Author: This Is Your Brain producer
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…
Where in the brain is that little something that makes top performers feel so confident in their ability? Can that confidence be developed in someone who is naturally more timid? Dr. Nate Zinsser, director of West Point’s Performance Psychology Program and author of The Confident Mind, explains how a sense of mastery develops, and why butterflies in your stomach are a signal from the brain when you’re about to do something great. Plus… why Ted Lasso wants us all to be a little more like goldfish.Phil Stieg: Hello, and welcome to Dr. Nate Zinsser, director of performance psychology for the United…
Did you ever notice when you see a close up of Julia Roberts smiling on the big screen, you have an urge to smile back? That’s an effect of your brain’s “Mirror Rule” according to Dr. Jeff Zacks of Washington University. Watching movies in a theater stimulates the signals in our brains more than almost any other activity. Dr. Zacks investigates the various ways your brain is being manipulated while you are watching movies – including how propaganda movies embed into your memory more powerfully than books or any other medium. Plus – how “the talkies” changed us! Phil Stieg:…
Dr. Robert Hariri, a surgeon and stem cell entrepreneur, explains how a temporary product of pregnancy, often discarded as waste, is actually an example of evolution at its best, a veritable “nature’s supermarket” for cells with amazing regenerative properties. Phil Stieg: Hello. Today, our guest is Dr. Robert Hariri, jet aviator, physician, surgeon, biomedical scientist, and business executive. He is CEO of Celularity, a stem cell company that promises to bring stem cell therapies to address anti-aging and multiple diseases. He and his wife are also philanthropists, and I am honored to be the first Margaret and Robert J. Hariri:…
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.…