Neuroscience and other interests Francis Crick

results fmri experiment in people made conscious decision visual stimulus. small region of brain coloured orange shows patterns of activity correlate decision making process. crick stressed importance of finding new methods probe human brain function.

crick s period @ cambridge pinnacle of long scientific career, left cambridge in 1977 after 30 years, having been offered (and having refused) mastership of gonville , caius. james watson claimed @ cambridge conference marking 50th anniversary of discovery of structure of dna in 2003: perhaps s pretty kept secret 1 of uninspiring acts of university of cambridge on past century turn down francis crick when applied professor of genetics, in 1958. there may have been series of arguments, led them reject francis. saying, don t push frontier. apparently pretty kept secret had been recorded in soraya de chadarevian s designs life: molecular biology after world war ii, published cambridge university press in 2002. major contribution molecular biology in cambridge documented in history of university of cambridge: volume 4 (1870 1990), published cup in 1992.

according university of cambridge s genetics department official website, electors of professorship not reach consensus, prompting intervention of university vice-chancellor lord adrian. lord adrian first offered professorship compromise candidate, guido pontecorvo, refused, , said have offered crick, refused.

in 1976, crick took sabbatical year @ salk institute biological studies in la jolla, california. crick had been nonresident fellow of institute since 1960. crick wrote, felt @ home in southern california. after sabbatical, crick left cambridge in order continue working @ salk institute. professor @ university of california, san diego. taught himself neuroanatomy , studied many other areas of neuroscience research. took him several years disengage molecular biology because exciting discoveries continued made, including discovery of alternative splicing , discovery of restriction enzymes, helped make possible genetic engineering. eventually, in 1980s, crick able devote full attention other interest, consciousness. autobiographical book, mad pursuit: personal view of scientific discovery, includes description of why left molecular biology , switched neuroscience.

upon taking work in theoretical neuroscience, crick struck several things:

there many isolated subdisciplines within neuroscience little contact between them
many people interested in behaviour treated brain black box
consciousness viewed taboo subject many neurobiologists

crick hoped might aid progress in neuroscience promoting constructive interactions between specialists many different subdisciplines concerned consciousness. collaborated neurophilosophers such patricia churchland. in 1983, result of studies of computer models of neural networks, crick , mitchison proposed function of rem sleep remove modes of interactions in networks of cells in mammalian cerebral cortex; called hypothetical process reverse learning or unlearning . in final phase of career, crick established collaboration christof koch lead publication of series of articles on consciousness during period spanning 1990 2005. crick made strategic decision focus theoretical investigation of consciousness on how brain generates visual awareness within few hundred milliseconds of viewing scene. crick , koch proposed consciousness seems mysterious because involves short-term memory processes yet poorly understood. crick published book describing how neurobiology had reached mature enough stage consciousness subject of unified effort study @ molecular, cellular , behavioural levels. crick s book astonishing hypothesis made argument neuroscience had tools required begin scientific study of how brains produce conscious experiences. crick skeptical value of computational models of mental function not based on details brain structure , function.