This is a lovely picture of Howard from his UCSF profile page. Howard Fields died at the beginning of this month. I spent more than five years in his lab (1987-92). He excelled at science and friendship. I already miss him. Howard was clearly the leading thinker in the study of pain modulation. It was a heady time for the […]
This year I was honored that the University of Chicago Dean of the College Melina Hale asked me to give the annual Aims of Education address to the incoming students. I immediately accepted and the following is the speech that I wrote out for the occasion. It nearly matches the speech that I gave which is available online. [Note that […]
Speaking at the Latke-Hamentasch Debate (LHD) is equal parts honor and duty for Jewish faculty at the University of Chicago. So, when asked to speak at the 77th LHD, I said Yes. Then I faced a big problem. Plain and simple, I would not, could not get up in front of a mostly Jewish audience and not mention the hostages. […]
I was being interviewed this morning when the interviewer asked how the work we were talking about related to “Frans de Waal who just passed away.” I had not heard. I immediately choked up and remain teary, twenty minutes since receiving the news. Frans’s death is an enormous loss to me and for the world. Emory University, Frans’s academic home […]
magine life without expressing your views. Your country joins the EU. Your country exits the EU. Your children severely, potentially criminally, misbehave and do so publicly. You meet myriad governmental heads, some of whom intrigue you, others who leave you indifferent, and inevitably some who you abhor. And now imagine that you say and show nothing of your feelings....
Packing these Petoskey stones, fossilized coral, which have been polished by my cousin, into a small suitcase gave me the opportunity to live out the size-weight illusion.
I am so happy to announce that my mother, Jane Sommer Mason, is having her first art opening at the tender age of 93. Four of her eight busts of Watergate figures are currently on display at the George Washington University’s Luther W. Brady Art Gallery. On Wednesday (November 10, 2021), a virtual opening will feature Jane Mason, Washington Post […]
In response to a student request for an overview of neuroanatomy, I happily recorded an hour of dissections designed to provide a neuroanatomical framework. I start with development and proceed to dissections of sheep and human brains to illustrate the parts of the brain and how they fit into the cranium.
Human exceptionalism incurs another blow. In work published today in Science Advances, my laboratory demonstrates the Bystander Effect in rats: rats are less likely to help in the presence of rats who are not helping – confederate rats or as my students love to say, confederats. On the other hand, in the presence of naive rats, who could potentially help, […]
The Bystander Effect, included in every introductory psychology textbook and course, refers to the consistent finding that individuals are less likely to help in the presence of others than when they are alone. The more bystanders present, the less likely an individual is to help. This is commonly attributed to a diffusion of responsibility, meaning that an individual in a […]
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The brain is sooooo cool! 