Podcast appearances and mentions of suzana herculano houzel

Neurons have long enjoyed a kind of rock star status. We think of them as the most fundamental units of the brain—the active cells at the heart of brain function and, ultimately, at the heart of behavior, learning, and more. But neurons are only part of the story—about half the story, it turns out. The other half of the brain is made up of cells called glia. Glia were long thought to be important structurally but not particularly exciting—basically stage-hands there to support the work of the neurons. But in recent decades, at least among neuroscientists, that view has faded. In our understanding of the brain, glia have gone from stage-hands to co-stars.   My guest today is Dr. Nicola Allen. Nicola is a molecular neuroscientist and Associate Professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. She and her lab study the role of glial cells—especially astrocytes—in brain function and dysfunction.   Here, Nicola and I talk about how our understanding and appreciation of glial cells has changed. We do a bit of Brain Cells 101, reviewing the main division between neurons and glia and then sketching the subtypes within each category. We discuss the different shapes and sizes of glial cells, as well as the different functions. Glia are an industrious bunch. They're involved in synapse formation and pruning, the production of myelin, the repair of injuries, and more. We also talk about how glial cells have been implicated in various forms of brain dysfunction, from neurodegeneration to neurodevelopmental syndromes. And how, as a result, these cells are attracting serious attention as a site for therapeutic intervention.   Well, it's that time of year again folks. Applications are now open for the 2025 Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, or DISI. This is an intense program—highly interdisciplinary, highly international—for scholars and storytellers interested in all forms and facets of intelligence. If you like thinking about minds, if you like thinking about humans and animals and plants and AIs and collectives and ways they're alike and different—you would probably like DISI. For more info, check out disi.org—that's D-I-S-I dot org. Review of applications begins March 1st, so don't dally too too long.   Alright friends—on to my conversation with Dr. Nicola Allen. Enjoy!   Notes and links 3:00 – Correction: “glia” actually comes from the Greek—not the Latin—for “glue.” 3:30 – See this short primer on glia by Dr. Allen and Dr. Ben Barres. For a bit of the history of how glial cells were originally conceived, see this article on Ramón y Cajal's contributions to glia research. 10:00 – On the nascent field of “neuroimmunology,” see here. 14:00 – On the idea that “90% of brain cells are glia” see this article by (former guest) Suzana Herculano-Houzel. 18:00 – The root “oligo” in “oligodendrocyte” means “few” (and is thus the same as the “olig” in, e.g., “oligarchy"). It is not related to the “liga-” in “ligament.” 28:00 – On the idea that the glia-neuron ratio changes as brains grow more complex, see again the article by Dr. Herculano-Houzel. 30:00 – See Dr. Allen's paper on the idea of glia as “architects.” See also Dr. Allen's paper on the idea of glia as “sculptors.” 33:00 – See Dr. Allen's paper on the idea of the “tripartite synapse.” 42:00 – A recent paper reviewing the phenomenon of adult neurogenesis.  48:00 –  See Dr. Allen's recent review of the role of astrocytes in neurodegeneration. 51:30 – A recent article on the roles of APOE in Alzheimer's.   Recommendations Glia (2nd edition), edited by Beth Stevens, Kelly R. Monk, and Marc R. Freeman   Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation to Indiana University. The show is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Our transcripts are created by Sarah Dopierala.   Subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com.    For updates about the show, visit our website or follow us on Twitter (@ManyMindsPod) or Bluesky (@manymindspod.bsky.social).

Em dezembro, a tradicional divulgação da palavra do ano pelo Dicionário Oxford definiu “brain rot” como a que mais representa 2024. Trata-se de uma expressão que pode ser traduzida como "podridão cerebral" decorrente do uso excessivo de redes sociais e do consumo de conteúdos considerados pouco desafiadores Oxford justifica a escolha com o boom de procura pelo termo na internet: cresceu 230% entre 2023 e 2024, possivelmente por causa da "preocupação com o impacto trazido por tantos conteúdos de baixa qualidade online". Aqui no Brasil, a palavra eleita como a que melhor define 2024 também tem relação com saúde mental: ansiedade recebeu 22% dos votos de uma pesquisa que ouviu mais de 1.500 brasileiros. Para explicar o que significa "brain rot" e como o uso descontrolado redes sociais pode nos levar à exaustão, Natuza Nery entrevista a psicóloga Anna Lucia Spear King, doutora em saúde mental, professora da pós-graduação do Instituto de Psiquiatria da UFRJ e fundadora do Instituto Delete. Natuza conversa também com Suzana Herculano-Houzel, neurocientista na Universidade Vanderbilt, nos Estados Unidos. Ela explica como o cérebro humano lida com a sensação de recompensa ao rolar o feed e dá dicas do que fazer para tornar a relação com a tecnologia mais saudável.

This is a rebroadcast of one of our favorite episodes from Season 8! When did smartness begin? We'll find out how a neuroscientist blends up brains, and cracks the case of the Tyrannosaurus Rex smarts! Suzana Herculano-Houzel helps us answer listener Penny's question by explaining how “smartness” might not mean what you think - and how all animals have shown off their intelligence over time. Listen to our bonus interview with Suzana on our Patreon when you pledge just $1 a month or more! patreon.com/tumblepodcast. Learn more about Suzana and her work on the evolution of intelligence on the blog on our website, www.sciencepodcastforkids.com.

