Knowing Neurons

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Infographic from the 52 Brain Facts series by Knowing Neurons How many brains does it take to light a bulb%3F.jpg
Infographic from the 52 Brain Facts series by Knowing Neurons

Knowing Neurons is a neuroscience education website created in 2012 by PhD graduate students at the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The website features regular content focused on elucidating fundamental neuroscience concepts, new research, and current hypotheses. Special series featured on Knowing Neurons include the weekly 52 Brain Facts infographics than ran from 2015 to 2016 [1] and the series Weird Animal Brains on comparative neurobiology that debuted in 2016. Most content on Knowing Neurons is in the form of articles, infographics, book reviews, and interviews with prominent neuroscientists. [2] [3] [4] Knowing Neurons has also produced several YouTube videos, including interviews with people with synesthesia [5] and an animated video This Is Your Brain on Music narrated by actor Bob Turton. [6]

Contents

In 2016, several Knowing Neurons team members were recognized for their contributions to science education through the website with the Society for Neuroscience Next Generation Award. [7] "Knowing Neurons" is listed as an educator resource by Brainfacts.org, [8] a neuroscience website maintained by the Kavli Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and the Society for Neuroscience. Knowing Neurons is also an official partner of Aeon Magazine. [9]

Team

Knowing Neurons was founded by former editor-in-chief Dr. Kate Fehlhaber while she was a neuroscience PhD student at UCLA researching visual processing in the retina using electrophysiology. [10] [11] She has been featured in relation to her Knowing Neurons work on Forbes.com Women at Forbes series. [10] Dr. Joel Frohlich, currently a postdoc at UCLA and blogger for Psychology Today , [12] took over as editor-in-chief of Knowing Neurons in 2017, followed by Alexa Erdogan in 2019. Dr. Joo Yeun Lee, a neuroscientist who received her doctorate from USC, served as senior graphic designer until 2017 and has designed many of Knowing Neurons' infographics. Visual designer Dr. Kayleen Schreiber has shaped the website's artistic direction since 2016 and makes regular contributions with her Weird Animal Brains series of infographics.

Knowing Neurons frequently features content by guest contributors, many of whom are neuroscience PhD students or postdoctoral researchers.

Infographics

Knowing Neurons is perhaps best known for their infographics created by Joo Yeun Lee and Kayleen Schreiber. These infographics have focused on a wide variety of topics in neuroscience, such as CRISPR and scientific peer review. [13] Special series of infographics produced by Knowing Neurons include 52 Brain Facts and Weird Animal Brains. 52 Brain Facts presented a new fact about the brain each week for 52 weeks from September 2015 to September 2016. [14] Facts are presented on the website in a 'myth or fact?' format, such as "Myth or Fact? One region of the brain sets us humans apart from other species." The proceeding infographic then serves to either debunk the myth or confirm the fact.

Awards

In 2016, Knowing Neurons team members Kate Fehlhaber, Joel Frohlich, and Joo Yeun Lee received the Society for Neuroscience Next Generation Award for their contributions to public neuroscience communication, outreach, and education through Knowing Neurons. [7]

In 2022, the Knowing Neurons team under the leadership of Arielle Hogan and Alba Peris-Yagüe received a second Society for Neuroscience Science Education and Outreach: Next Generation Award for their work on translating the site into Spanish [15]

Partnership with Aeon

Knowing Neurons has been partnered with digital magazine Aeon since 2016. [9] Aeon features selected articles written by Knowing Neurons writers on Aeon.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain</span> Organ central to the nervous system

The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special senses such as vision, hearing and olfaction. Being the most specialized organ, it is responsible for receiving information from the sensory nervous system, processing those information and the coordination of motor control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscience</span> Scientific study of the nervous system

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developmental biology, cytology, psychology, physics, computer science, chemistry, medicine, statistics, and mathematical modeling to understand the fundamental and emergent properties of neurons, glia and neural circuits. The understanding of the biological basis of learning, memory, behavior, perception, and consciousness has been described by Eric Kandel as the "epic challenge" of the biological sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cognitive neuroscience</span> Scientific field

Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental processes. It addresses the questions of how cognitive activities are affected or controlled by neural circuits in the brain. Cognitive neuroscience is a branch of both neuroscience and psychology, overlapping with disciplines such as behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, physiological psychology and affective neuroscience. Cognitive neuroscience relies upon theories in cognitive science coupled with evidence from neurobiology, and computational modeling.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to neuroscience:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glia</span> Support cells in the nervous system

Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up more than one half the volume of neural tissue in the human body. They maintain homeostasis, form myelin in the peripheral nervous system, and provide support and protection for neurons. In the central nervous system, glial cells include oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, ependymal cells and microglia, and in the peripheral nervous system they include Schwann cells and satellite cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroscientist</span> Individual who studies neuroscience

A neuroscientist is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, neural circuits, and glial cells and especially their behavioral, biological, and psychological aspect in health and disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield</span> British scientist

Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords. Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. She is also interested in the neuroscience of consciousness and the impact of technology on the brain.

Encephalization quotient (EQ), encephalization level (EL), or just encephalization is a relative brain size measure that is defined as the ratio between observed and predicted brain mass for an animal of a given size, based on nonlinear regression on a range of reference species. It has been used as a proxy for intelligence and thus as a possible way of comparing the intelligence levels of different species. For this purpose, it is a more refined measurement than the raw brain-to-body mass ratio, as it takes into account allometric effects. Expressed as a formula, the relationship has been developed for mammals and may not yield relevant results when applied outside this group.

Neuroinformatics is the emergent field that combines informatics and neuroscience. Neuroinformatics is related with neuroscience data and information processing by artificial neural networks. There are three main directions where neuroinformatics has to be applied:

Joseph Altman was an American biologist who worked in the field of neurobiology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of the brain</span> Overview of the evolution of the brain

The evolution of the brain refers to the progressive development and complexity of neural structures over millions of years, resulting in the diverse range of brain sizes and functions observed across different species today, particularly in vertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Randy Gallistel</span> American psychologist

Charles Ransom Gallistel is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University. He is an expert in the cognitive processes of learning and memory, using animal models to carry out research on these topics. Gallistel is married to fellow psychologist Rochel Gelman. Prior to joining the Rutgers faculty he held positions at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was chair of the psychology department and Bernard L. & Ida E. Grossman Term Professor, and at the University of California, Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol A. Barnes</span> American neuroscientist

Carol A. Barnes is an American neuroscientist who is a Regents' Professor of psychology at the University of Arizona. Since 2006, she has been the Evelyn F. McKnight Chair for Learning and Memory in Aging and is director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. Barnes has been president of the Society for Neuroscience and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and foreign member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018.

The White House BRAIN Initiative is a collaborative, public-private research initiative announced by the Obama administration on April 2, 2013, with the goal of supporting the development and application of innovative technologies that can create a dynamic understanding of brain function.

Dean Vincent Buonomano is an American neuroscientist and author. He is a professor at UCLA whose research focuses on neurocomputation and how the brain tells time. Buonomano has been described as one of the "first neuroscientists to begin to ask how the human brain encodes time" and has been published in various scientific journals. He is the author of two books, Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape our Lives and Your Brain is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time. Buonomano's first book Brain Bugs examines the human brain's functional strengths and weaknesses, ultimately attributing some of the brain's 'bugs' to evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wei Ji Ma</span> Dutch Psychology and Neural Science professor and researcher (born in 1978)

Wei Ji Ma is a professor at New York University in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Neural Science. Ma focuses on the areas of perception, decision-making, and memory. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Ma is the 2021 recipient of the Jeffrey L. Elman Prize for Scientific Achievement and Community Building from the Cognitive Science Society.

Daphna Joel is an Israeli neuroscientist and advocate for "neurofeminism". She is best known for her research which claims that there is no such thing as a "male brain" or a "female brain". Joel's research has been criticized by other neuroscientists who argue that male and female brains, on average, show distinct differences and can be classified with a high level of accuracy. Joel is a member of The NeuroGenderings Network, an international group of researchers in gender studies and neuroscience. They are critical of what they call neurosexism in the scientific community. Joel has given lectures on her work in both scientific and lay conventions around the world.

The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) is a nonprofit research center located in Baltimore, Maryland, that studies brain development issues such as schizophrenia and autism. The cause of most neuropsychiatric disorders remains unknown and current therapies such as antipsychotics and antidepressants treat symptoms rather than the underlying illness. Lieber is working to unravel the biological basis of these brain disorders and is developing therapies to treat or prevent their development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabine Kastner</span> German-born American cognitive neuroscientist

Sabine Kastner is a German-born American cognitive neuroscientist. She is professor of psychology at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute at Princeton University. She also holds a visiting scientist appointment at the University of California at Berkeley.

References

  1. "52 données étonnantes sur le cerveau". Agence Science Presse. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. "What is Peer Review? It Depends Who is Asking!". Science & research news | Frontiers | Open-access publisher. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  3. Laws, Grace (16 December 2016). "Knowing neurons: a network of neuronal knowledge". reactmagteam. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. "Les " beaux défis " du blogueur scientifique à l'ère des mégadonnées" (in French). Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  5. Frohlich, Joel (15 September 2016). "Garbage Smells Green and Gunshots Are Rainbows". Knowing Neurons. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. "This is Your Brain on Music". Knowing Neurons. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Society for Neuroscience Announces Awards for Excellence in Science Education and Outreach". Society for Neuroscience. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  8. "About Us". brainfacts.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Aeon Knowing Neurons Partnership page". Aeon. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. 1 2 Campbell, Cate. "The Limit Does Not Exist: Kate Fehlhaber Puts Neuroscience In Focus". Forbes. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  11. "Knowing Neurons Team". Knowing Neurons. 6 October 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  12. Frohlich, Joel. "Consciousness, Self-Organization, and Neuroscience". Psychology Today. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  13. "Knowing Neurons Infographics". Knowing Neurons. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  14. "52 Brain Facts". Knowing Neurons. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  15. "Science Education and Outreach".