# Can the Brain Understand Itself? The Glories and the Limits of Neuroscience ~ Matthew Cobb

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/can-the-brain-understand-itself-the-glories-and-the-limits-of-neuroscience-matthew-cobb
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769/can-the-brain-understand-itself-the-glories-and-the-limits-of-neuroscience-matthew-cobb.md
Podcast: [On Humans](https://stenobird.com/podcast/on-humans-5714769)
Published: 2025-10-17T19:47:15+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ilari-makela/episodes/Can-the-Brain-Understand-Itself--The-Glories-and-the-Limits-of-Neuroscience--Matthew-Cobb-e39m4ol
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/b6269808/podcast/play/109826261/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-9-17%2F6e999a83-df1b-ca75-ee52-c5b8ff0e0922.m4a
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/on-humans-5714769/episodes/can-the-brain-understand-itself-the-glories-and-the-limits-of-neuroscience-matthew-cobb
Duration seconds: 3614

## Resource

Science has learned much about the brain. But how well do we understand this organ of the mind? Are we even close to cracking the neural code? Is a groundbreaking theory of consciousness just around the corner? In this final episode of the brain science -series, Matthew Cobb takes us on a tour of the story of neuroscience. We meet many colourful characters, but this is not just a history for history’s sake. More importantly, this is a reflection on the increasingly clear limits that brain science is coming up against — limits often left invisible behind the thirst for stories about new discoveries. Enjoy! FACT CHECKING Contrary to the precise phrasing in the episode, a handful of new psychiatric drugs have entered the market recently. The general observation remains well-supported. If you spot an error in this or other episodes, please reach out on ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠ or via ⁠⁠email⁠⁠ . LINKS Matthew Cobb’s book is ⁠ The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience ⁠ For more episodes on the human brain, check ⁠OnHumans.Substack.com/Brain⁠ Want to support the show? Join the club at ⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠ MENTIONS Names: Matthew Cobb | Galen | Aristotle | Andreas Vesalius | William Harvey | William Shakespeare | Queen Victoria | Karl Marx | Pierre Paul Broca | René Descartes | Eve Marder | David Marr | Francis Crick | Geoffrey Hinton | John Hopfield | Warren McCulloch | Walter Pitts | John von Neumann | Alan Turing | Kenneth Craik | Sir John Eccles | Elon Musk | Nicolaus Copernicus | Galileo Galilei Terms and concepts: recurrent laryngeal nerve | phrenology | localization of function | strokes/aphasia | Broca’s area | plasticity | hemispheric lateralization | corpus callosum | split-brain | consciousness | anesthesia (halothane, etc.) | drugs & neuromodulators |…

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