Voltamos com mais um episódio do Escuta Essa, podcast semanal em que Denis e Danilo trocam histórias de cair o queixo e de explodir os miolos. Todas as quartas-feiras, no seu agregador de podcasts favorito, é a vez de um contar um causo para o outro. Neste episódio Denis nos conta sobre a história do sabor umami e a origem do leite condensado. Não deixe de enviar os episódios do Escuta Essa para aquela pessoa com quem você também gosta de compartilhar histórias e aproveite para mandar seus comentários e perguntas no Spotify, nas redes sociais @escutaessapod, ou no e-mail escutaessa@aded.studio. A gente sempre lê mensagens no final de cada episódio! ... NESTE EPISÓDIO - O umami foi descoberto em 1908 pelo químico japonês Kikunae Ikeda. Sua empresa, a Ajinomoto, foi fundada pouco depois, em 1917. - O Portal Umami tem a função de divulgar informações sobre o "quinto sabor". - Das 200 a 300 mil espécies de plantas comestíveis pelos seres humanos, estima-se que sejam consumidas atualmente apenas 200. - O livro "Eating Animals", de Jonathan Safran Foer, aborda a fundo a perda da diversidade de alimentos possíveis. - Robert Gibbon Johnson ficou famoso como possivelmente a primeira pessoa a ingerir um tomate nos Estados Unidos. - A "Síndrome do restaurante chinês" surgiu em 1968 quando o médico Robert Ho Man Kwok enviou uma carta à revista científica "New England Journal of Medicine". - A neurocientista Suzana Herculano-Houzel escreveu uma coluna defendendo o glutamato. - No Brasil agora é obrigatório indicar na embalagem dos produtos se há alto teor de açúcar, sal e gordura. - Matéria da Juliana Faddul para a piauí conta a história do leite condensado no Brasil. - Débora Fontenelle aparece no episódio "A moça da lata" do podcast "O joio e O trigo". - Você pode ouvir o podcast em francês sobre o Rodríguez enviado pelo ouvinte Ricardo Sedano aqui. ... AD&D STUDIO A AD&D produz podcasts e vídeos que divertem e respeitam sua inteligência! Acompanhe todos os episódios em aded.studio para não perder nenhuma novidade. POUCO PIXEL O podcast Pouco Pixel abriu uma campanha de financiamento coletivo para viabilizar sua próxima temporada! Apoie em poucopixel.com/financiamento

Nesse PiccciniCast temos 8 lições do Livro "O Cérebro Nosso de Cada Dia" da neurocientista Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Descubra como desenvolver seu cérebro para aprender, trabalhar e ter uma vida melhor.

The human brain is sometimes called the "most complex thing in the universe”. It allows us to study ourselves, other animals, and the cosmos itself. Indeed, we often think of our brain as the pinnacle of animal evolution. But what do we actually know about the human brain? How different is it from the brain of an elephant? A chimpanzee? A raccoon? And if our brain is not the biggest in the animal kingdom (it is not), then what, if anything, makes it worth the hype? To discuss this topic, I am joined by the Brazilian neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel. An associate professor at Vanderbilt University, Herculano-Houzel has done more than perhaps any living human to help us understand these questions. And her work has a wonderful capacity to explain why the human brain is so remarkable, but simultaneously, why it still fits within the broader patterns we see in other animals. (That's unlike the elephant, the raccoon, or the chimpanzee. Their brains are truly special, she says.) Herculano-Houzel's work also suggests an answer to what might be the biggest question in human evolution: If a big brain is a good idea, why didn't all other animals grow one? As always, our conversation finishes with my Herculano-Houzel's reflections on humanity. Thank you, as always, for listening! (You can also keep scrolling down to find some useful bits, such as useful links and lists of terms, names, and numbers mentioned in the episode conversation. Or do you prefer reading to listening? Or wish to get back to some highlights? From the 5th of October onwards, you can also read a breakdown of this conversation on Substack⁠.) LEARN MORE To get longer show notes (plus essays based on the episodes), subscribe to On Humans on Substack. https://OnHumans.substack.com/ To get highlights in video format, check out On Humans on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@OnHumansPodcast Patreon supporters can access more bonus material. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠ MENTIONS Technical terms The (cerebral) cortex / The cerebellum / Neurons / Stereology / The grandmother hypothesis (see episode 6)   Names Harry Jerison Numbers Neurons in the whole brain of humans (86 billion) and elephants (257 billion) Neurons in the cerebral cortex of humans (16 billion), great apes (6-8 billion), elephants (5-6 billion), dolphins & whales (1-4 billion, based on estimations), baboons (2- 3 billion), t-rex (2-3 billion based on estimates), smaller monkeys (1-3 billion), raccoons (over 1 billion), crows (a notch less than 1 billion) Links T-rex video: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1tEnm53zDs⁠ Herculano-Houzel's TED talk (viewed almost 4 million times): ⁠https://www.ted.com/talks/suzana_herculano_houzel_what_is_so_special_about_the_human_brain?language=en⁠ SUPPORT THE SHOW You can support the show for free by sharing episodes, subscribing to the show, and rating it on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. To show some serious support, join the group of wonderful people supporting the show financially. ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠ Get in touch: ilari@onhumans.org

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Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cousins, the great apes, behind. So the human brain is special, right? Wrong, according to Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Humans have developed cognitive abilities that outstrip those of all other animals, but not because we are evolutionary outliers. The human brain was not singled out to become amazing in its own exclusive way, and it never stopped being a primate brain. If we are not an exception to the rules of evolution, then what is the source of the human advantage? Herculano-Houzel shows that it is not the size of our brain that matters but the fact that we have more neurons in the cerebral cortex than any other animal, thanks to our ancestors' invention, some 1.5 million years ago, of a more efficient way to obtain calories: cooking. Because we are primates, ingesting more calories in less time made possible the rapid acquisition of a huge number of neurons in the still fairly small cerebral cortex—the part of the brain responsible for finding patterns, reasoning, developing technology, and passing it on through culture. Herculano-Houzel shows us how she came to these conclusions—making “brain soup” to determine the number of neurons in the brain, for example, and bringing animal brains in a suitcase through customs. The Human Advantage is an engaging and original look at how we became remarkable without ever being special. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cousins, the great apes, behind. So the human brain is special, right? Wrong, according to Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Humans have developed cognitive abilities that outstrip those of all other animals, but not because we are evolutionary outliers. The human brain was not singled out to become amazing in its own exclusive way, and it never stopped being a primate brain. If we are not an exception to the rules of evolution, then what is the source of the human advantage? Herculano-Houzel shows that it is not the size of our brain that matters but the fact that we have more neurons in the cerebral cortex than any other animal, thanks to our ancestors' invention, some 1.5 million years ago, of a more efficient way to obtain calories: cooking. Because we are primates, ingesting more calories in less time made possible the rapid acquisition of a huge number of neurons in the still fairly small cerebral cortex—the part of the brain responsible for finding patterns, reasoning, developing technology, and passing it on through culture. Herculano-Houzel shows us how she came to these conclusions—making “brain soup” to determine the number of neurons in the brain, for example, and bringing animal brains in a suitcase through customs. The Human Advantage is an engaging and original look at how we became remarkable without ever being special. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cousins, the great apes, behind. So the human brain is special, right? Wrong, according to Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Humans have developed cognitive abilities that outstrip those of all other animals, but not because we are evolutionary outliers. The human brain was not singled out to become amazing in its own exclusive way, and it never stopped being a primate brain. If we are not an exception to the rules of evolution, then what is the source of the human advantage? Herculano-Houzel shows that it is not the size of our brain that matters but the fact that we have more neurons in the cerebral cortex than any other animal, thanks to our ancestors' invention, some 1.5 million years ago, of a more efficient way to obtain calories: cooking. Because we are primates, ingesting more calories in less time made possible the rapid acquisition of a huge number of neurons in the still fairly small cerebral cortex—the part of the brain responsible for finding patterns, reasoning, developing technology, and passing it on through culture. Herculano-Houzel shows us how she came to these conclusions—making “brain soup” to determine the number of neurons in the brain, for example, and bringing animal brains in a suitcase through customs. The Human Advantage is an engaging and original look at how we became remarkable without ever being special. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/neuroscience

