Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently

by Berns, Gregory

14. See Ralph Adolphs, Daniel Tranel, and Antonio R. Damasio, “The Human Amygdala in Social Judgment,” Nature 393 (1998): 470–474.

  15. See H. Kluver and P. C. Bucy, “Preliminary Analysis of Functions of the Temporal Lobes in Monkeys,” Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 42 (1939): 979–1000.

  16. See David G. Amaral, “The Amygdala, Social Behavior, and Danger Detection,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1000 (2003): 337–347.

  17. See Elizabeth A. Phelps et al., “Performance on Indirect Measures of Race Evaluation Predicts Amygdala Activation,” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 12, no. 5 (2000): 729–738.

  18. See Andreas Olsson et al., “The Role of Social Groups in the Persistence of Learned Fear,” Science 309 (2005): 785–787; and Matthew D. Lieberman et al., “An fMRI Investigation of Race-Related Amygdala Activity in African-American and Caucasian-American Individuals,” Nature Neuroscience 8, no. 6 (2005): 720–722.

  19. See Betsy Morris, “Arnold Power,” Fortune, August 9, 2004.

  20. See William Raft Kunst-Wilson and R. B. Zajonc, “Affective Discrimination of Stimuli That Cannot Be Recognized,” Science 207 (1980): 557–558.

  21. See Gur Huberman, “Familiarity Breeds Investment,” Review of Financial Studies 14, no. 3 (2001): 680.

  22. See Peter S. Dodd, Roby Muhamad, and Duncan J. Watts, “An Experimental Study of Search in Global Social Networks,” Science 301 (2003): 827–829; and Duncan J. Watts, Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003).

  23. See Jon M. Kleinberg, “Navigation in a Small World,” Nature 406 (2000): 845; and Duncan J. Watts and Steven H. Strogatz, “Collective Dynamics of ‘Small-World’ Networks,” Nature 393 (1998): 440–442.

  24. See Linus Torvalds, “What Would You Like to See Most in Minix?” 1991, http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.minix/msg/b813d52cbc5a044b.

  25. See Sarah F. Brosnan and Frans B. M. de Waal, “Monkeys Reject Unequal Pay,” Nature 425 (2003): 297–299.

  26. See W. Guth, R. Schmittberger, and B. Schwarze, “An Experimental Analysis of Ultimatum Bargaining,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 3, no. 4 (1982): 367–388.

  27. See Alan G. Sanfey et al., “The Neural Basis of Economic Decision-Making in the Ultimatum Game,” Science 300 (2003): 1755–1758.

  28. Chairman’s Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders, 2005, p. 7.

  29. See Ozgur Gurerk, Bernd Irlenbusch, and Bettina Rockenbach, “The Competitive Advantage of Sanctioning Institutions,” Science 312 (2006): 108–111.

  Seven: Private Spaceflight—A Case Study of Iconoclasts Working Together

  1. www.bigelowaerospace.com (accessed December 2006).

  2. See David H. Freedman, “Entrepreneur of the Year,” Inc., January 2005.

  3. Ibid.

  4. See Michael A. Dornheim, “Flying in Space for Low Cost,” Aviation, Week & Space Technology, April 20, 2003.

  5. http://www.xprize.org/about/our-story.

  6. Keynote address at the International Symposium for Personal Spaceflight (ISPS), Las Cruces, NM, October 18, 2006.

  7. See Mike Mullane, Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut (New York: Scribner, 2006), 35.

  8. See S. Suzette Beard and Janice Starzzyk, Space Tourism Market Study: Orbital Space Travel and Destinations with Suborbital Space Travel (Bethesda, MD: Futron Corporation, 2002).

  9. Futron updated its projections in 2006 to account for changes in technology and assumptions about potential passenger attributes.

  10. See Sam Dinkin, “Go Granny Go!” Space Review, 2005, http://www.thespacere-view.com/article/429/1.

  11. Unless otherwise noted, quotes in this section are from Reda Anderson, personal interview with author, October 16–20, 2006.

  12. Quotes in this section are from Ray Duffy, personal interview with author, October 16–20, 2006.

  13. ISPS, October 18, 2006.

  Eight: When Iconoclast Becomes Icon

  1. See Patricia Sullivan, “Arthur Jones: Revolutionized Exercise Industry,” Washington Post, August 30, 2007.

  2. See J. Fisher and R. A. Hinde, “The Opening of Milk Bottles by Birds,” British Birds 42 (1949): 347–357; and R. A. Hinde and J. Fisher, “Further Observations on the Opening of Milk Bottles by Birds,” British Birds 44 (1951): 392–396.

