Author: This Is Your Brain producer
Humans are born with billions of neurons that need connecting – and how those synapses develop helps determine how our brains will work. There is ample evidence that a loving, nurturing environment in infancy and early childhood provides the most fertile ground for brain development. Isabelle Hau, executive director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, explains why a well-loved baby or child simply learns better than a neglected one, and how our contracting social circles endanger our kids. Plus… the mystery of why average IQs rose for decades, until recently. Are technology and isolation affecting our intelligence? Phil Stieg: Today,…
It’s no surprise that feeling lonely is associated with depression, but did you know that loneliness may also lead to chronic inflammation, changes in the brain, and even premature death? Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology at Brigham Young University and an expert on the physiological effects of social connections, explains how our current crisis of loneliness is as much a public health threat as smoking, alcohol use, and diabetes. Discover the behavioral, psychological, and biological factors affected by loneliness, which groups are most at risk, and what we can all do to reconnect.Phil Stieg: Today, our guest is Dr.…
Pain and fear are inevitable, especially these days, but we can retrain our brains to reduce suffering. Dr. Sara Lazar, Assistant Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, reveals how just eight weeks of mindful meditation can visibly change parts of the brain to be less reactive to pain. Plus… how meditation apps put the power of mindfulness right in your hand. Phil Stieg: Hello, today, I have with me Dr. Sara Lazar. She is a scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She studies the beneficial effects of mindfulness training and…
Humans are so powerfully wired for survival that it can be hard to understand suicide – especially in adolescents. What happens in the brain that can override such a profound instinct for self-preservation?Dr. Sakina Rizvi, a researcher and psychotherapist in Toronto, Canada specializing in suicide prevention, reveals the social, biological, and psychological facets of suicidal ideation.Hear how childhood trauma, current life stressors, and brain impairment may all play a role in suicide, and learn how to recognize warning signs in a loved one.Plus… the do’s and don’ts of talking to someone at risk.Phil Stieg: Today, we are joined by Dr.…
The past 30 years have produced an epidemic of obesity — mostly because evolution did not prepare us for so many calories and so little physical activity. Dr. Louis Aronne, a leading authority on obesity, explains how a period of caloric excess can damage the neural connections that manage your metabolism, throwing your weight regulation out of whack. More importantly, he talks about the new drug that tackles obesity at two different hormonal sites and promises to become an actual “weight loss pill.” Plus…the real reason to skip the bread basket (it’s in your brain). Phil Stieg: Hello and welcome.…
What makes us happy? The warm feelings of closeness that we have with family and friends are rooted in the neurochemical oxytocin–the love hormone, if you will. Oxytocin facilitates social engagement, encourages bonding, and just makes us feel happier. My guest today, neuroscientist Paul Zak, has done decades of research into the role of oxytocin and discovered that this feel-good chemical motivates us to engage with others. Not only that, but immersing ourselves in social circles, among people who are nice to us, increases oxytocin and improves our mood. (High stress, on the other hand, inhibits oxytocin and makes us…