Humans are awesome. Our brains are gigantic, seven times larger than they should be for the size of our bodies. The human brain uses 25% of all the energy the body requires each day. And it became enormous in a very short amount of time in evolution, allowing us to leave our cousins, the great apes, behind. So the human brain is special, right? Wrong, according to Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Humans have developed cognitive abilities that outstrip those of all other animals, but not because we are evolutionary outliers. The human brain was not singled out to become amazing in its own exclusive way, and it never stopped being a primate brain. If we are not an exception to the rules of evolution, then what is the source of the human advantage? Herculano-Houzel shows that it is not the size of our brain that matters but the fact that we have more neurons in the cerebral cortex than any other animal, thanks to our ancestors' invention, some 1.5 million years ago, of a more efficient way to obtain calories: cooking. Because we are primates, ingesting more calories in less time made possible the rapid acquisition of a huge number of neurons in the still fairly small cerebral cortex—the part of the brain responsible for finding patterns, reasoning, developing technology, and passing it on through culture. Herculano-Houzel shows us how she came to these conclusions—making “brain soup” to determine the number of neurons in the brain, for example, and bringing animal brains in a suitcase through customs. The Human Advantage is an engaging and original look at how we became remarkable without ever being special. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When did smartness begin? We'll find out how a neuroscientist blends up brains, and cracks the case of the Tyrannosaurus Rex smarts! Suzana Herculano-Houzel helps us answer listener Penny's question by explaining how “smartness” might not mean what you think - and how all animals have shown off their intelligence over time. Help us out by taking our listener survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/tumblepodcast Listen to our bonus interview with Suzana on our Patreon when you pledge just $1 a month or more! patreon.com/tumblepodcast.Learn more about Suzana and her work on the evolution of intelligence the blog on our website, www.sciencepodcastforkids.com. We apologize that the cover art of the episode is not a scientifically accurate portrayal of a T.Rex! We know that they likely did not wear graduation caps.

When you think of the dinosaurs, you probably think of supersized lizards. At least I do. They were gargantuan, certainly, and maybe quite agile, but also a bit dim-witted. Maybe not markedly dim-witted, but definitely not the brightest. When dinosaurs terrify us it's because of their giant jaws and their sheer size, not because they were especially clever or crafty. (Except for those velociraptors in Jurassic park, of course—they were terrifyingly wily.) But, in any case, who really knows? It's all just fantasy and guesswork, right? I mean, how could we ever know how clever the dinosaurs actually were? My guest today is Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a comparative neuroanatomist at Vanderbilt University. She studies the diversity and composition of brains across the biological world. For more than a decade now, Suzana and her colleagues have made the case that one of the most revealing things about a brain is not how big it is or how big it is relative to the body, but simply how many neurons it has. This basic variable, she argues, can tell us a lot about the cognitive capabilities of different species. Which means that if we were able, in some way, to estimate the number of neurons in the brain of some extinct creature, we could start to make inferences about its mind and its behaviors.  Here, Suzana and I discuss a recent study of hers in which she does exactly that. She was able to reconstruct the make-up of the brains of certain dinosaurs—such as the theropods, a group that included the venerable Tyrannosaurus Rex. But, before we get to the T-Rex, we first lay some important groundwork. We talk about how Suzana counts neurons, by making a kind of brain soup. We discuss how number of neurons proves to be a better predictor of complex cognition than does the much-discussed Encephalization Quotient (or EQ). We then describe how the brains of different groups of animals tend to obey predictable scaling laws. And with that groundwork laid, we dig into Suzana's estimate that, in terms of number of neurons, a T-Rex's brain was comparable to a baboon's. Which would mean that it was significantly cleverer than we long thought, that it was probably quite behaviorally flexible and long-lived and may have even had culture. As you might imagine, this study caused quite a bit of a stir and so, finally, Suzana and I discuss some of the criticisms that have been leveled against it.  Alright folks, this is a super thought-provoking episode, whether or not you are—or ever were—a dinosaur geek. And even if you're not quite ready to accept Suzana's conclusions about the T-Rex, I think you'll find that her work opens up a host of new questions and new directions. So, without further ado, on to my chat with Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel. Enjoy!     A transcript of this episode is available here.   Notes and links 6:00 – The paper in which Dr. Herculano-Houzel and her collaborator introduced the “brain soup” (aka isotropic fractionator) method.  10:00 – A paper by Dr. Herculano-Houzel about the glia/neuron ratio. 16:00 – The idea of the Encephalization Quotient (EQ) was first laid out by Harry Jerison in a 1973 book, Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence. A paper-length version of the theory is presented here. 23:00 – A recent review paper by Dr. Herculano-Houzel about number of neurons as a correlate of cognitive ability across species. 27:30 – Dr. Herculano-Houzel and colleagues have argued that the human brain is very much a “scaled up” version of the primate brain. See an empirical paper here and a review article here. See also Dr. Herculano-Houzel's TED talk and book, The Human Advantage.  28:00 – Dr. Herculano-Houzel has found, in a data set of 700 species, that the number of cortical neurons predicts a species' longevity and age to maturity. 33:00 – A 2022 study in PNAS of neuron numbers across numerous species. The data from this paper formed the basis for some of Dr. Herculano-Houzel's analyses. 41:30 – For more discussion of planning and future-thinking across species, see our recent episode Traversing the Fourth Dimension, with Dr. Adam Bulley. 46:00 – While Dr. Herculano-Houzel's study on dinosaur brains has generated much excitement, it also been met with some skepticism in various popular treatments and on Twitter.   48:00 – A popular article describing the idea that dinosaurs were neither warm- nor cold-blooded but “mesotherms.”   Dr. Herculano-Houzel recommends: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, by Steve Brusatte Dr. Herculano-Houzel's The Neuroscience Office Hour: Crash Course   Many Minds is a project of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, which is made possible by a generous grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation to UCLA. It is hosted and produced by Kensy Cooperrider, with help from Assistant Producer Urte Laukaityte and with creative support from DISI Directors Erica Cartmill and Jacob Foster. Our artwork is by Ben Oldroyd. Our transcripts are created by Sarah Dopierala. You can subscribe to Many Minds on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Play, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.  You can now subscribe to the Many Minds newsletter here! We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Feel free to email us at: manymindspodcast@gmail.com.  For updates about the show, visit our website (https://disi.org/manyminds/), or follow us on Twitter: @ManyMindsPod.

