Saturday, March 24, 2012

The Human Brain in the Age of Insight: Eric Kandel Live on Big Think


Awesome - Eric Kandel spent most of his life studying single neurons in the marine mollusc Aplysia californica. These sea snails have incredibly large (by comparison) neurons, which makes understanding their function slightly easier. His work extended into other areas of brain function, and in many regards he is one of the fathers of modern neuroscience.

Now, at 82 (I think), he is an ambassador for psychology and neuroscience in the public sphere, having hosted a series of roundtable talks on the Charlie Rose Show about current research in psychology, psychotherapy, and neuroscience. His most recent book is The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present.

He was the recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the physiological basis of memory storage in neurons. He shared the prize with Arvid Carlsson and Paul Greengard. His textbook, Principles of Neural Science, first published in 1981 and entering its fifth edition, is a standard text for many students.

The Human Brain in the Age of Insight: Eric Kandel Live on Big Think


In his latest book The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind and Brain from Vienna 1900 to the Present, Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel talks about the intersection between theories of creativity and brain science. He responds to viewer-submitted questions in this livestream interview, originally recorded on March 22, 2012.




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