Chicago Brain Buddies

At the Society for Neuroscience' 2018 meeting in San Diego Ca. #SFN2018 Brain Buddy Aaron Freeman talks with Dr. Bob Schafer of Lumosity about the real science behind "experience assisted neuroplasticity" and the controversy surrounding the product being marketed as a brain health, IQ-raising, Alzheimer's fighting, neuro super tool.

Have you ever gotten pain relief from a placebo? Placebos, chemically inert pills, injections, even surgeries, relieve pain, ease suffering, and improve health even when the patient knows they're not getting "real" medicine. New research opens a window as to how and why that happens. Inspired by a recent New York Times Magazine article, Chicago Brain Buddies, comedian Aaron Freeman & University of Chicago Neuroscience professor and Coursera MOOC star, Peggy Mason, Peggy is still in Paris, France this week, merrily joke about and chat up placebo biology.

Dr. Jules Lobel teaches law at the University of Pittsburgh. At the 2018 Society For Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, Ca Chicago Brain Buddies co-host Aaron Freeman talks with him about why he looked to neuroscience for a novel tool to persuade the criminal justice system to end solitary confinement. The courts have always drawn a sharp line between physical and psychological torture, the former is forbidden. Collaborating with neuroscientist Huda Akil Dr. Lobel demonstrated that social isolation damages the brains of prisoners, in some cases, for decades after their release.

Your brain's cerebellum is not just for fine motor movements anymore! "The Great One," Dr. Peggy Mason & Chicago Brain Buddy Funnyman Aaron Freeman and our live online friends engage in a learning chat about the latest research from Princeton U on our "little brain"

New research reveals that human brains can predict sounds before they are spoken. A study of the auditory cortex shows that experimental subjects shown pictures have activation of their auditory cortices related to the specific sounds related to those images. In this Chicago Brain Buddies episode UChicago neuroscience Professor Peggy Mason & Chicago Council for Science and Technology Comedian Aaron Freeman joke about and explore the audio prognostications of our gray matter and what it may mean for medical science.

Exercise fights your aging brain's Alzheimer's Disease, at least in mice. If you could get the neurological benefits of exercise from a combo of meds & gene therapy would you ever work out? Join Prof. Peggy "The Great One" Mason & m @ 3p for the latest! - Guest link https://belive.tv/br…/exercisedbrain-0k1bceujo9hr/show_guest

Medical Neurobiology volume 2 has hit the shelves. We talk with its famed author and Chicago Brain Buddy Peggy Mason!

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but you don't realize that what you heard was not what I meant." In this episode the Buddies talk about the assumptions we make about the world before we know we have made them.

In this episode, we look at a bit of the neuroscience underlying the Chicago Public Radio report by WBEZ reporter Rob Wildeboer about a former gang member’s experience of gun violence. The report is part of WBEZ’s ongoing series “Every Other Hour,” a reference to the frequency with which someone in the city is shot.

How worried are you about the effect of DIY genetic engineering?

Biohacker Josiah Zayner is founder of Odin a company that sells home gene editing kits for fun and research. In this episode we talk about our fears and excitement about the product and its broader implications for the world.