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Neural activity in natural settings
When scientists design an experiment, we try really hard to minimize the number of variables so that we can identify a clear change caused by our experimental parameters. This is useful because it allows us to ask a specific question and manipulate a unique condition to study its effects. Though this may be experimentally useful, there is a disconnect between the findings of these experimental paradigms and how our bodies function in “real-life”. This new paper, from our lab at Stanford, tries to address the congruence between experimental paradigms and natural conditions. We looked at neural responses in parietal cortex during an arithmetic condition and then used that activation to…
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BRAIN Initiative
This morning, I woke up to multiple texts and three emails about the new BRAIN initiative. This either means that a) I have too many friends that work in government or b) that I tend to be the only neuroscientist my friends know. Either way, it’s an exciting day! President Obama announced the BRAIN initiative, a new plan to support neuroscience research and growth in the US. “The BRAIN initiative will [give] scientists the tools they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action.” The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative is an aggressive plan to support and fund innovative techniques that attempt to map and characterize the…
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Mandatory life without parole
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#overlyhonestmethods
I clearly am late to the game on this but I just discovered the hashtag #overlyhonestmethods and seriously spent 20 minutes reading through the posts, laughing out loud, and orating the best ones to the science nerds around me…. @ethomm “#overlyhonestmethods – sample stayed on ice between centrifuge runs for as long as it took me to check my social media feeds” @DrTwittenheimer “A modified protocol was implemented because a certain graduate student seems unable to follow simple instructions.#overlyhonestmethods” @eperiste “We settled on co-first authorship because it’s less bloody than dueling. #overlyhonestmethods” Story of my life or what? @MrEpid “#overlyhonestmethods We don’t know how the results were obtained. The postdoc who did…
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Face distortion!
Exciting news!!! My first coauthor paper came out today in Journal of Neuroscience. It’s pretty cool to feel like I’m actually starting to become a “real scientist.” The paper describes the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electrocorticography (ECoG), and electrical brain stimulation (EBS) to study the area of the brain involved in facial recognition. Here are a few relevant links: The Journal of Neuroscience News Coverage: Stanford Press Release with embedded video link Huffington Post SF Chronicle (front page!) ABC News Time!
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SFN 2012
I’ve been in new orleans for the past week at the Society for Neuroscience 2012 Annual meeting. This is my fourth SFN meeting and as per usual it didn’t disappoint. There were tons of great posters & talks, ridiculously long lines for coffee, bad conference center food, and people sprawled along every hallway on their laptops. One very exciting thing about this year’s meeting was that I presented a first author poster!! It was really great to hear encouraging feedback from scientists from around the world and talk to inquisitive and insightful people in a variety of neuroscientific disciplines. The collaborative nature of the conference really is a special feel-…