  3. See Everett M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, 5th ed. (New York: Free Press, 2003).

  4. See Frank M. Bass, “A New Product Growth for Model Consumer Durables,” Management Science 15, no. 5 (1969): 215–227.

  5. Wilfrid Sheed, “Virologist,” Time, March 29, 1999.

  6. See Kerstin Preuschoff, Peter Bossaerts, and Steven R. Quartz, “Neural Differentiation of Expected Reward and Risk in Human Subcortical Structures,” Neuron 51, no. 3 (2006): 381–390.

  7. See Birgit Abler et al., “Prediction Error as a Linear Function of Reward Probability Is Coded in Human Nucleus Accumbens,” Neuroimage 31 (2006): 790–795.

  8. See John D. Beaver et al., “Individual Differences in Reward Drive Predict Neural Responses to Images of Food,” Journal of Neuroscience 26, no. 19 (2006): 5160–5166.

  9. See Arthur W. Toga, Paul M. Thompson, and Elizabeth R. Sowell, “Mapping Brain Maturation,” Trends in Neurosciences 29, no. 3 (2006): 148–159.

  10. See Elizabeth M. Tunbridge et al., “Catechol-o-methyltransferase Enzyme Activity and Protein Expression in Human Prefrontal Cortex Across the Postnatal Lifespan,” Cerebral Cortex 17, no. 5 (2006): 1206–1212.

  Appendix: The Iconoclast’s Pharmacopoeia

  1. For a comprehensive modern review of the psychobiology of hallucinogens, see David E. Nichols, “Hallucinogens,” Pharmacology & Therapeutics 101 (2004): 131–181.

  2. The most comprehensive catalog of these substances, and their subjective effects, is to be found in the pair of books by Alexander and Ann Shulgin, the husband-and-wife team of “chemical explorers.” See Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story (Berkeley, CA: Transform Press, 1991); and Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, TiHKAL: The Continuation (Berkeley, CA: Transform Press, 1997). PiHKAL stands for “phenethylamines I have known and loved.” TiHKAL stands for “trypt-amines I have known and loved.”

  3. See John Horgan, Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 2003).

  4. See M. Spitzer et al., “Increased Activation of Indirect Semantic Associations Under Psilocybin,” Biological Psychiatry 39 (1996): 1055–1057.

  5. See Nichols, “Hallucinogens,” 131–181.

  6. See D. F. Wong et al., “Localization of Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptors in Living Human Brain by Positron Emission Tomography Using N1-([11C]-methyl)-2-Br-LSD,” Synapse 1, no. 5 (1987): 393–398.

  7. See F. X. Vollenweider et al., “Positron Emission Tomography and Fluo-rodeoxyglucose Studies of Metabolic Hyperfrontality and Psychopathology in the Psilo-cybin Model of Psychosis,” Neuropsychopharmacology 16 (1997): 357–372.

  8. See Nichols, “Hallucinogens,“131–181.

  9. See Franklin R. Schneier, “Social Anxiety Disorder,” New England Journal of Medicine 355 (2006): 1029–1036.

  10. See Jacek Debiec and Joseph E. LeDoux, “Noradrenergic Signaling in the Amygdala Contributes to the Reconsolidation of Fear Memory: Treatment Implications for PTSD,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1071 (2006): 521–524; and James L. McGaugh, “Memory—a Century of Consolidation,” Science 287 (2000): 248–251.

  11. See Peter D. Kramer, Listening to Prozac (New York: Viking, 1993).

  12. See Robert D. Rogers et al., “Tryptophan Depletion Alters the Decision-Making of Healthy Volunteers Through Altered Processing of Reward Cues,” Neuropsychophar-macology 28 (2003): 153–162.

  13. See Matt Field et al., “Delay Discounting and the Alcohol Stroop in Heavy Drinking Adolescents,” Addiction 102 (2007): 579–586.

  14. See D. S. Leland et al., “Young Adult Stimulant Users’ Increa
sed Striatal Activation During Uncertainty Is Related to Impulsivity,” Neuroimage 33, no. 2 (2006): 725–731.