Trey dives into the recent controversy about how smart T-Rex was. A new paper by Suzana Herculano Houzel titled "Theropod Dinosaurs had primate like numbers of telencephalic neurons" has started a debate on how we can tell the cleverness of this ancient creature. Miles looks at the worlds newest - oldest - known sentence.  Found on a ivory comb, it helps give context to the region and the history of writing. The gang also get side tracked talking about historical art of dicks, and the new Indiana Jones move. So, sorry about that. The gang go over Monster Quest S2E15 - Lake Monsters of the North - The MonsterQuest team explore both historic and recent sightings of a mysterious eel-like monster in Lake Crescent, Newfoundland, Canada.Support the show

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. will reach its borrowing limit Thursday. But there are some lessons to be learned from 2011 when the U.S. was hurtling towards a default but narrowly averted it. NPR political correspondent Susan Davis joins us. Then, a Massachusetts man is fighting to stay with his family. Fredly Charles is battling against deportation to Haiti. He's one of two people who can take care care of his daughter who has intensive medical needs. Fredly and his wife Tasha Charles join us. And, the T-Rex has always been seen as enormous and terrifying, but not necessarily smart. A new body of research shows that most of us, and "Jurassic Park" may have gotten some things about the dinosaur's intelligence wrong. Suzana Herculano-Houzel, an associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, joins us.

Hello!

Humanity has come quite some way in the past 200,000 years but are we really anything more than primates with a few million more neurons than our closest relatives? Read by Leighton Pugh.

Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is a Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. In the lab, she compares brains to find out what they are made of and what difference that makes for the organism in terms of its abilities. She is interested in finding out how many neurons and other cell types brains have, determining whether brain size matters, and examining how numbers of cells correspond to cognitive abilities. Suzana is not only a scientist, but also a musician. From an early age, she received formal training in classical music, including the piano and flute. While Suzana was a graduate student in Cleveland, she decided to learn to play the cello. In addition, Suzana also previously self-taught herself to play classical guitar and just recently started taking formal lessons. She received her B.S. in Biology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and completed her M.S. in Neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University. She was awarded her PhD in Neuroscience from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, and conducted part of her graduate work at the Max-Planck Institute for Brain Research. Suzana served on the faculty of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt where she is today. She is the recipient of the Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, as well as the José Reis Prize of Science Communication. In addition, Suzana has authored seven books for the general public on neuroscience, including her recently published book The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable. She has written and presented the TV series Neurológica, has contributed over 260 to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, and has written for the Scientific American Brazil magazine. In our interview, Suzana shares stories from her life and science.

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Pílulas da Neurociência para uma vida melhor - Suzana Herculano-Houzel/ Ao leitor e Episódio 1: Sozinho. Ajude o canal doando 1 ou 2 reais no Paypal https://www.paypal.com/donate?business=2P8Q4RRLY9VMN&no_recurring=0&item_name=Ajudar+canal.+Obrigada¤cy_code=BRL

------------------Support the channel------------ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Director for Communications at Vanderbilt Brain Institute at Vanderbilt University. She is interested in comparative neuroanatomy, cellular composition of brains, brain morphology, brain evolution, metabolic cost of body and brain, sleep requirement across species, feeding time, and really interested in how all of these are tied together. She writes about neuroscience and science in general for the public. She is the author of The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable (MIT Press, 2016). In this episode, we focus on The Human Advantage, and also on a chapter of the edited book, A Most Interesting Problem: What Darwin's Descent of Man Got Right and Wrong about Human Evolution. We debunk many myths about the human brain, focusing on things like its size, its number of cells, its organization, its metabolic cost, its functions, and how we compare to other species. We also make reference to some of the ideas Darwin exposed on The Descent of Man, and what he got right and wrong. This interview is part of a short series I am doing on the 150th anniversary of Darwin's Descent of Man. -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, PER HELGE LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, CRAIG HEALY, OLAF ALEX, PHILIP KURIAN, JONATHAN VISSER, JAKOB KLINKBY, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, PAULINA BARREN, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ARTHUR KOH, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, SUSAN PINKER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, PABLO SANTURBANO, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, JORGE ESPINHA, CORY CLARK, MARK BLYTH, ROBERTO INGUANZO, MIKKEL STORMYR, ERIC NEURMANN, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, BERNARD HUGUENEY, ALEXANDER DANNBAUER, OMARI HICKSON, FERGAL CUSSEN, YEVHEN BODRENKO, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, DON ROSS, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, OZLEM BULUT, NATHAN NGUYEN, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, J.W., JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, IDAN SOLON, ROMAIN ROCH, DMITRY GRIGORYEV, TOM ROTH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, MIRAN B, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, MAX BEILBY, AL ORTIZ, NELLEKE BAK, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, AND NICK GOLDEN! A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, IAN GILLIGAN, SERGIU CODREANU, LUIS CAYETANO, TOM VANEGDOM, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, VEGA GIDEY, AND NIRUBAN BALACHANDRAN! AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MICHAL RUSIECKI, ROSEY, JAMES PRATT, AND MATTHEW LAVENDER!

