Summary: Researchers found that Buddhist jhāna meditation and Christian speaking in tongues, despite their differences, share a common cognitive feedback loop. This process, called the Attention, Arousal, and Release Spiral, creates a cycle where focused attention leads to joy, making concentration effortless and deepening the experience.
The study gathered firsthand accounts from meditation retreats and worship services, analyzing the micro-moments of attention and emotional shifts. Preliminary brain activity findings suggest both practices involve a cognitive shift that enhances immersion.
Understanding this shared mechanism could help more people access profound states of focus and tranquility. The next phase of research will use brain imaging to explore the physiological changes behind this phenomenon.
“ tabindex=”0” accuracy and scale, brings scientists closer to understanding how neurons connect and communicate.
Mapping Thousands of Synaptic Connections
Harvard researchers have successfully mapped and cataloged over 70,000 synaptic connections from approximately 2,000 rat neurons. They achieved this using a silicon chip capable of detecting small but significant synaptic signals from a large number of neurons simultaneously.
Summary: Researchers analyzed human motivation from an evolutionary perspective, identifying 15 key motives that drive behavior. These motives, grouped into five categories—environmental, physiological, reproductive, psychological, and social—reflect adaptations that helped early humans survive.
The study used network analysis of survey responses to reveal how these motives interconnect and influence one another. Notably, Status and Play emerged as central to motivational structures, facilitating resource access and skill development.
Findings also showed age and gender differences in motivational priorities, with younger individuals focusing on Status and Play, while older adults prioritize Comfort and Fear. The results have broad applications in marketing, AI, and mental health, helping tailor strategies to different motivational needs.
Hey everyone! Robin Hanson will be speaking on Thursday about his galaxy brain ideas on better incentive models for longevity. Plus his unique takes on prediction markets and long-term thinking. [ https://lu.ma/wzuwk1lp](https://lu.ma/wzuwk1lp)
Join us for a groundbreaking discussion with economist Robin Hanson on the future of longevity economics and city governance!
In this episode I am looking forward to exploring more about alternate interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. In previous episodes exploring consciousness, I’ve encountered several people who believe that Quantum Mechanics is at the root of consciousness. My current thinking is that it replaces one mystery with another one without really providing an explanation for consciousness. We are still stuck with the options of consciousness being a pre-existing property of the universe or some aspect of it, vs. it being an emergent feature of a processing network. Either way, quantum mechanics is an often misunderstood brilliant theory at the root of physics. It tells us that basic particles don’t exist at a specific position and momentum—they are, however, represented very accurately as a smooth wavefunction that can be used to calculate the distribution of a set of measurements on identical particles. The process of observation seems to cause the wavefunction to randomly collapse to a localized spot. Nobody knows for certain what causes this collapse. This is known as the measurement problem. The many worlds theorem says the wavefunction doesn’t collapse. It claims that the wavefunction describes all the possible universes that exist and the process of measurement just tells us which universe we are living in.
My guest is a leading proponent of transactional quantum mechanics.
Dr. Ruth E. Kastner earned her M.S. in Physics and Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Maryland. Since that time, she has taught widely and conducted research in Foundations of Physics, particularly in interpretations of quantum theory. She was one of three winners of the 2021 Alumni Research Award at the University of Maryland, College Park (https://tinyurl.com/2t56yrp2). She is the author of 3 books: The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Theory: The Reality of Possibility (Cambridge University Press, 2012; 2nd edition just published, 2022), Understanding Our Unseen Reality: Solving Quantum Riddles (Imperial College Press, 2015); and Adventures In Quantumland: Exploring Our Unseen Reality (World Scientific, 2019). She has presented talks and interviews throughout the world and in video recordings on the interpretational challenges of quantum theory, and has a blog at transactionalinterpretation.org. She is also a dedicated yoga practitioner and received her 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Instructor Certification in February, 2020.
