This month’s episode of
Brain Science
features Mark Humphries, author of
The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds.
The episode explores how the brain uses electrical signaling in surprising ways, beginning with a look at how an action potential (aka. “the spike”) is produced. Then the episode considers what Humphries calls “the dark neurons,” which are neurons that rarely generate spikes. The episode explores 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. You can listen here by following the link: