In today's episode, Carolina & Clara discuss the neuroscience and psychology behind interoception, the process that guides our sense of self and is often termed our "sixth sense". How does our perception of our internal bodily states drive our emotions and cognitive state? We discuss the place for interoception in our sense of being. We also discuss what happens when we lack interoceptive abilities, a condition known as alexithymia, and in what ways interoception has been scientifically probed in humans to help us better understand the brain regions and processes underlying it. --- We hope ..read more

For our third episode in our "Tools for Looking into the Brain" series, we are joined by Dr. Adil Khan, a neuroscientist and group leader at King's College London, to explore reading and writing patterns into the brain. We discuss the principles of two major tools used to examine and manipulate neural activity, namely two-photon microscopy and optogenetics, and explore how they have been applied to answering questions about the neural basis of flexible cognition and behaviour in the Khan lab. --- We hope you enjoy the episode! Please feel free to share with your friends and family, it means a ..read more

In today's episode, we are joined by Professor Tiago Branco, a Principal Investigator and Group Leader at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL. The Branco lab studies how instinctive decisions are computed from sensory information, and from representations of the world built from experience. In this episode, we discuss what different sorts of approaches (top-down vs bottom-up) you can employ to study the neural basis of behaviour, and how computational models of behaviours can be created and used based on experimental data. Drawing on Professor Branco's extensive experience in the field of neu ..read more

Today's episode is about fungi & lichen! We are joined by George Mears, a PhD student at Royal Holloway and Kew Gardens. Having carried out research on the evolutionary impact of the lichen lifestyle on the fungal genome during his Masters, George is currently in the LIDo iCASE PhD program, working under Professor Robin Williams to continue biological research into plant-derived products. In this episode, we discuss the ancient symbiotic relationships between plants and fungi and how lichens have impacted fungi evolution and vice versa. --- We hope you enjoy the episode! Please feel free t ..read more

In today’s episode we are celebrating women’s day by discussing the current state of women’s reproductive healthcare and research, how much progress has been made and what still needs to be done. We are joined by Professor Sohier Elneil, a UCL Professor and Consultant specialising in Urogynaecology and Uroneurology.   Professor Elneil completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge in the physiology and pharmacology of sensory bladder dysfunction in women and now runs the neuromodulation programme for bladder and pelvic floor dysfunction at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosu ..read more

Welcome back to Neuroverse, this week we bring to you the second episode in our mini-series "Tools for Looking into the Brain", where we explore the diversity of experimental methods used to study the brain's structure and function. In this episode, we discuss the basic principles of fluorescence microscopy and how it can help us understand the brain. We explore how we can make cells of the brain fluorescent in the first place, and the different types of microscopes that are used to visualise and image this fluorescence, from widefield to confocal to 2-photon microscopes! We also discussed the ..read more

Happy Valentines day! We hope today you celebrate love in all its shapes and forms. It is also our Neuroverse 2 year anniversary! What better way to celebrate than to dive deep into Love's effect on the brain, from the neurobiology to the philosophy (Neuroverse style). We discuss how the initial phases of falling in Love activates the same biological pathways as acute stress, causing the classical symptoms of sleeplessness, shortness of breath and longing, as well as how long-term leave and heart-break is manifested in the brain. We also postulate about the epistemology of Love and if Plato wa ..read more

In today's episode we've answered some of your questions! Topics ranging from academic advice, lab and research environments, personal life choices and more. Tune in to find out the questions asked! --- We hope you enjoy the episode! Please feel free to share with your friends and family, it means a lot to us? Neuroverse Website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neuroversepod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast directory ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://anchor.fm/neuroverse9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support us!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/neuroverse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Twitter: @neuroverse_pod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/neuroverse_pod?s=21&t=KvAEuwGNKFQ9 ..read more

In today's episode, we delve into the complexities of sound. What is sound? Is it defined by what produces it or by what hears it? Is sound purely physical, or is it a construct of our minds? Is the perception of sound comparable to the perception of colour? We discuss these fascinating questions and more, and reflect on what sound means to us! --- We hope you enjoy the episode! Please feel free to share with your friends and family, it means a lot to us? Neuroverse Website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neuroversepod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast directory ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://anchor.fm/neuroverse9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support us ..read more

In our final episode of 2023, we chat about another full year of Neuroverse- our highlights, favourite episodes, what we've most enjoyed learning about, what major questions and themes have arisen, and what we're excited for to come in 2024! Thank you so much for all your support in the past year. --- We hope you enjoy the episode! Please feel free to share with your friends and family, it means a lot to us? Neuroverse Website ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://neuroversepod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast directory ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://anchor.fm/neuroverse9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Support us!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/neuroverse ..read more