Abstract: The human brain sets us apart as a species, with its size being one of its most striking features. Brain size is largely determined during development as vast numbers of neurons and supportive glia are generated. In an effort to better understand the events that determine the human brain’s cellular makeup, and its size, we use a human model system in a dish, called cerebral organoids. These 3D tissues are generated from pluripotent stem cells through neural differentiation and a supportive 3D microenvironment to generate organoids with the same tissue architecture as the early human fetal brain. Such organoids are allowing us to tackle questions previously impossible with more traditional approaches. Indeed, our recent findings provide insight into regulation of brain size and neuron number across ape species, identifying key stages of early neural stem cell expansion that set up a larger starting cell number to enable the production of increased numbers of neurons. We are also investigating the role of extrinsic regulators in determining numbers and types of neurons produced in the human cerebral cortex. Overall, our findings are pointing to key, human-specific aspects of brain development and function, that have important implications for neurological disease.
About this series: The Cambridge Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Seminar Series provides a forum for neuroscientists across Cambridge and beyond to discuss contemporary and interdisciplinary research topics and issues.
The seminars are open to both members of the University, external academics and members of the public. We have tried to reflect the diversity of people’s interests at the University with our programme, and the breadth of the research taking place in Cambridge. Registration and more details are available here: http://talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/125062
UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center member Ranmal Samarasinghe, MD, PhD presents his work using brain organoids to create better models of neurological disorders. An Assistant Professor in UCLA’s Neurology department, Dr. Samarasinghe splits his time between the clinic, seeing patients who have neurological conditions like epilepsy and autism, and in the lab working to create more detailed disease models using brain organoids. In this video, Dr. Samarasinghe discusses how brain organoids are becoming more sophisticated in their ability to replicate irregular brain wave patterns seen in conditions like Rett syndrome, an epilepsy primarily associated with infants. Ultimately, he hopes these stem cell-based models can be used to screen new drugs and discover new treatments for diseases like epilepsy.
Learn more about Dr. Samarasinghe’s work here: https://stemcell.ucla.edu/member/sama… the full “The Power of Regenerative Medicine: Future Treatments for Brain Disease” webinar: • The Power of Regenerative Medicine: F…
The BCI is rapidly evolving, but the real challenge has always been the long-term usability of devices implanted in the brain. Because of this, it is exciting to see the early success stories of Neuralink with the three patients who have received chip implants so far. They have all achieved results beyond expectations without any risks, which has made Elon Musk even more confident and ambitious with his implanted chip. He has decided to upgrade the chip to a higher level to support more people with disabilities. At the same time, Musk has shared updates on the condition of the three Neuralink-implanted patients. This year, the number of implant recipients is expected to increase significantly. So, is this a major turning point for people to trust Neuralink? Explore the latest updates now, Welcome to Tesla Car World!
Full NEURALINK Human Trials! Elon Musk Reveals NEW Updates On Three Patient Shocking In 2025! You may not believe it, but from the perspective of many people, Neuralink is one of Elon Musk’s most controversial and ridiculous companies. They argue that Musk should focus on Tesla and SpaceX instead of a less widely accepted field like BCI. Concerns about the dangers of implanting chips in the brain, especially given how new this technology is, remain a hot topic of discussion. Some even fear that brain data could be misused or compromised if Neuralink were hacked. However, despite these concerns, it is undeniable that for the three implanted patients, Neuralink means more than ever. They seem to be living a second life, in fact, Neuralink makes them feel as if they have been reborn.
Full NEURALINK Human Trials! Elon Musk Reveals NEW Updates On Three Patient Shocking In 2025! Imagine losing the ability to move, communicate, or control your own body. Then, one day, something allows you to think and control a computer cursor, communicate with the world through your thoughts, and do things you had once given up hope on. For the three patients who have experienced Neuralink, this is not just an ordinary chip, it is an opportunity, a hope, a real-life miracle. === #888999evs #teslacarworld #teslacar #888999 #teslaneuralink #neuralink. subcribe: https://bit.ly/3i7gILj
