Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will.  If you are a Premium (MyLibsyn) Subscriber LOGIN to access this transcript in your browser or the free Brain Science mobile app.  Click here if you are a Patreon supporter.  You may also buy this transcript separately at https://brainsciencepodcast.com.   Scroll up/down for the audio.

213 Premium Transcript PDF

In the this episode of Brain Science we talk with neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell about his new book Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will. While many neuroscientists and philosophers argue that free will is an illusion, Mitchell argues that the ability to make meaningful choices is part of our evolutionary heritage. He also addresses the important issue of determinism, siding with those physicists who argue that the fundamental nature of our universe is NOT deterministic. These issues are crucial to how we see ourselves and others. Links and References:  Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will by Kevin J. Mitchell  Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution by Carlo Rovelli Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are by Kevin J. Mitchell  Mitchell discusses this book in BS 159.   Kevin Mitchell, PhD (Trinity College Dublin)  Mitchell's blog   Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additional references and episode transcripts.   Announcements:  Please note: there will be no episode of Brain Science in November 2023. We will return with the 17th Annual Review episode on December 15. Please FOLLOW the Brain Science podcast channel on YouTube. The mobile app has been updated and is now called Brain Science Podcast. The app is free and MyLibsyn Premium subscribers can use it to access transcripts and other premium content. Dr. Campbell moved to Auckland, New Zealand in August 2023. Please reach out if you live in New Zealand or Australia. Please subscribe or follow Brain Science in your favorite audio app and please share it with others. Get free gift "5 Things You Need to Know about YOUR Brain when you sign up for the free Brain ScienceNewsletter to get show notes automatically every month. You can also text brainscience to 55444 to sign up. Support Brain Science by buying Are You Sure? The Unconscious Origins of Certainty by Virginia "Ginger" Campbell, MD. (Autographed copies are available) Learn more ways to support Brain Science at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium   Connect on Social Media:   Mastodon: https://neuromatch.social/@docartemis Twitter: @docartemis Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/brainsciencepodcast  Contact Dr. Campbell:  Email: brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com 

BS 213 Kevin Mitchell explores Free Will

This is the FREE Transcript for BS 212 with is an encore presentation of an interview with Thomas Metzinger, author of The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self. Additional transcripts are available to Premium (MyLibsyn) subscribers and some Patreon supports. Learn more at https://brainsciencepodcast.com/premium.  Scroll up/down for the audio.

BS 133 Counting Neurons with Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel

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