George Musser is an award-winning science writer and editor. He was a senior editor at Scientific American for 15 years and has written two books on fundamental physics, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to String Theory” (2008) and “Spooky Action at a Distance” (2015). He has written for Science, Nature, Quanta, Aeon, Nautilus, The New York Times and other publications. His website is georgemusser.com. He tweets at @gmusser.
George Musser
Contributing writer
From this contributor
Can an emerging field called ‘neural systems understanding’ explain the brain?
This mashup of neuroscience, artificial intelligence and even linguistics and philosophy of mind aims to crack the deep question of what "understanding" is, however un-brain-like its models may be.
Can an emerging field called ‘neural systems understanding’ explain the brain?
How ‘social touch’ shapes autism traits
Autistic people have unusual responses to 'affective touch,' which conveys social and emotional information. Their responses may reveal how autism begins.
The predictive coding theory of autism, explained
In autism, a person's brain may not form accurate predictions of imminent experiences, or even if it does, sensory input may override those predictions.
How virtual reality is transforming autism studies
Researchers and autistic artists exploring virtual reality to study, treat and simulate autism traits.
How virtual reality is transforming autism studies
How autism may stem from problems with prediction
A 'predictive coding' theory of autism suggests that many of the condition's hallmark traits occur when sensory input overrides expectation in the brain.
How autism may stem from problems with prediction
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This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience
A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.
This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience
A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.
Major ischemic events in autistic people, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 July.
Major ischemic events in autistic people, and more
Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 13 July.
Watching the mind build a world: Lucid dreaming as a model for generative perception
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Watching the mind build a world: Lucid dreaming as a model for generative perception
Lucid dreaming offers a rare opportunity to observe and probe perception from within.