BJKS Podcast

Matthias Nau is a cognitive neuroscientist at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience in Trondheim, Norway. He finished his PhD recently in Christian Doeller's group at the Kavli, where he currently works as a postdoc. Whenever the current pandemic cools down, Matthias will start a position as a postdoc at NIH with Chris Baker (this position was supposed to start in early 2020).

In this conversation, we talk about a variety of topics, from Matthias's recent research (the link between vision and high-level spatial coding principles in the brain (e.g. grid cells), the development of cognitive maps in humans, and a novel form of using fMRI for eye-tracking he co-developed with Markus Frey), to the relationship between electrophysiology studies in animals and fMRI studies in humans, education in neuroscience, and science communication.
Timestamps:

• 0:00:15 MR-based eye-tracking
• 0:22:50 Switching to Python
• 0:26:20 Grid Cells and vision
• 0:39:59 Development of the cognitive map in humans
• 0:45:10 Electrophysiology and fMRI
• 1:02:25 The interdisciplinary education of neuroscientists
• 1:20:17 Twitter, science communication, and this podcast
• 1:35:38 Matthias's plans for the future, complicated by COVID

Links:

• Podcast website:
  • https://bjks.buzzsprout.com/
  • https://twitter.com/BjksPodcast
• Matthias's links:
  • https://matthiasnau.com/
  • https://twitter.com/NauMatt
  • https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=r83cbFMAAAAJ
• Ben's links:
  • https://bjks.blog/
  • https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=-nWNfvcAAAAJ
• Grid cells info:
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grid_cell
  • http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Grid_cells

Papers mentioned:

Killian, N. J., Jutras, M. J., & Buffalo, E. A. (2012). A map of visual space in the primate entorhinal cortex. Nature.

Nau, M., Schröder, T. N., Bellmund, J. L., & Doeller, C. F. (2018). Hexadirectional coding of visual space in human entorhinal cortex. Nature neuroscience.

Nau, M., Julian, J. B., & Doeller, C. F. (2018). How the brain’s navigation system shapes our visual experience. Trends in cognitive sciences.

Wills, T. J., Cacucci, F., Burgess, N., & O'Keefe, J. (2010). Development of the hippocampal cognitive map in preweanling rats. Science.

David Van Essen is an Alumni Endowed Professor of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In this conversation, we talk about David's path to becoming a neuroscientist, the Human Connectome project, hierarhical processing in the cerebral cortex, and much more.
BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.
Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon
Timestamps
0:00:00: David's childhood: ravens, rockets, and radios
0:05:00: From physics to neuroscience (via chemistry)
0:13:55: Quantitative and qualitative approaches to science
0:19:17: Model species in neuroscience
0:31:35: Hierarchical processing in the cortex
0:46:54: The Human Connectome Project
0:55:00: A book or paper more people should read
0:58:01: Something David wishes he'd learnt sooner
1:00:31: Advice for PhD students/postdocs
Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

David's links

• Website: https://geni.us/VanEssen-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/VanEssen-scholar

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References & links
David's autobiographical sketch for the Society for Neuroscience (in Volume 9): https://www.sfn.org/about/history-of-neuroscience/autobiographical-chapters
Felleman & Van Essen (1991). Distributed hierarchical processing in the primate cerebral cortex. Cerebral Cortex.
Glasser, Coalson, Robinson, Hacker, Harwell, Yacoub, ... & Van Essen (2016). A multi-modal parcellation of human cerebral cortex. Nature.
Hubel & Wiesel (1962). Receptive fields, binocular interaction and functional architecture in the cat's visual cortex. The Journal of physiology.
Maunsell & Van Essen (1983). The connections of the middle temporal visual area (MT) and their relationship to a cortical hierarchy in the macaque monkey. Journal of Neuroscience.
Sheldrake (2021). Entangled life: How fungi make our worlds, change our minds & shape our futures.
Van Essen & Kelly (1973). Morphological identification of simple, complex and hypercomplex cells in the visual cortex of the cat. In Intracellular Staining in Neurobiology (pp. 189-198).
Van Essen & Maunsell (1980). Two‐dimensional maps of the cerebral cortex. Journal of Comparative Neurology.
Van Essen (2012). Cortical cartography and Caret software. Neuroimage.
Van Essen, Smith, Barch, Behrens, Yacoub, Ugurbil & WU-Minn HCP Consortium. (2013). The WU-Minn human connectome project: an overview. Neuroimage.
Wooldridge (1963). The machinery of the brain.

