Cerebrum Spring 2020

Cerebrum Spring 2020

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E M E R G I N G I D E A S I N B R A I N S C I E N C E

The Mind of a

and Bond with Humans DOG

A Renaissance in Canine Cognitive Science Sheds Light on How They See the World

CONTRIBUTORS

Gregory Berns, M.D., Ph.D. Decoding the Canine Mind Page 10

Gregory Berns, M.D., Ph.D., is the Distinguished Professor of Neuroeconomics at Emory University, where he directs the Center for Neuropolicy and Facility for Education & Research in Neuroscience. He is also a professor in the psychology department and a founding member of the Society for Neuroeconomics. His has penned two books about canine cognition, What It’s Like to Be a Dog (Basic Books, 2017), and How Dogs Love Us (New Harvest, 2013), a New York Times bestseller. Berns specializes in the use of brain imaging technologies to understand human and canine motivation and decision-making. He is the co-founder of Dog Star Technologies, a company using neuroscience to enhance the dog-human partnership. Lee Alan Dugatkin, Ph.D., is a professor of biology and a College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Scholar at the University of Louisville. He has studied the evolution of cooperation, the evolution of aggression, the interaction between genetic and cultural evolution, the evolution of antibiotic resistance, the evolution of senescence, and the evolution of risk-taking. He has been a contributing author to Slate Magazine , Scientific American , and The New Scientist , and author of The Altruism Equation (Princeton University Press, 2006), Mr. Jefferson and the Giant Moose (The University of Chicago Press, 2009) and co-author, with Lyudmila Trut, of How to Tame a Fox and Build a Dog (The University of Chicago Press, 2017). Carl Sherman has written about neuroscience for the Dana Foundation for ten years. His articles on science, medicine, health, and mental health have appeared in national magazines including Psychology Today , Self , Playboy , and Us . He has been a columnist for GQ and Clinical Psychiatry News , and is the author of four books. He holds a doctorate in English literature and has taught at various universities. When not writing about the mind, the brain, and the interesting things people do with them, he enjoys travel, listening to music, looking at art, and copyediting. He lives and works in New York City. Brenda Patoine is a freelance science writer, reporter, and blogger who has been covering neuroscience research for more than 30 years. Her specialty is translating complex scientific findings into writings for the general public that address the question of “what does this mean to me?” She has interviewed hundreds of leading neuroscientists over three decades, including six Nobel Laureates. She founded ScienceWRITE Medical Communications in 1989 and holds a degree in journalism from St. Michael’s College. Other areas of interest are holistic wellness, science and spirituality, and bhakti yoga. Brenda lives in Burlington, V.T., with her cat Shakti.

Lee Alan Dugatkin, Ph.D. Jump-Starting Evolution Page 16

Carl Sherman Neurosteroids: A Major Step Forward Page 22

Brenda Patoine Tracking the Neural Footprints of Consciousness Page 26

COVER ILLUSTRATION: DANNY SCHWARTZ

2 DANA FOUNDATION CEREBRUM | SPRING 2020

SPRING 2020 | VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2

FEATURES 10 Decoding the Canine Mind

POINTS OF INTEREST NOTABLE FACTS IN THIS ISSUE 4 Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, like fluoxetine (Prozac), are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in veterinary behavioral medicine. Decoding the Canine Mind , Page 10 4 2020 marks the start of the seventh decade of this experiment, making it one of the longest, continually running, controlled experiments ever undertaken. Jump-Starting Evolution , Page 16 4 Researchers are considering therapeutic possibilities of neurosteroids for disorders ranging from schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder to autism and Alzheimer’s disease. Neurosteroids: A Major Step Forward , Page 22 4 The two models are in stark contrast to one another: their definitions of consciousness differ, their assumptions about what constitutes consciousness differ, and their whole approach to the subject is fundamentally different. Consciousness: A New Search for Answers , Page 26 4 The case has raised a fierce debate in scientific journals over the ethics of conducting the trial and reporting the results through the media rather than a peer- reviewed scientific paper. Troubling Regulatory Standards , Page 8

Curious about a dog’s perception of the world and how a pooch’s brain works? Gregory S. Berns is using brain scanning and other strategies to find answers. By Gregory Berns, M.D., Ph.D. 16 Jump-Starting Evolution Three years after a best-selling book, a co-author explains how the silver fox- domestication experiment continues to help us better understand genetics and evolution. By Lee Alan Dugatkin, Ph.D. 22 Neurosteroids: A Major Step Forward Research that began three-quarters of a century ago has led to one of the first new drugs to treat depression in 60 years—and the potential to treat much more. By Carl Sherman 26 Consciousness: A New Search for Answers Two leading theories that are diametrically opposed are part of a new $20 million international research program to explore how consciousness arises and correlates in the brain. By Brenda Patoine

