Author: This Is Your Brain producer

Have you ever felt a “presence” – someone next to you, even speaking to you, when no one is there? Dr. Ben Alderson-Day, a psychologist at Durham University in the UK, studies the phenomena of felt presences, or what he calls “the unseen other.” These experiences are not always symptoms of mental illness – these are universally reported and not always distressing. Learn what’s happening in the brain during these hallucinations – or should we call them visitations? Plus… how the Internet brings together groups of people who can conjure up invisible friends, seemingly on command. Phil Stieg:  Hello I’d…

Temple Grandin, PhD., wants kids — especially those on the autism spectrum — to start using their hands again. The woman Oliver Sacks called “the anthropologist on Mars” explains how our brains may be naturally wired to think in words, mathematics, or visuals, and there’s nothing disordered about any of them. Dr. Grandin urges us to respect our young visual thinkers and celebrate their strengths instead of labeling them with disabilities. Phil Stieg:  Hello. My guest today is Dr. Temple Grandin, professor of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University. With her fascinating ability to understand how animals think, she transformed…

Some 6 million Americans suffer from active PTSD at any given moment, and nearly half of us will be exposed to major trauma at some point in our lives. Dr. Shaili Jain, a Stanford University psychiatrist and PTSD specialist, explains why silence plays such a large role in the aftermath of trauma, why some people recover quickly and others don’t, and why men experience more trauma but women are more likely to develop PTSD. Plus… mitigating trauma with the help of “man’s best friend.” Phil Stieg: Hello I’ like to welcome Dr. Shaili Jain, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences…

Superstitions, fairy tales, and talismans are more than silly remnants of our early human history — they are bridges to the unconscious mind. Psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, talks about just how complicated the unconscious is, and how rituals and fairy tales actually make us more sophisticated managers of our conscious mind. Phil Stieg: Hello. I’d like to welcome to Professor Daniel Lieberman. He specializes in clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences and has recently and has recently written a book, “Spellbound Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind”. Let’s learn how our conscious mind communicates…

With the left hemisphere of her brain ravaged by a hemorrhage, neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor made a surprising discovery. The brain bleed had not only deprived her of language, it had also wiped away memory of past trauma. What Dr. Taylor learned about brain cells after a stroke has implications for identity, spirituality, and insight. Find out why you’re a better lie detector without your left hemisphere, and why shouting at a stroke survivor is not the best strategy. Plus – the “Singing Brain Banker”. Phil Stieg: Hello, I’d like to welcome Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, neuroscientist and author of The…

We all work on important tasks while we sleep – consolidating memories, building immunity, and managing weight, just for starters – but some of us do a whole lot more. From walking and talking to driving and committing crimes, sleep disorders can be disruptive, dangerous, and downright deadly. British neurologist and sleep expert Guy Leschziner explains how different parts of the brain can be in different stages of sleep at the same time, how the most common sleep disorder is actually several different problems, and why poor sleep may cause hallucinations and out-of-body experiences. Plus – how some animals sleep…