March 13, 2009

Philosopher Patricia Churchland (BSP 55)

March 13, 2009/ Ginger Campbell, MD

Episode 55 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with highly respected philosopher Patricia Churchland. Churchland is the author of Neurophilosophy and Brain. She is currently on the faculty of the University of California at San Diego and she was a featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in 2008. In this interview we talked about neurophilosophy, which is an approach to philosophy of mind that gives high priority to incorporating the empiric findings of neuroscience. We also talk about the evolving relationship between philosophy and neuroscience. Churchland shares her enthusiasm for how the discoveries of neuroscience are changing the way we see ourselves as human beings. We also talked a little about the issues of reductionism that I first brought up in Episode 53.

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February 27, 2009

"Grave Expectations: Planning for the End Like There's No Tomorrow" (B&I 26)

February 27, 2009/ Ginger Campbell, MD

Episode 26 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Sue Bailey and Carmen Flowers, the authors of Grave Expectations: Planning the End Like There's No Tomorrow. This book helps readers to plan for their funeral or memorial service. While this might seem like a strange idea Flowers and and Bailey explain that this can actually be a wonderful gift to leave for one's family and loved ones.

In this interview Bailey and Flowers share the personal experiences that led them to write this unusual book and they explain why they wrote it in an overtly humorous style. This interview will help listeners see death and funeral planning in a new way.

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Carmen Flowers and Sue Bailey

http://graveexpectations.net/

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February 13, 2009

Dr. Michael Merzenich on Brain Plasiticity (BSP 54)

February 13, 2009/ Ginger Campbell, MD

Brain Science Podcast #54 is an interview with Dr. Michael Merzenich, one of the pioneers of neuroplasticity. We talk about how the success of the cochlear implant revealed unexpected plasticity in adult brains and about how brain plasticity can be tapped to improve a wide variety of problems including dyslexia, autism, damage from disease and injury. Healthy people of all ages can also tap the resource of brain plasticity to help maintain and improve their mental functions.

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Episode Transcript (Coming Soon)

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January 31, 2009

Vaccines DO NOT cause Autism (B&I 25)

January 31, 2009/ Ginger Campbell, MD

Paul Offit, MD Episode 25 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. Paul Offit, author of Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. I consider this the most important episode that I have ever released because despite overwhelming scientific evidence that shows NO connection between vaccines and autism, vaccine opponents continue to discourage parents from having their children vaccinated against preventable and potentially fatal childhood diseases. Epidemics of measles and hemophilis influenza type B meningitis are beginning to emerge among unvaccinated children. In this interview we talk about the scientific evidence that vaccines DO NOT cause autism, but we also examine why the controversy continues despite the evidence. Most importantly we examine the growing threat posed by the increasing number of unvaccinated children in the US. As Dr. Offit observes "The threat is not theoretical anymore." It is very real.

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ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

I recommend Dr. Offit's book Autism's False Prophets to everyone because of its thorough examination of the vaccine-autism controversy. He examines the evidence from both sides, while showing compassion for why parents are easily confused and frightened by claims that physicians and scientists have dismissed. The book is unlikely to dissuade those who are convinced by the tactics of vaccine opponents, but it will be a valuable resource to parents who want a clear explanation that includes a sober account of the risks of not vaccinating their children. Physicians and scientists will also benefit from reading this book because it provides an important case study in how lack of scientific literacy can threaten public health.

Links:

Paul Offit, MD

References:

Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure by Paul A. Offit
The Cutter Incident: How America's First Polio Vaccine Led to the Growing Vaccine Crisis by Paul A. Offit
"Don't Risk Going Unvaccinated" by Paul A Offit, MD The Huffington Post, January 22, 2008.
MMR and Autism: What Parents Need to Know by Michael Fitzpatrick
Defeating Autism: A Damaging Delusion by Michael Fitzpatrick

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January 18, 2009

Neuroscience and Free Will (BSP 53)

January 18, 2009/ Ginger Campbell, MD

Episode 53 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown. This book challenges the widespread fear that neuroscience is revealing an explanation of the human mind that concludes that moral responsibility and free will are illusions created by our brains. Instead the authors argue that the problem is the assumption that a physicalist/materialistic model of the mind must also be reductionist (a viewpoint that all causes are bottom-up). In this podcast I discuss their arguments against causal reductionism and for a dynamic systems model. We also discuss why we need to avoid brain-body dualism and recognize that our mind is more than just what our brain does. The key to preserving our intuitive sense of our selves as free agents capable of reason, moral responsibility, and free will is that the dynamic systems approach allows top-down causation, without resorting to any supernatural causes or breaking any of the know laws of the physical universe. This is a complex topic, but I present a concise overview of the book's key ideas.

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Episode Transcript (Coming Soon)

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January 17, 2009

New! Transcripts are now available for Frank Wilczek's Interviews

January 17, 2009/ Ginger Campbell, MD

It was a great privelege to interview Nobel-winning physicist, Dr. Frank Wilczek twice last year (Books and Ideas: Episode 23 and Episode 24). So I am pleased to announce that full-transcripts of both episodes are now available.

Transcript of Episode 23 (Download PDF)

Transcript of Episode 24 (Download PDF)

We are currently working on the back log of transcripts for the Brain Science Podcast, but I hope eventually to have transcripts for all the episodes of Books and Ideas. Please send me email at docartemis at Gmail.com if you are waiting for a particular episode.

Ginger Campbell, MD

Ginger Campbell, MD

Blog and Podcasts

Ginger Campbell, MD

Podcast Show Notes

Philosopher Patricia Churchland (BSP 55)

"Grave Expectations: Planning for the End Like There's No Tomorrow" (B&I 26)

Dr. Michael Merzenich on Brain Plasiticity (BSP 54)

Vaccines DO NOT cause Autism (B&I 25)

Neuroscience and Free Will (BSP 53)

New! Transcripts are now available for Frank Wilczek's Interviews