SECTIONS 5 Advances Notable brain science findings 6 Briefly Noted Worry and Stress; Recommended Brain Science & Health Articles; Music and Preterm Babies; By the Numbers 7 Bookshelf A few brain science books that have recently caught our eye 8 Neuroethics: Troubling Regulatory Standards By Philip M. Boffey

2 Contributors | 4 From the Editor | 30 Advisory Board | 32 Editorial Staff

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DANA FOUNDATION CEREBRUM | SPRING 2020 3

FROMTHE EDITOR

It’s a Doggy Dog World

BY BILL GLOVIN Executive Editor, Dana Foundation W hen we began putting together this issue, no one had ever heard the term “coronavirus.” But now, with physical distancing, businesses closed, and humans going stir-crazy in the house, dogs may be one of the pandemic’s main beneficiaries, as they are being showered with ample amounts of attention. What better way to get a change of scenery and some exercise than leashing up your pooch for a long walk? In fact, a study by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute and Mars Petcare in 2019 revealed that 80 percent of people reported that pets reduced their loneliness, and 75 percent agreed that pets reduced feeling of social isolation. This second issue comes to you as we explore new ways to reimagine and deliver content. We divide our feature well in half: two long-form articles on brain research by neuroscientists and two on brain research or policy issues by science journalists. My ten-person advisory board suggests both topics and specific neuroscientist authors to address those topics, and reviews submitted articles for scientific accuracy. I’ve found that the board can be a tough nut to crack when it comes to article suggestions. All accomplished neuroscientists (see Page 30), they take into consideration recent advances, scientific merit, replication, and the potential of the research to change lives. So, to my great surprise—at the end of a conference call last fall—I told them I had been pitched the idea for an article about a fox domestication experiment. One of my longtime advisers, Bruce McEwen, was the first to chime in: “I’ve read about this project and it was an absolutely fascinating book,” he told the group. Seconds later, another adviser suggested that we spotlight a neuroscientist who uses fMRI to gain insights into canine cognition. “Why don’t we publish companion pieces?” another suggested. Soon, there was unanimous agreement that half our feature well should focus on canine cognition and behavior. My own research has since found at least 25 research centers throughout the world where canine cognition and behavior are studied—many of them forming in the last five years or so. In the U.S. alone, there are research centers at Duke, Yale, Arizona State, Barnard, and the University of Kentucky—just to name a few. The more we know about dogs, the more we help people—from service dogs for the disabled, to puppy training to make pet owners lives easier, to satisfying our curiosity about the behavior and intelligence of different breeds. Bruce, who so enthusiastically endorsed the idea to focus on dogs, will never get to read our two articles. After a brief illness, he passed away early this year at the age of 81. Bruce touched so many lives in his legendary career, and clearly had a soft spot in his heart for man’s (and woman’s) best friend. He wouldn’t be surprised to hear that dogs are helping their owners through this terrible pandemic. l

EMERGING IDEAS IN BRAIN SCIENCE

Bill Glovin Executive Editor

Seimi Rurup Assitant Editor

Podcast

Brandon Barrera Editorial Assistant

Carl Sherman Copy Editor

Carolyn Asbury, Ph.D. Scientific Consultant

Bruce Hanson Art Director

Cerebrum is published by the Charles A. Dana Foundation, Incorporated. DANA is a federally registered trademark owned by the Foundation. © 2020 by The Charles A. Dana Founda- tion, Incorporated. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro- duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publish- er, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles. Letters to the Editor Cerebrum magazine 505 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor New York, NY 10017 or [email protected] Letters may be edited for length and clarity. We regret that we cannot answer each one.

4 DANA FOUNDATION CEREBRUM | SPRING 2020

ADVANCES Notable brain science findings

More news that plenty of SLEEP is important for health: A recent Penn State cohort study (which follows people over a long stretch of time) suggests that middle-aged adults who have high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes were at

BY NICKY PENTTILA

A 2019 Boston University study published in the Annals of Neurology found that for every 5.3 years tackle football players played the game, they doubled their risk of developing the worst forms of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a degenerative brain

greater risk of earlier death if they slept less than six hours a night. Other studies suggest sleep is when the body cleanses and restores itself; the brain washes away dead cells and toxins as well as consolidating the days’ memories. The Penn State researchers, writing in the Journal of the American Heart Association , suggest that people with diabetes or blood- pressure issues make sure they get help to get enough sleep as part of their treatment for those issues. l Book snobs might not have cause to be so quick to discount AUDIOBOOK lovers as “nonreaders” or something other, researchers at University of California say. In a study published in the Journal of the brain are stimulated whether we hear words or read them on a page, educators and others might consider offering audio as an alternative for some kids. l Studies have shown a small but significant relationship between noticeable HEARING LOSS and dementia. Now, a study published late last year in the journal J AMA Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery suggests that even small losses of hearing can translate to reduced scores on cognitive tests. Researchers examined >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32

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