O cérebro é o órgão responsável pelo funcionamento de todo o nosso corpo, ele está ativo até mesmo quando dormimos. É verdade que usamos apenas 10% do seu potencial? Se ele é a base da vida, o que veio antes do cérebro? Hoje o Na Medida Do Possível recebe a neurocientista Suzana Herculano-Houzel, que nos conta a relação entre cérebro, mente e alma. Ela também explica como são formadas a nossa personalidade e habilidades. Além de nos contar o grande segredo para manter a saúde cerebral, especialmente agora, durante a pandemia. Quer aprender a cuidar da sua saúde? Aperte o play!

This is the first in a four-part series looking at the energy revolutions that drove human history. In this programme Justin Rowlatt goes right back to the origin of our species two million years ago to explore how the mastery of fire by early humans transformed our metabolism, helping us to evolve our uniquely energy-hungry brains. The physical evidence for early use of fire is frustratingly thin on the ground, according to archaeologist Carolina Mallol. But primatologist Jill Pruetz says she has learned a lot from observing chimpanzees interact with wildfires on the African savanna. Research collaborators Rachel Carmody and Richard Wrangham theorise that our ancestors' unique ability to cook their food transformed the way our bodies access the energy it contains - something Justin seeks to test out by going on a raw food diet. The bounty of metabolic energy it delivered may have enabled us to become the formidably intelligent species we are today, according to neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, transforming us into prolific hunters who conquered the world. Producer: Laurence Knight Presenter: Justin Rowlatt Studio manager: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Zoe Gelber Editor: Rosamund Jones

Suzana Herculano-Houzel é uma neurocientista brasileira é professora universitária, escreveu diversos artigos, livros e participou de programas de TV. Conhecida por ser uma grande divulgadora científica, pela descoberta de um método de contagem de neurônios em cérebros humanos e de outros animais e por encontrar a relação entre a área e espessura do córtex cerebral e o número de dobras em sua superfície, essa cientista não poderia ficar de fora do Papo Astral! #ciência​ #neurociência​ #DivulgaçãoCientífica --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/papoastralgleiser/support

This episode is a roundtable discussion on A MOST INTERESTING PROBLEM: WHAT DARWIN'S DESCENT OF MAN GOT RIGHT AND WRONG ABOUT HUMAN EVOLUTION, a compilation of constructive criticisms on some of Charles Darwin's most profound evolutionary thoughts, 150 years after their initial publication. The guests are the book's editor, Jeremy DeSilva, as well as Suzana Herculano-Houzel and Agustín Fuentes, who each contributed a chapter.

For centuries, scientists have wondered what makes humans so much smarter than other species. Some proposed it was the size of our brain (though that didn't explain why whales weren't smarter than us); others thought it was the size of our brain relative to our body size (but there were problems with that explanation as well). In this episode, neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel lays out the mystery of the "Human advantage," and explains how a new technique she invented several years ago has shed light on some of these longstanding mysteries. Sped up the speakers by ['1.0', '1.05']

Learn about two new neuroscience studies that show why birds are so dang smart. Then science writer John Tierney will talk negativity bias and how you can use it to your own benefit. Curiosity Daily is a finalist in the 2020 Discover Pods Awards, and we need your vote to win! Please vote for Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast via the link below. It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/vote/  Two new bird-brain studies show why birds are so smart by Grant Currin Ackerman, J. (2016). The Genius of Birds. United States: Penguin Publishing Group. Tracing cerebral cortex evolution. (2018). Max-Planck-Gesellschaft; www.MPG.de. https://www.mpg.de/12027342/molecular-atlas-reptile-brain ‌Suzana Herculano-Houzel. (2020). Birds do have a brain cortex—and think. Science, 369(6511), 1567–1568. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe0536 ‌Stacho, M., Herold, C., Rook, N., Hermann Wagner, Axer, M., Katrin Amunts, & Onur Güntürkün. (2020). A cortex-like canonical circuit in the avian forebrain. Science, 369(6511). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc5534 Nieder, A., Lysann Wagener, & Rinnert, P. (2020). A neural correlate of sensory consciousness in a corvid bird. Science, 369(6511), 1626–1629. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb1447 Additional resources from science writer John Tierney: Pick up "The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It" on Amazon John Tierney on Twitter John Tierney on the New York Times Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Ashley Hamer and Natalia Reagan (filling in for Cody Gough). You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pesquisa Cientifica da neurocientista brasileira Suzana Herculano-Houzel sobre contagem de neurônios no cerebro humano. Fonte:https://www.ted.com/talks/suzana_herculano_houzel_what_is_so_special_about_the_human_brain Podcast by Gabriella Rosa Natal

How did we get our brain and how is it different from other brains? The answer to those questions are given in todays episode by Associate Professor Suzana Herculano-Houzel. We also get into how many neurons we have, how many neurons we have in our cerebral cortex, how our brain compares to other brains, how we got our brain and how much energy our brain use. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is an Associate Professor of the Departments of Psychology and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. Her TED talk “What is so special about the human brain” has been seen almost 500 000 times on YouTube alone. She has written many books, one of which is The Human Advantage. Friends I really hope you will enjoy today's episode