Kate Jeffery is a professor of behavioural neuroscience at University College London, where she works on spatial navigation. In this conversation, we talk about the history of spatial navigation, Kate's work on grid cells and place cells in 3D, and her recent work on entropy and brain evolution.
Timestamps
0:00:05: Kate's journey from medicine to neuroscience
0:10:57: A brief history of spatial navigation
0:30:43: PhD applications now and in 1990
0:34:38: Kate recorded grid cells 10 years before their discovery, without realising it
0:52:00: Prizes in science
1:05:20: A brief interlude as Kate gives her cat a treat
1:05:48: Lessons from working with Richard Morris and John O'Keefe
1:09:28: Spatial navigation in 3D
1:34:54: How many dimensions can the hippocampal formation track?
1:40:50: Kate's collaboration with Carlo Rovelli
Podcast links

• Website: https://bjks.buzzsprout.com/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BjksPodcast

Kate's links

• Website: https://jefferylab.com/
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=l1VlIFAAAAAJ
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drkjjeffery

Ben's links

• Website: www.bjks.blog/
• Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=-nWNfvcAAAAJ

References
Aronov et al 2017. Mapping of a non-spatial dimension by the hippocampal–entorhinal circuit. Nature
Bliss & Lømo 1973. Long‐lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetized rabbit following stimulation of the perforant path. J Physiol
Burgess 2014. The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: a spatial model for cognitive neuroscience. Neuron
Casali et al 2019. Altered neural odometry in the vertical dimension. PNAS
Fyhn et al 2004. Spatial representation in the entorhinal cortex. Science
Grieves et al 2020. The place-cell representation of volumetric space in rats. Nat Commun
Grieves et al 2020. Grid cell firing fields in a volumetric space. bioRxiv
Hafting et al 2005. Microstructure of a spatial map in the entorhinal cortex. Nature
Jeffery et al 1997. Directional control of hippocampal place fields. Exp Brain Res
Jeffery & Morris 1993. Cumulative long-term potentiation in the rat dentate gyrus correlates with, but does not modify, performance in the water maze. Hippocampus
Jeffery & O’Keefe 1999. Learned interaction of visual and idiothetic cues in the control of place field orientation. Exp Brain Res
Jeffery et al 2019. On the statistical mechanics of life: Schrödinger revisited. Entropy
Jeffery & Rovelli 2020. Transitions in brain evolution: space, time and entropy. Trends Neurosci
Morris et al 1982. Place navigation impaired in rats with hippocampal lesions. Nature
O'Keefe & Dostrovsky 1971. The hippocampus as a spatial map: Preliminary evidence from unit activity in the freely-moving rat. Brain Res
Ranck 1984. Head direction cells in the deep layer of dorsal presubiculum in freely moving rats. In Society of Neurosci Abstract
Rovelli 2016. Seven brief lessons on physics
Shannon 1948. The mathematical theory of communication
Stensola et al 2012. The entorhinal grid map is discretized. Nature
Yartsev et al 2011. Grid cells without theta oscillations in the entorhinal cortex of bats. Nature

Brooke Macnamara is an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University. In this conversation, we talk about her research on growth mindset and deliberate practice, whether deliberate practice is falsifiable, the benefits of diverse experiences, and much more.
BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.
Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon
Timestamps
0:00:00: How Brooke started working on mindset and deliberate practice
0:02:10: (Growth) mindset: does it matter?
0:21:10: Mindset interventions
0:36:48: Deliberate practice
0:47:06: Benefits of diverse experiences
0:56:20: Is the theory of deliberate practice unfalsifiable?
0:59:36: What can we take practically from the growth mindset and deliberate pratice research?
1:01:06: A book or paper more people should read
1:02:10: Something Brooke wishes she'd learnt sooner
1:04:32: Advice for PhD students and postdocs
Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Brooke's links

• Website: https://geni.us/macnamara-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/macnamara-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/macnamara-twt

