WaterCooler Neuroscience

WaterCooler Neuroscience is continuing our episodes talking about the most interesting papers from the recent NIH confernece which Jordana Adler attended. We are talking about which signals in specific the amygdala is firing at when PTSD patients are exposed to an array of fearful stimuli and how this kind of experiment can only be done in certain laboratories. We also discuss how our brain's connectivity changes as we get older and how that effects healthy ageing particularly for those under and over 50 years old.

If you would like to see the poster Wilf and Jordana discuss please use the links https://brainmeeting2022.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=65-A1-05-F6-3A-57-CE-FC-81-7D-BC-46-A8-64-DF-C5, and https://brainmeeting2022.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=5B-F5-BB-EB-AF-AA-0B-8F-18-2A-9C-72-70-9D-09-19 if you cannot get access please request it from an academic/research institution if possible.

This episode is sponsored by BrainFx. BrainFx Assessments have helped researchers, scientists, and healthcare professionals conduct cutting-edge research and understand the early and subtle effects of brain disorders of all types on a person's ability to function in real life. Find out more at www.BrainFx.com

WaterCooler Neuroscience is back in 2022 with a new format bringing both Wilf Nelson and Jordana Adler. This episode will be bringing you some of the most interesting posters and papers from the NIH conference in America which Jordana attended recently. Wilf and Jordana discuss research into how much can we really assume that rodent and human brains are comparable, especially given billions of dollars of research ever year is done on rodent neuroscience assuming it helps us further our understanding of the human brain.

If you would like to see the poster Wilf and Jordana discuss please use the link https://brainmeeting2022.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=C8-F2-5A-84-54-F6-70-33-66-52-44-AB-58-13-50-CA, if you cannot get access please request it from an academic/research institution if possible.

This episode is sponsored by BrainFx. BrainFx Assessments have helped researchers, scientists, and healthcare professionals conduct cutting-edge research and understand the early and subtle effects of brain disorders of all types on a person's ability to function in real life. Find out more at www.BrainFx.com

This episode finishes the mini-series about Bethany Teachman's lab by interviewing Bethany Teachman herself to talk about her role in running a professional academic lab

This episode continues the series from December 2021 by talking with Jeremy Eberle about his experience working in Bethany Teachman's lab.

In this episode, Jordana and Wilf talk about what the research into eye movement says about how people are thinking. Why would we want to study eye movement and how does it compare to other methods?

This episode finalises the series of episodes where Jordana Adler interviews Wilf Nelson on his PhD, the thesis that was produced and the journey he had learned to conduct, design and analyse experiments.

Episode 4 brings you the first of Wilf's episodes that were designed from conception by himself. His work leads him to try to understand how inhibition works when we have multiple competing senses active but now we are going further. This episode explores how the brain uses inhibition when it both knows something is coming up and when it doesn't. Wilf's research lead him away from using EEG and fMRI but instead to using a machine called magnetoencephalography or MEG. Wilf talks about why he had to train with this machine and what new data this brought to his expanding collection of research.

The next episode in the series on Wilf Nelson's PhD thesis is brought to you like season 5 of WaterCooler Neuroscience. In this episode, Wilf talks about this first experiment that just didn't work the way he wanted. Jordana and Wilf talk about their experiences running EEG experiments and tests and what experiments that don't work can tell us in science. In fact, this experiment not working the way it was supposed to be even more interesting because it is the same experiment as chapter 2 but this time is done with an EEG cap instead of an fMRI machine.

In this episode of WaterCooler Neuroscience, we discuss Wilf's first experimental chapter of his thesis. This is when a scientist prepares an experiment and in their dissertation will write a chapter to explain and describe that experiment to other scientists. This experiment is looking at how the brain can decide to inhibit or 'turn off' regions that are competing with what we want to be doing. In reality, the brain can't turn anything off, it is more like putting a state where it is just ticking over but ready to go if it needs to. Wilf talks about his experience of designing the experiment while Jordana Adler is the host and brings her insight from the world of neurofeedback.