أهلا وسهلاً بكم في البودكاست   في هذه الحلقة سأتحدث عن ميزة العقل البشري وسأذكر قصة تطور الانسان وماهي علاقة النار بتطورنا ؟   الكتاب المستخدم: The human advantage by: Suzana Herculano-Houzel   مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي :  اليوتيوب : https://www.youtube.com/brainybrainpodcast صفحة الفيس بوك : https://www.facebook.com/brainybrain2018/ تويتر : @Thebrainybrain1  

O livro “A vantagem humana” é uma jornada de exploração sobre o cérebro humano à luz da evolução. A cientista apresenta quais são as atuais hipóteses que sustentam a supremacia cognitiva humana e suas habilidades. Nesse livro conhecemos a história por trás de uma técnica inovadora desenvolvida pela Suzana Houzel, além de sua paciência e coragem para confrontar alguns dados de nomes consagrados da neurociência. Onde estaria o diferencial do poder cerebral do homo sapiens? Sua quantidade de neurônios, índice de encefalização, neuroanatomia, são tantas hipóteses possíveis e é nessa viagem que a autora nos leva, com muita ciência, pesquisa e humor inteligente.

Pouca gente poderia imaginar mas cozinhar fez toda a diferença em nossa evolução. É isso que diz um estudo da renomada neurocientista Suzana Herculano Houzel. Este é o assunto abordado por Adriano neste episódio.

Can Christians reconcile the story of creation with evolutionary theory without compromising an authentic reading of scripture or Christian anthropology?  Is it necessary to see evolutionary theory with an openness to God in order if we are to explain the process reasonably?  I assert the answer to both of those questions is: Yes. Listen in and let me know what you think! Note: I purposely avoid the phrase Intelligent Design in my talk because of all the baggage it currently carries with it. However, David Galernter puts forth a formidable argument for it in his article Giving up Darwin. He is mostly citing Stephen Meyer’s book Darwin’s Doubt, which i have not had the chance to read yet.  Bibliography (not comprehensive but these were my main sources): Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind. Yuval Noah Harari The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How our Brains Became Remarkable.Suzana Herculano-Houzel, MIT Press, 2016 What is so Special about the Human Brain? Ted Talk, Suzana Herculano-Houzel  Giving up Darwin, David Galernter Jordan Peterson, Various Talks and Lectures on brain development as well as his lectures on the creation story.  Did Adam and Eve Exist? Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, OP, this is a lecture series that Fr. Nicanor gives in various contexts,but I have listened to various lectures from him on similar topics.

Original broadcast date: February 20, 2015. The brain can seem as mysterious as a distant galaxy, but scientists are starting to map and manipulate its many regions. In this hour, TED speakers take us on a trip through the human brain. Guests include neuroanatomist Jill Bolte-Taylor, neuroscientists Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Nancy Kanwisher, and Rebecca Saxe, and philosopher David Chalmers.

