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UCLA psychologists report new insights on human brain, consciousness

By Guest PostOctober 25, 2013Sciencebelgium, brain injury, Cambridge University, computational biology, consciousness, evan lutkenhoff, fmri, human brain, liege, los angeles, martin monti, mikahil rubinov, network properties, new york, phenomenon, steven laureys, ucla psychologists, university hospital, vegetative state, volunteers under anesthesia, zig zag route

UCLA psychologists have used brain-imaging techniques to study what happens to the human brain when it slips into unconsciousness. Their research, published Oct. 17 in the online journal PLOS Computational Biology, is an initial step toward developing a scientific definition of consciousness.

“In terms of brain function, the difference between being conscious and unconscious is a bit like the difference between driving from Los Angeles to New York in a straight line versus having to cover the same route hopping on and off several buses that force you to take a ‘zig-zag’ route and stop in several places,” said lead study author Martin Monti, an assistant professor of psychology and neurosurgery at UCLA. (more…)

Boat noise stops fish finding home

Boat noise disrupts orientation behaviour in larval coral reef fish, according to new research from the Universities of Exeter, Bristol and Liège.

Reef fish are normally attracted by reef sound but the study, conducted in French Polynesia, found that fish are more likely to swim away from recordings of reefs when boat noise is added.

Co-author, Dr Steve Simpson, a marine biologist at the University of Exeter, said: “Boat noise may scare fish, affecting their ecology. Since one in five people in the world rely on fish as their major source of protein, regulating traffic noise in important fisheries areas could help marine communities and the people that depend on them.” (more…)

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UCLA psychologists report new insights on human brain, consciousness

Boat noise stops fish finding home