The Neuroscience of Pacific Rim

Keith Foster, leader of the funk band “Big Pimp Jones”, invites CTOR’s host, Sama Ahmed, to talk about the neuroscience of the giant-monster movie, Pacific Rim. Sama in turn calls up his neuroengineering friend, Joey Martinez, from the University of Utah to tag team this issue.

Guest: Sama Ahmed (CTOR/UCSF) and Joan Martinez (University of Utah)
Host: Keith Foster (Nerdometrics)

Sound Off (Part 3) - Love Songs of a Spider (Hosted by Dr. Kiki): Erin Brandt

Ever wonder how male spiders communicate their love songs? How they sing and dance? This is the last episode in our three-part series from Sound Off, our live show on the science of sound. Dr. Kiki from This Week in Science interviews Erin Brandt (Elias lab at UC Berkeley) about her research on the vibratory communication of jumping spiders.

Make sure to check out this article about Erin Brandt’s work, written by our friends over at the Berkeley Science Review (video included!)

More on the Brandt Lab's research

Hosted by Ben Cohn, Austin Chou, and Kirsten Sanford (Dr. Kiki)

Sound Off (Part 2) - Auditory Feedback and The Donald Duck Treatment (Hosted by Dr. Kiki): John Houde

Dr. Kiki (This Week in Science) interviews Dr. John Houde about how changing what the brain hears can alter what it says. The two discuss how fooling the brain into thinking you sound like Donald Duck can be an effective treatment for people who speak with a stutter.

This is the second of a three-part series from "Sound Off!”, Carry the One Radio’s first live show, which took place at UCSF on May 29, 2014.

More on the Houde Lab's research

Produced by: Ben Cohn, Austin Chou, and Kirsten Sanford

How does the brain motivate us to move?: Anatol Kreitzer

Our guest this month is Anatol Kreitzer, assistant professor of physiology and neurology at UCSF and a scientist at the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes. Dr. Kreitzer has made pioneering discoveries in the study of the neural circuits that control movement. His lab is interested in the function of the basal ganglia, a structure deep in the brain that controls movement, motivation, and action selection. Dysfunction of the basal ganglia can lead to movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease where patients have difficulty either initiating or controlling movements.

To understand how the basal ganglia works, the Kreitzer lab records electrical activity from neurons within the basal ganglia and determines how it relates to movement in behaving mice. They can also control this activity using an emerging technique known as optogenetics. By delivering genes coding for light-sensitive proteins into specific neurons, scientists in the lab can manipulate the electrical activity of certain neurons to see how movement is affected. This technique is being used to study the cells in the basal ganglia that guide our actions based on previous experience. Dr. Kreitzer’s work has provided significant insights into how the basal ganglia works and may eventually lead to potential cures for movement disorders.

More on the Kreitzer Lab's research

Hosted by Osama Ahmed

How neurons navigate their way around in the developing brain: David Van Vactor

Harvard University


Dec. 8, 2010 (Hosted by Osama Ahmed)





Your brain is composed of a tremendous number of neurons that make very specific connections with each other. The formation of this extremely complex circuit requires that each neuron find its appropriate target. Dr. David Van Vactor and his lab at Harvard University study the cellular machinery that help motor neurons navigate and find their correct partners, muscles, during development. They are also investigating how the neuromuscular junction is formed and maintained once the neuron reaches its destined target. At the end of our talk with David, he discusses the experiences in elementary school and college that led him to a career in science.




More on the Van Vactor Lab's research