BS 186 Mark Humphries author of "The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds"

This month's episode features Mark Humphries, author of "The
Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds." We
explore how the brain uses electrical signaling in surprising
ways, beginning with a look at how an action potential (aka. "the
spike") is produced. Then we consider what Humphries calls "the
dark neurons," which are neurons that rarely generate spikes. We
explore their role and also how it relates to the brain's
spontaneous activity. One of the more surprising recent
discoveries in neuroscience is that most of the brain's activity
does not appear to be caused by external stimuli. It is not a
passive receiver of information and this has profound
implications for our understanding of things like how the brain
generates conscious experience.


This episode is for listeners of all backgrounds.


Links and References:


The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds
by Mark Humphries

Humphries Lab at the University of Nottingham

Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for additonal
references and episode transcripts.



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