In the first episode of the Brain Space Time Podcast, I talk to Georg Northoff, a neuroscientist, psychiatrist and philosopher based in Ottawa, Canada. Georg argues that the self and time are fundamental to how the brain constructs a model of the world. We start off with the role of spontaneous activity in the brain, including the role of the default mode network, although Georg might convince you that you shouldn't think of it as one of many networks but as a baseline. We also dig deep into philosophy, going back to Kant, Leibniz and even Heraclitus. Georg argues that we should drop the mind-body problem, and move to the world-brain problem instead. Central to the world-brain problem is the ability of our brain to match the temporal-spatial statistics of its environment, "aligning with the grove of the music"; as Georg would say. Here we get into physics territory by discussing this matching mechanism in terms of self-similarity, scale-free dynamics, and the differential effects of pink and white noise on the brain. Evolution is also a recurring theme, as we get into the types of self across species, long-distance navigation of whales or ask how the temporal statistics of neuronal activity are conserved across species despite them having varied ecological niches. A big part of the episode is on time perception and temporal scales, exploring how time perception is too slow for depressed patients or how our breathing and heart rate are reflected in neuronal and mental dynamics. Finally, Georg tells us about the benefits but also struggles of his interdisciplinary career trajectory.Shownotes and mentioned figures available at:https://akseliilmanen.wixsite.com/home/post/pod01Timestamps:(((((((((((((((((Links/Books/PapersGeorg Northoff websiteBook: Neurowaves - Brain, Time and Consciousness (2023) URLBook: The Spontaneous Brain (2018) URLTextbook: From Brain Dynamics to the Mind: Spatiotemporal neuroscience (2023 - pre-order) URLSelf and cortical midline structures (2004) paperHeart, lung, and brain - Josh Goheen (2023) paperBrain and intrinsic neural timescales paper with Mehrshad Golesorkhi (2023) paperSpatiotemporal neuroscience as 'common currency' (2020) paperWhy Spatiotemporal neuroscience (2020) paperAre object relations temporal? (2022) paperLeibniz and dynamic time (2019) paperMarcus Raichle- default mode network 2001 paper, 2015 paperGyuri Buzaski (2013) - neuronal rhythms across species paperUri Hasson (2015) - temporal receptive windows paperFollow meFor updates on new episode releases, follow me on Twitter.If you are interested in my other work, click here.Music licenseSong: Space News (URL)Item License Code: Z62T4V3QWL