Nem todo herói usa uma capa. Alguns deles se empenham em usar o poder do conhecimento para combater os males da desinformação. Em tempos em que o nível educacional se mostra precário, a sociedade se coloca mais predisposta a ser vítima de mitos, superstições e pseudociências. Os divulgadores científicos realizam um papel importantíssimo, mas quem são alguns deles? Seja você também um apoiador do Bug Bites, seja nosso padrinho ou madrinha: bit.ly/apoiebb | * Referências recomendadas * 59% dos brasileiros acreditam em Deus e também em Darwin https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ciencia/2010/04/715507-59-dos-brasileiros-acreditam-em-deus-e-tambem-em-darwin.shtml * Brasil em penúltimo lugar em ranking da educação: https://guiadoestudante.abril.com.br/universidades/brasil-esta-em-penultimo-lugar-em-ranking-de-qualidade-na-educacao/ * Biografia de Carl Sagan: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan https://www.natgeo.pt/historia/quem-foi-carl-sagan * Biografia de Neil deGrasse Tyson: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson * Bill Nye the Science Guy: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nye_the_Science_Guy * O Mundo de Beakman: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beakman%27s_World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmzcywlNPMY * Biografia de Richard Dawkins: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins * Biografia de David Attenborough: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough * Biografia de Marcelo Gleiser: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Gleiser * Biografia de Suzana Herculano-Houzel: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzana_Herculano-Houzel * Biografia de Dráuzio Varella: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drauzio_Varella * Biografia e canal do Pirula: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirula https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGpd0gNn38UKwoncZd9rmA * Canal do Manual do Mundo: https://www.youtube.com/user/iberethenorio https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_do_Mundo * YouTube desmonetizando e removendo vídeos de propagação de ódio e desinformação: https://pplware.sapo.pt/google/o-youtube-ja-impede-os-canais-anti-vacinacao-de-rentabilizar-os-seus-videos/ https://jovemnerd.com.br/nerdbunker/youtube-vai-parar-de-recomendar-videos-com-teorias-da-conspiracao-e-revisionismos/ * Science Vlogs Brasil: https://revistagalileu.globo.com/Ciencia/noticia/2016/03/vlogueiros-se-unem-para-criar-canal-de-divulgacao-cientifica-de-qualidade-1.html https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqiD87j08pe5NYPZ-ncZw2w [[[[Sobre o Bug Bites]]]] Escute no seu celular via Spotify ou aplicativo de podcast: bit.ly/assineobb | Siga nas redes sociais: @BugBitesPodcast | Anúncio, críticas e sugestões: prodbugbites@gmail.com | Produção e Roteiro: Bruno Ramos | Créditos: “A Produção” | Arte da Capa: Bruno Ramos | Music and sound effects by Bee Hive by Drake Stafford, Actually Like (Twin Musicom), Call to Adventure (Kevin MacLeod), Called Upon (Silent Partner), Casual Desire (Ugonna Onyekwe), Djinn (Francis Preve), Ether (Silent Partner), Magical Gravity (Asher Fulero), Mind and Eye Journey (Emily A, Sprague), Passing Time (Kevin MacLeod), Saving the World (Aaron Kenny), and Lightning Bugs by Audionautix, all under a Creative Commons Attribution (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ , incompetech.com/music/royalty-fre…isrc=USUAN1500025 , Artist: incompetech.com/), insect sounds from soundbible.com, all distributed either under a Creative Commons 3.0 license, or public domain. These artists have played no part in the development and creation of this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nem todo herói usa uma capa. Alguns deles se empenham em usar o poder do conhecimento para combater os males da desinformação. Em tempos em que o nível educacional se mostra precário, a sociedade se coloca mais predisposta a ser vítima de mitos, superstições e pseudociências. Os divulgadores científicos realizam um papel importantíssimo, mas quem são alguns deles? Seja você também um apoiador do Bug Bites, seja nosso padrinho ou madrinha: bit.ly/apoiebb | * Referências recomendadas * 59% dos brasileiros acreditam em Deus e também em Darwin https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/ciencia/2010/04/715507-59-dos-brasileiros-acreditam-em-deus-e-tambem-em-darwin.shtml * Brasil em penúltimo lugar em ranking da educação: https://guiadoestudante.abril.com.br/universidades/brasil-esta-em-penultimo-lugar-em-ranking-de-qualidade-na-educacao/ * Biografia de Carl Sagan: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan https://www.natgeo.pt/historia/quem-foi-carl-sagan * Biografia de Neil deGrasse Tyson: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson * Bill Nye the Science Guy: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nye_the_Science_Guy * O Mundo de Beakman: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beakman%27s_World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmzcywlNPMY * Biografia de Richard Dawkins: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins * Biografia de David Attenborough: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough * Biografia de Marcelo Gleiser: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Gleiser * Biografia de Suzana Herculano-Houzel: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzana_Herculano-Houzel * Biografia de Dráuzio Varella: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drauzio_Varella * Biografia e canal do Pirula: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirula https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGpd0gNn38UKwoncZd9rmA * Canal do Manual do Mundo: https://www.youtube.com/user/iberethenorio https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_do_Mundo * YouTube desmonetizando e removendo vídeos de propagação de ódio e desinformação: https://pplware.sapo.pt/google/o-youtube-ja-impede-os-canais-anti-vacinacao-de-rentabilizar-os-seus-videos/ https://jovemnerd.com.br/nerdbunker/youtube-vai-parar-de-recomendar-videos-com-teorias-da-conspiracao-e-revisionismos/ * Science Vlogs Brasil: https://revistagalileu.globo.com/Ciencia/noticia/2016/03/vlogueiros-se-unem-para-criar-canal-de-divulgacao-cientifica-de-qualidade-1.html https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqiD87j08pe5NYPZ-ncZw2w [[[[Sobre o Bug Bites]]]] Escute no seu celular via Spotify ou aplicativo de podcast: bit.ly/assineobb | Siga nas redes sociais: @BugBitesPodcast | Anúncio, críticas e sugestões: prodbugbites@gmail.com | Produção e Roteiro: Bruno Ramos | Créditos: “A Produção” | Arte da Capa: Bruno Ramos | Music and sound effects by Bee Hive by Drake Stafford, Actually Like (Twin Musicom), Call to Adventure (Kevin MacLeod), Called Upon (Silent Partner), Casual Desire (Ugonna Onyekwe), Djinn (Francis Preve), Ether (Silent Partner), Magical Gravity (Asher Fulero), Mind and Eye Journey (Emily A, Sprague), Passing Time (Kevin MacLeod), Saving the World (Aaron Kenny), and Lightning Bugs by Audionautix, all under a Creative Commons Attribution (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ , incompetech.com/music/royalty-fre…isrc=USUAN1500025 , Artist: incompetech.com/), insect sounds from soundbible.com, all distributed either under a Creative Commons 3.0 license, or public domain. These artists have played no part in the development and creation of this episode.

Have you ever wondered how your cooking habits have affected your brain?  No? Well, the More Than Monotonutritionists discuss it anyways. Maxwell talks brain soup.  Dan wants to go back to raw foods. Evan wonders what bald eagle tastes like. Peter’s hatred for pandas is unyielding.   What is so special about the human brain? | Suzana Herculano-Houzel

The brain can seem as mysterious as a distant galaxy, but scientists are starting to map and manipulate its many regions. In this hour, TED speakers take us on a trip through the human brain. Guests include neuroanatomist Jill Bolte-Taylor, neuroscientists Suzana Herculano-Houzel and Nancy Kanwisher, cognitive neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe, and philosopher David Chalmers. (Original broadcast date: February 20, 2015)

Neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel grew up in Rio De Janeiro with two academics as parents. She says that “informed criticism” was highly encouraged in her household, but her father—an economist—still sometimes wonders how he produced such a “rebel” scientist. In the latest episode of The Zeppos Report, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos delves deep into the field of neuroanatomy with Herculano-Houzel, associate professor of psychology and biological sciences. The two explore the shattered dogmas and new findings about the brain that have emerged from Herculano-Houzel’s research featured in her critically-acclaimed book, The Human Advantage. The book seeks to answer a simple, yet central question of neuroscience: how do human brains compare to all other brains? “Everybody thought that everybody else had already figured that out!” Herculano-Houzel exclaims. As it turns out, Herculano-Houzel and her research team used a method she fondly refers to as “brain soup” to produce some of the most reputable findings about the human brain to date. She stresses, however, that these discoveries contradict the notion that our brains are “special.” Instead, Herculano-Houzel, who also serves as associate director for communications at the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, carefully describes our most powerful organ as “remarkable” and she attributes this to one key development. “What made modern humans possible is whatever trick our ancestors used that allowed them to get more calories in less time—and cooking does just that,” Herculano-Houzel said. In the podcast, Zeppos and Herculano-Houzel also stress the importance of universities across the globe and their role in retaining and creating knowledge. “We must invest in basic research and bring, from around the world, the most talented people,” said Zeppos, “And we are fortunate that we, as a country, have made those investments.” Brains aside, Herculano-Houzel still ponders about what produces a great mind and she’s found that higher education is a key ingredient in that process. The podcast is available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube and The Zeppos Report website.

