FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bernard Baars, author of “On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity” Launches New Podcast Episodes in 4-Part Series with Neuroscientist David Edelman & Guest Jay Giedd, Chief of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, UCSD
EPISODE 8: In the context of the developing human brain, how can we understand consciousness? Roundtable Part One – The Developing Brain & Consciousness – A thoughtful discussion exploring some fundamental issues that confront the science of consciousness. Namely, how do we define consciousness? What does that term mean? Where do we even start? Neuroscientist David Edelman and Developmental Neuropsychiatrist Jay Giedd, Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD School of Medicine and Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital talk candidly about our understanding of the complex – and often tantalizing – nature of consciousness.
San Diego, CA, May 1, 2020 – On Consciousness with Bernard Baars is a new bi-weekly podcast from renowned San Diego neuroscientists Bernard Baars and David Edelman featuring open-minded conversations on new ideas about the scientific study of consciousness and the brain. In each episode, acclaimed author in psychobiology and originator of Global Workspace Theory (GWT), Bernard Baars and co-host David Edelman, a neuroscientist and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College are joined by the world’s foremost leaders in biological and cognitive sciences, AI, business, the arts and humanities to discover the conscious brain, and broadcast exciting scientific findings.
How can we understand consciousness in the context of the developing human brain?
To many of us, consciousness seems like a simple, commonsense notion. When we’re awake, we all know that we are, more often than not, aware—of the world, of our thoughts and emotions, of our feeling states (i.e., hunger, thirst, pain, etc.), among others. When we fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, that awareness slips away.
But, this notion is actually quite confounding—particularly when one considers that there must be a specific moment during development when the brain transitions from a small, non-conscious organ comprising a few dozen cells to a complex, 86 billion-cell nexus of conscious feelings, emotions, and thoughts. When, precisely, does that moment occur? In the womb? When we are just a few weeks old? Neuroscientist David Edelman and developmental neuropsychiatrist Jay Giedd ponder these key questions in Episode 8.
Dr. Jay Giedd, professor of psychiatry at UCSD School of Medicine and Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital, enjoyed collaborating with David Edelman and Bernie Baars and shared “I want to try to understand consciousness from a neuroanatomy and neuro-function standpoint. What would consciousness look like in a brain scanner and other types of imaging? What are we looking for, in a sense, and could I predict from basically the architecture and the anatomy, that this could be conscious, and this would not be able to be conscious? For me, consciousness is more about questions than answers, even after 30 years of trying.”
David Edelman, PhD: A neuroscientist and currently Visiting Scholar in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, David has taught neuroscience at the University of San Diego and UCSD. He was Professor of Neuroscience at Bennington College until 2014 and visiting professor in the Dept of Psychology, CUNY Brooklyn College from 2015-2017. He has conducted research in a wide range of areas, including mechanisms of gene regulation, the relationship between mitochondrial transport and brain activity, and visual perception in the octopus. A longstanding interest in the neural basis of consciousness led him to consider the importance—and challenge—of disseminating a more global view of brain function to a broad audience
Watch episode 8 on our YouTube Channel!
Stream and download On Consciousness with Bernard Baars on your favorite network: PodBean, ApplePodcasts, iHeart, GooglePlay, GooglePodcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, aCast, YouTube, and Spotify.
To learn more and access all channels: bernardbaars.com/podcast-baars-on-consciousness.
Watch Season One on YouTube: On Consciousness with Bernard Baars
Download Link for PodBean: https://onconsciousnesswithbernardbaars.podbean.com
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Dr. JAY GIEDD
Chair of child psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and director of child and adolescent psychiatry, Dr. Giedd is also a professor of psychiatry at UCSD School of Medicine, and professor in the Dept of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Giedd was chief of the Section on Brain Imaging, Child Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
His widely published research and expertise evaluates how the child’s brain develops in health and illness, the factors that influence development and how to optimize treatments to take advantage of the child’s changing brain. Jay and his award winning work were featured in the PBS 2 part series “Brains on Trial” hosted by Alan Alda.
BERNARD J. BAARS, PhD
A former Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA, Bernie is best known as the originator of the Global Workspace Theory and Global Workspace Dynamics, a theory of human cognitive architecture, the cortex and consciousness.
Bernie’s many acclaimed books include A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness; The Cognitive Revolution in Psychology; In the Theater of Consciousness: The Workspace of the Mind; Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience, among others. His newest book is On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity – Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory. Bernie Baars is recipient of the 2019 Hermann von Helmholtz Life Contribution Award by the International Neural Network Society, which recognizes work in perception proven to be paradigm changing and long-lasting. BernardBaars.com
DAVID EDELMAN, PhD
A neuroscientist and currently Visiting Scholar in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Dartmouth College, David has taught neuroscience at the University of San Diego and UCSD. He was Professor of Neuroscience at Bennington College until 2014 and visiting professor in the Dept of Psychology, CUNY Brooklyn College from 2015-2017.
David has conducted research in a wide range of areas, including mechanisms of gene regulation, the relationship between mitochondrial transport and brain activity, and visual perception in the octopus. A longstanding interest in the neural basis of consciousness led him to consider the importance—and challenge—of disseminating a more global view of brain function to a broad audience.