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References/links
Brainology mindset intervention: https://www.mindsetworks.com/programs/brainology-for-schools
Trello: https://trello.com
Burgoyne, Hambrick, & Macnamara (2020). How firm are the foundations of mind-set theory? The claims appear stronger than the evidence. Psychol Science.
Dweck (2006). Mindset-Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential.
Epstein (2021). Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world.
Ericsson & Harwell (2019). Deliberate practice and proposed limits on the effects of practice on the acquisition of expert performance. Frontiers in Psychol.
Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychol Rev.
Gladwell (2008). Outliers: The story of success.
Macnamara & Burgoyne (2023). Do growth mindset interventions impact students’ academic achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis with recommendations for best practices. Psychol Bull.
Macnamara, Hambrick & Oswald (2014). Deliberate practice and performance in music, games, sports, education, and professions: A meta-analysis. Psychol Science.
Macnamara & Maitra (2019). The role of deliberate practice in expert performance: Revisiting Ericsson, Krampe & Tesch-Römer (1993). Royal Society Open Science.
Macnamara, Moreau & Hambrick (2016). The relationship between deliberate practice and performance in sports: A meta-analysis. Perspec Psychol Science.
Macnamara, Prather & Burgoyne (2023). Beliefs about success are prone to cognitive fallacies. Nat Rev Psychol.
Sisk, Burgoyne, Sun, Butler & Macnamara (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta-analyses. Psychol Science.

Geoff Cumming is an Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University. In this conversation, we discuss his work on New Statistics: estimation instead of hypothesis testing, meta-analytic thinking, and many related topics.
Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreon
Timestamps
0:00:00: A brief history of statistics, p-values, and confidence intervals
0:32:02: Meta-analytic thinking
0:42:56: Why do p-values seem so random?
0:45:59: Are p-values and estimation complementary?
0:47:09: How do I know how many participants I need (without a power calculation)?
0:50:27: Problems of the estimation approach (big data)
1:00:08: A book or paper more people should read
1:02:50: Something Geoff wishes he'd learnt sooner
1:04:52: Advice for PhD students and postdocs
Podcast links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-pod
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twt

Geoff's links

• Website: https://geni.us/cumming-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/cumming-scholar
• Mastodon: https://nerdculture.de/@thenewstats

Ben's links

• Website: https://geni.us/bjks-web
• Google Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholar
• Twitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twt

References/links
Dance of the p-values: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OL1RqHrZQ8
Significance roulette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcJImS16jR4
Episode with Simine Vazire (SIPS): https://geni.us/bjks-vazire
Coulson, ...(2010). Confidence intervals permit, but don't guarantee, better inference than statistical significance testing. Front in Psychol.
Cumming & Calin-Jageman (2016/2024). Introduction to the new statistics: Estimation, open science, and beyond.
Cumming (2014). The new statistics: Why and how. Psychol Sci.
Cumming & Finch (2005). Inference by eye: confidence intervals and how to read pictures of data. American Psychol.
Errington, ... (2021) Reproducibility in Cancer Biology: Challpenges for assessing replicability in preclinical cancer biology. eLife.
Errington, ... (2021) Investigating the replicability of preclinical cancer biology. eLife.
Finch & Cumming (2009). Putting research in context: Understanding confidence intervals from one or more studies. J of Pediatric Psychol.
Hedges (1987). How hard is hard science, how soft is soft science? The empirical cumulativeness of research. American Psychologist.
Hunt (1997). How science takes stock: The story of meta-analysis.
Ioannidis (2005). Why most published research findings are false. PLoS Medicine.
Loftus (1996). Psychology will be a much better science when we change the way we analyze data. Curr direct psychol sci.
Maxwell, ... (2008). Sample size planning for statistical power and accuracy in parameter estimation. Annu Rev Psychol.
Oakes (1986). Statistical inference: A commentary for the social and behavioural sciences.
Pennington (2023). A Student's Guide to Open Science: Using the Replication Crisis Reform Psychology.
Rothman (1986). Significance questing. Annals of Int Med.
Schmidt (1996). Statistical significance testing and cumulative knowledge in psychology: Implications for training of researchers. Psychol Methods.