Episode Details

Discover how our brains physically reflect how social we are, a new proposal for Mars exploration vehicles, and patterns in our brain that reveal how we process pain!

Social brains.

• “Brain regions linked to empathy bigger in monkeys with more friends” by Alice Klein
  • https://www.newscientist.com/article/2316110-brain-regions-linked-to-empathy-bigger-in-monkeys-with-more-friends/
• “Social connections predict brain structure in a multidimensional free-ranging primate society” by Camille Testard, et al.
  • https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abl5794
• “Online social network size is reflected in human brain structure” by R. Kanai, et al.
  • https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.1959
• “Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span” by Yang Claire Yang, et al.
  • https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511085112
• “An ecocultural model predicts Neanderthal extinction through competition with modern humans” by William Gilpin, et al.
  • https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1524861113

Mars Cars

• Divide and Conquer: Mars Rovers Could be Superseded by Swarms of Two-Wheeled Robots by Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
  • https://phys.org/news/2022-04-conquer-mars-rovers-superseded-swarms.html
• The Two-Wheeled Robotic Swarm Concept for Mars Exploration by Alexander Petrovsky, et al.
  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576522000340
• Missions by NASA Science Mars Exploration Program
  • https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-exploration/missions/
• Announcement by MIT Skoltech Program
  • https://skoltech.mit.edu/

Pain patterns.

• “Discovery In The Brains Of Army Veterans Sheds Light On The Neurobiological Mechanisms Behind Chronic Pain And Trauma” by Conn Hastings
  • https://www.psypost.org/2022/06/discovery-in-the-brains-of-army-veterans-sheds-light-on-the-neurobiological-mechanisms-behind-chronic-pain-and-trauma-63313
• “Understanding Pain and Trauma Symptoms in Veterans From Resting-State Connectivity: Unsupervised Modeling” by Irina A. Strigo, Andrea D. Spadoni and Alan N. Simmons.
  • https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpain.2022.871961/full?utm_source=fweb&utm_medium=nblog&utm_campaign=ba-sci-fpain-Understanding-pain-and-trauma-symptoms-in-Veterans-from-resting-state-connectivity

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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/big-brain-bestfriends-mars-exploration-fleet-brain-unpain