How can you collect data reflecting the changes in cognitive function that appear when someone has a concussion? BrainCheck combines neuroscience with a mobile platform to gauge changes from baseline.
Why do groups of people inflict violence on unarmed neighbors? (Germany, Rwanda, Darfur, Nanking....). Here's the neuroscience point of view.
Why don't we do what we know we should? Here's a talk I gave at Stanford Medical School telling why, and what to do about it.
The days of thinking of time as a river—evenly flowing, always advancing—are over. Time perception, just like vision, is a construction of the brain.
Well before we understand how brains work, we may find ourselves able to digitally copy the brain's structure and able to download the conscious mind into a computer. What are the possibilities and challenges?
Interested in the intersection of the brain and the legal system? Watch a talk I delivered at the Royal Society for the Arts in London, entitled "The Brain and the Law".
Read a Q&A with David in New Scientist to find out his ideas and advice to young scientists.
To the extent that consciousness is useful, it is useful in small quantities, and for very particular kinds of tasks. It's easy to understand why you would not want to be consciously aware of the intricacies of your muscle movement, but this can be less intuitive when applied to your perceptions, thoughts, and beliefs, which are also final products of the activity of billions of nerve cells.
Interested in issues of memory and the brain? Watch a clip of David on the History Channel.
From the Blog
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Brain Time
The days of thinking of time as a river—evenly flowing, always advancing—are over. Time perception, just like vision, is a construction of the brain.
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Q & A in New Scientist magazine
Read a Q&A with David in New Scientist to find out his ideas and advice to young scientists.
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Perception on TNT
I was the scientific advisor for the TNT television drama,Perception, starring Eric McCormack and Rachael Leigh Cook. Learn more about the show.
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Scanning a 3,000 year old mummy
I performed a CT scan on an Egyptian mummy, and found beautiful objects inside.
In other news...
Guggenheim Fellowship
David has been named a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow. He will use the fellowship opportunity to pursue the genetics and neuroimaging of synesthesia.
New York Times bestseller
A 26 week New York Times bestseller, Incognito was named a Best Book of the Year by both Amazon and Goodreads. For a taste of the book, see a review in the Wall Street Journal, listen to a conversation on NPR's Fresh Air, or watch a video dialog with Wired Magazine. Reading Incognito now? We'd love to hear feedback!
Emily Blunt reads for the Sum audio book
Hear the actress Emily Blunt (Young Victoria, Devil Wears Prada) read "The Cast" from Sum. She is one of the dozens of terrific actors who read for the audio book.
