Academic fear

Recently I attended a conference on learning. My primary interest was the talk on molecular signatures of synaptic plasticity. (Keep an eye on Daniel Pak, he does brillant work.) My attention was also grabbed by the last talk on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). In a fascinating talk, Randy Bass laid out the current state of online learning. The take home message was: The world of teaching is changing. It is unclear what higher education will look like in the future, but it will be different.

A distinguished academic spoke-up at the end with palpable fear in her voice. She was afraid and resentful that the tools academics are developing for online teaching will later destroy the institutions that created them, similar to when the Internet is used to attack the Defense Department.

I felt compassion for her. Her love of teaching was clear.

But the technology don't care.

The world is going to change. You can get upset but it is still going to change.

Instead, I am choosing to get on the ride.

Research is 90% listening

"Singing is 90% listening" is an an old quote. You must pay close attention to the world to a make meaningful contribution. Research is similar. Deeply understanding research is a challenge. It is fun but still a challenge. People have pet theories and personal biases. Those dominant over actual content. What "is" there takes a back seat to what "should be" there.

Brain Awareness Week

This week is Brain Awareness Week. We now have the tools widely available to look at brain function, even if you are an amateur scientist (here or here). Given the tools are waiting, the world could use more people trying to solve interesting problems.

An observation about predictions

Most predictions reveal more about the predictor than the subject.

How fragile projects make an antifragile career

Nassim Taleb argues that an antifragile whole is best composed of fragile parts.

I knew and applied this concept implicitly before Nassim stated it explicitly. At any given time, I have many separate research projects. Each one of those individual projects seeks to answer a specific scientific question. The questions are so specific the projects become fragile. A small deviation  (e.g., conceptual flaw, lost data, or a misinterpretation by a reviewer) leads to the "death" of a project.

However, the death of a single project strengthens the others. Through a rigorous post-mortem process, I find what does not work and apply that knowledge to the rest. A plethora of micro-failures, though painful at the time, creates an antifragile career.

Publication: Corticostriatal contributions to musical expectancy perception

I am proud to present my latest publication - "Corticostriatal contributions to musical expectancy perception." This is my first neuroimaging publication! Additionally, I am a rabid music fan, and it was a joy to study a topic that I have a strong personal interest in.

Abstract: This study investigates the functional neuroanatomy of harmonic music perception with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We presented short pieces of Western classical music to nonmusicians. The ending of each piece was systematically manipulated in the following four ways: Standard Cadence (expected resolution), Deceptive Cadence (moderate deviation from expectation), Modulated Cadence (strong deviation from expectation but remaining within the harmonic structure of Western tonal music), and Atonal Cadence (strongest deviation from expectation by leaving the harmonic structure of Western tonal music). Music compared with baseline broadly recruited regions of the bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Parametric regressors scaled to the degree of deviation from harmonic expectancy identified regions sensitive to expectancy violation. Areas within the BG were significantly modulated by expectancy violation, indicating a previously unappreciated role in harmonic processing. Expectancy violation also recruited bilateral cortical regions in the IFG and anterior STG, previously associated with syntactic processing in other domains. The posterior STG was not significantly modulated by expectancy. Granger causality mapping found functional connectivity between IFG, anterior STG, posterior STG, and the BG during music perception. Our results imply the IFG, anterior STG, and the BG are recruited for higher-order harmonic processing, whereas the posterior STG is recruited for basic pitch and melodic processing.

You can find out more here.

Repost: A monkey that controls a robot with its thoughts. No, really.

Here comes the Technological Singularity!

This video is an union of my professional interests (neural decoding and comparative psychology) and personal interests (biohacking and cutting-edge technology).

From my limited experience with primates (all species), they will not everything you want them to do, but what they will do, they will do for juice.