Rebecca Schwarzlose, Ph.D.: Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

While we typically take constructing and making sense of our internal and external world for granted, the brain employs a sophisticated mapping system to help construct, organize & navigate a functional and workable reality. Author and neuroscientist, Dr. Rebecca Schwarzlose, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for an in-depth discussion of some of the core themes in her new book Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain - And How They Guide You. In this discussion they cover:

• what a brain map is and why our brain (or brains in general) are organized in this fashion
• why spatial representation of the world is generally conserved in a brain map
• how and why adverse early life events can influence or modify the development of brain maps
• implications of brain maps for artificial intelligence as well as virtual reality and other immersive experiences (e.g., watching a movie)
• how brain maps across various sensory modalities are combined
• how external factors such as environment, culture etc. can influence brain mapping
• the importance of neuroplasticity in brain mapping
• the role brain maps could play in the formation of consciousness
• the role and activation of brain mapping in body memories reported by clients who have experienced trauma
• a number of fun and speculative questions with respect to implications of brain maps related to extrasensory perception, meaning, morality etc.
• some of the potential implications of brain maps for clinicians

Rebecca Schwarzlose is a neuroscientist at Washington University in St. Louis. Schwarzlose is the recipient of many accolades including the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award. Among her notable scientific accomplishments is the discovery and naming of an entire new brain region (the fusiform body area). She holds a PhD in neuroscience from MIT and has served as chief editor of the scholarly journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. She lives in St. Louis. Brainscapes was supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.
https://gardenofthemind.com/
https://sites.wustl.edu/children/people/rebecca-schwarzlose/
https://www.amazon.ca/Brainscapes-Warped-Wondrous-Written-Brain/dp/1328949966