  15. See B. Knutson et al., “Amphetamine Modulates Human Incentive Processing,” Neuron 43 (2004): 261–269.

  16. See Sarah H. Heil et al., “Delay Discounting in Currently Using and Currently Abstinent Cocaine-Dependent Outpatients and Non-Drug-Using Matched Controls,” Addictive Behaviors 31 (2006): 1290–1294.

  17. See D. Weintraub et al., “Association of Dopamine Agonist Use with Impulse Control Disorders in Parkinson Disease,” Archives of Neurology 63, no. 7 (2006): 969–973.

  18. See P. Rihet et al., “Dopamine and Human Information Processing: A Reaction-Time Analysis of the Effect of Levodopa in Healthy Subjects,” Psychopharmacology 163 (2002): 62–67.

  19. See Mathias Pessiglione et al., “Dopamine-Dependent Prediction Errors Underpin Reward-Seeking Behaviour in Humans,” Nature 442 (2006): 1042–1045.

  20. See Zoe Tieges et al., “Caffeine Improves Anticipatory Processes in Task Switching,” Biological Psychiatry 73, no. 2 (2006): 101–113.

  21. See W. D. Killgore et al., “The Effects of Caffeine, Dextroamphetamine, and Modafinil on Humor Appreciation During Sleep Deprivation,” Sleep 29, no. 6 (2006): 841–847.

  22. See Brady Reynolds et al., “Delay Discounting and Probability Discounting as Related to Cigarette Smoking Status in Adults,” Behavioural Processes 65 (2004): 35–42.

  23. See Pessiglione et al., “Dopamine-Dependent Prediction Errors,” 1042–1045.

  24. See E. Ron de Kloet, Melly S. Oitzl, and Marian Joëls, “Stress and Cognition: Are Corticosteroids Good or Bad Guys?” Trends in Neurosciences 22, no. 10 (1999): 422–426.

  25. See Werner Plihal et al., “Corticosteroid Receptor Mediated Effects on Mood in Humans,” Psychoneuroendocrinology 21, no. 6 (1996): 515–523; Sonia J. Lupien et al., “The Modulatory Effects of Corticosteroids on Cognition: Studies in Young Human Populations,” Psychoneuroendocrinology 27 (2002): 401–416; and Heather C. Abercrombie et al., “Cortisol Variation in Humans Affects Memory for Emotionally Laden and Neutral Information,” Behavioral Neuroscience 117, no. 3 (2003): 505–516.

  26. See K. Sreekumaran Nair et al., “DHEA in Elderly Women and DHEA or Testosterone in Elderly Men,” New England Journal of Medicine 355, no. 16 (2006): 1647–1659.

  27. See E. J. Hermans, P. Putman, and J. van Honk, “Testosterone Administration Reduces Empathetic Behavior: A Facial Mimicry Study,” Psychoneuroendocrinology 31 (2006): 859–866; and E. J. Hermans et al., “A Single Administration of Testosterone Reduces Fear-Potentiated Startle in Humans,” Biological Psychiatry 59 (2006): 872–874.

  28. See Gregor Domes et al., “Oxytocin Improves ‘Mind-Reading’ in Humans,” Biological Psychiatry 61 (2007): 731–733.

  29. See M. Kosfeld et al., “Oxytocin Increases Trust in Humans,” Nature 435 (2005): 673–676.

  30. See Peter Kirsh et al., “Oxytocin Modulates Neural Circuitry for Social Cognition and Fear in Humans,” Journal of Neuroscience 25, no. 49 (2005): 11489–11493.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  GREGORY BERNS IS THE DISTINGUISHED Chair of Neuroeconomics at Emory University, where he directs the Center for the Biological Study of Collective Action. He is a professor in the departments of psychiatry and economics and in the Goizueta Business School. He is a founding member of the Society for Neuroeconomics. For the past fifteen years, he has used brain imaging technologies to study the neurobiology of human motivation and decision making, especially the effects of novelty and peer pressure. His work has been published in prestigious journals like Science and Neuron, and he is the author of Satisfaction, a book about the neurobiology of happiness. Professor Berns appears frequently in the media, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, CNN, and Primetime. He received an AB in physics from Princeton University; a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis; and an MD from the University of California, San Diego.