Suzana Herculano-Houzel is Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Prior to Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel’s research, scientists assumed that the brains of all mammals were built in the same way and that the overall brain mass as compared to body mass was the critical determinant of cognitive ability. It was to resolve these conundrums about brain mass, body mass, and intelligence that Herculano-Houzel turned to chainsaws, butchers’ knives, and kitchen blenders to concoct what she refers to as brain soup. As STEM-Talk co-hosts Ken Ford and Dawn Kernagis point out during their interview with Herculano-Houzel, epsisode 39 of the podcast turned out to be not only an enlightening conversation, but also one of the most fun STEM-Talk interviews to date. Herculano-Houzel is a Brazilian neuroscientist who devised a way to count the number of neurons in human and animal brains. She writes about this in her book, The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable. Her method of counting the neurons of human and other animals' brains allowed her to study the relation between the cerebral cortex and the thickness and number of cortical folds in the brain. She is currently an associate professor of psychology and biological sciences in Vanderbilt University’s psychological sciences department and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. She grew up in Brazil and received her undergraduate degree in biology at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She went to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, to get her masters in neuroscience, and completed her Ph.D. in visual neurophysiology at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt, Germany. After completing her doctorate, Herculano-Houzel returned to Rio and went to work for the Museum of Life where she designed children’s activities. In 2002 she returned to her alma mater and began researching how human brains compared to other animals. In 2004, she devised a way of reducing brains to liquid as a means to count the number of neurons in them. It is technically known as the “isotropic fractionator.” In 2004 she won the Jose Reis Prize of Science, and in 2010 she received the James S. McDonell Foundation’s  Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition.  She is also the author of a biweekly newspaper column on the neuroscience of everyday life for Folha de São Paulo, the major newspaper in Brazil. Going into its 11th year, the column has appeared more than 270 times since 2006.  In addition to “The Human Advantage,” Herculano-Houzel is also the author of six books in Portuguese that focus on the neuroscience of everyday life. She also has a popular blog called “The Neuroscientist on Call,” which she describes as not-so-random thoughts about brains, the universe and everything. She lives in Nashville, TN, with her husband, son and two dogs. Links you may be interested in: “The Human Advantage”: http://amzn.to/2rtvNOY The Neuroscientist on Call blog: http://www.suzanaherculanohouzel.com Show notes: 5:32: Suzana talks about growing up in Rio and how she became interested in science. 7:07: Ken asks Suzana about her work at Rio’s Museum of Life. 12:55: Dawn asks Suzana when she firsts became interested in neuroscience. 16:00: Dawn follows up with a question about the composition of cells in the brain. 29:21: Suzana talks about how the brain represents just 2% of the average human mass, yet requires 25%of person’s energy. 33:14: Dawn tells Suzana she’s curious about Suzana’s method of counting neurons and asks her to talk about how she came up with the idea of brain soup. 38:58: Break 39:24: Dawn reads a portion of a book review that described how Suzana turned to chainsaws, butcher knifes and blenders to concoct brain soup and asks her to elaborate. 42:03: Suzana talks about some of the difficulty she had in locating brains for her research. 53:07: Suzana shares some of the lessons she’s learned from analyzing the brains of more than 100 species.

How many neurons does the typical human brain contain? The oft-quoted number of 100 billion turns out to have been a guess that was wrong! By a lot! Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is the Brazilian neuroscientist who developed a revolutionary new technique for accurately counting the neurons in brains of all sizes. She shocked the scientific community when she determined that the average human brain contains only 86 billion neurons, but we still have more neurons in our cerebral cortex than any other species. Learn what all this means in Brain Science 133. Please visit http://brainsciencepodcast.com for detailed show notes and episode transcripts. Send email to Dr. Campbell at brainsciencepodcast@gmail.com or leave voice feedback at http://speakpipe.com/docartemis. 

Dr. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is a Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. She received her B.S. in Biology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and completed her M.S. in Neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University. She was awarded her PhD in Neuroscience from Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, and conducted part of her graduate work at the Max-Planck Institute for Brain Research. Suzana served on the faculty of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt where she is today. She is the recipient of the Scholar Award in Understanding Human Cognition from the James S. McDonnell Foundation, as well as the José Reis Prize of Science Communication. In addition, Suzana has authored seven books for the general public on neuroscience, including her recently published book The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable. She has written and presented the TV series Neurológica, has contributed over 260 to the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, and has written for the Scientific American Brazil magazine. In our interview, Suzana shares stories from her life and science.

For centuries, scientists have wondered what makes humans so much smarter than other species. Some proposed it was the size of our brain (though that didn't explain why whales weren't smarter than us); others thought it was the size of our brain relative to our body size (but there were problems with that explanation as well). In this episode, neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel lays out the mystery of the "Human advantage," and explains how a new technique she invented several years ago has shed light on some of these longstanding mysteries.

Choosing the right food to eat, and the way to prepare it before we eat, are decisions that can have serious effects on our health, both in positive and negative ways depending on how we do it. Suzana Herculano-Houzel gave a TED Talk in 2013 arguing that what caused humans to evolve away from apes and develop large brains is that we started to cook our food, which increased the efficiency in which we consumed our calories. On the other hand, the 2008 documentary Food Matters argues that raw food is the way to go, and that cooked food could in fact be poisoning your body. Steve and Ben talk a look at both sides of this argument on cooked vs raw food, attempting to dispel some myths about what we actually need from our food on a daily basis.

Thursday, January 21, 2010 Suzana Herculano-Houzel (Professor, Universidad Federal de Rio) discusses cortical scaling rules across phylogeny, the theory of human cortical expansion in mammalian evolution, and how deceptively simple, almost minimalist experiments have the power to shake dogma. Duration: 36 minutes Discussants:(in alphabetical order) Salma Quraishi (Res. Asst Prof, UTSA) Jim Bower (Prof, UTSA, UTHSCSA) Todd Troyer (Asst Prof, UTSA) Carlos Paladini (Asst Prof, UTSA) Charles Wilson (Prof, UTSA) acknowledgement: JM Tepper for original music.